I am so pleased for you and still have hope that the biopsy will come back negative but if not you will still have more time with you boy and that is very much a bonus.

I'm so pleased that Luke is doing so well and is back home with you. He will soon put some weight on now he's home. No matter how well the vets treated him, dogs can become so distressed at being away from their family that the weight can just drop off them. The bill is more than reasonable as well, I paid over £900 just for a GA to flush my girls ear out plus swabs and antibiotics.

Thanks for the update, I had been checking in and decided no news was good news.

Hopefully his stools will firm up soon now he is home on his normal diet and there is always my standby steamed pumpkin/butternut squash, desert spoon a couple of times usually firms things up nicely, then his weight will pick up.

When do you take him back or will your own vet do any follow up and suture removal. I agree the price was very good, Penny's liver shunt surgery,pre and post op care came to nearly £5,000 which thankfully the insurance paid for.

Continue to keep everything crossed that everything is fine from now and the biopsy result isn't nasty.

>He was really happy to see us

I really needed to hear this after losing my girl.  Give him a big kiss from Auntie Jean.  I am so pleased for you.

Glad he is doing so well and hope I continues x

You must be so happy to have Luke back with you - I hope his tummy sorts itself out so he can regain the weight.  Fingers still crossed that the biopsy results come back with good news.

Amazing vets bill!  Good to know that your vet is not ripping you off in your time of need for their services.

Don't forget that this is the vet bill from a Veterinary Hospital which in England tends IMO to be higher than the norm. My Vet in England was always very reasonable with his prices but this was IMO a fabulous price. Mind you money doesn't come into it, we have our boy back! He is loving his food now he is home and already his stolls are firming slightly. I know that some of his looseness will have been stress, he is such a wimpy boy. Love our wimpy boy.

Don't forget that this is the vet bill from a Veterinary Hospital which in England tends IMO to be higher than the norm. My Vet in England was always very reasonable with his prices but this was IMO a fabulous price. Mind you money doesn't come into it, we have our boy back! He is loving his food now he is home and already his stolls are firming slightly. I know that some of his looseness will have been stress, he is such a wimpy boy. Love our wimpy boy.

Don't forget that this is the vet bill from a Veterinary Hospital which in England tends IMO to be higher than the norm. My Vet in England was always very reasonable with his prices but this was IMO a fabulous price. Mind you money doesn't come into it, we have our boy back! He is loving his food now he is home and already his stolls are firming slightly. I know that some of his looseness will have been stress, he is such a wimpy boy. Love our wimpy boy.

Don't forget that this is the vet bill from a Veterinary Hospital which in England tends IMO to be higher than the norm. My Vet in England was always very reasonable with his prices but this was IMO a fabulous price. Mind you money doesn't come into it, we have our boy back! He is loving his food now he is home and already his stolls are firming slightly. I know that some of his looseness will have been stress, he is such a wimpy boy. Love our wimpy boy.

Don't forget that this is the vet bill from a Veterinary Hospital which in England tends IMO to be higher than the norm. My Vet in England was always very reasonable with his prices but this was IMO a fabulous price. Mind you money doesn't come into it, we have our boy back! He is loving his food now he is home and already his stolls are firming slightly. I know that some of his looseness will have been stress, he is such a wimpy boy. Love our wimpy boy.

Money doesn't come into it with our dogs either but I do think some vets tend to overcharge if this is the case as they just know you'll pay anything to give the animal a reasonable chance.  Seeing what some people have to pay for ceasareans etc proves the point.

So pleased you have your Wimpy Boy back and he's firming up already x

Great that he's home and wishing him a speedy, and full, recovery. x

I can't tell you how happy I am for you and Luke that the operation seems to have been so successful.

I really do believe in miracles!

So glad he is now back at home with those who love him the most, and hope he has a complication free recovery.
Tanya

How's Luke doing now Alison?

Slowly but surely putting some weight back on. He is very anaemic and we had another scare the other day when the idiot local Vet took a look at him and blood tested him as his mucous membranes are very very pale (literally white). His creatitine levels were on the high side and his urea level were over what they should be so the worry was that his other kidney wa not coping. He said he wanted to take Luke in for 2 days to have him on a detox infusion whereby Mike walked out saying 'he is not staying here'. The Vet then called the Veterinary Hospital who confirmed that Luke had lost a lot of blood during surgery and they were delighted with the readings as seemingly in Hospital they were awful. We are doing our own detox on him to help things along and we notice each day his colour is improving. His is getting a bit more energy and we are hopeful for a good recovery. We still haven't god the biopsy results yet but we expect them this week. The local Vet yet again confirmed that he made a mistake and his words were ' when I opened him up and saw the tumour I just got it into my head that it was coming from the stomach so I had a feel around the tumour and just couldn't shake the thought out of my head'.

(Ran out of time on the prevous post, continued) If that isn't an admission of neglect than I don't know what is. Once Luke's stitches are out we are off to another Vet. In the meantime if it comes back as cancer then we will deal with it as much as we are able. Thanks for asking about him, appreciate it.

Thanks for the update,pleased he is making progress

Alison
With Myfanwy's tumour the blood loss was horrific.  It took a long while for her body to make everything up that was lost, but it was worth the wait.  And her tumour came back non malignant.  I am hoping and hoping for Luke here.  If positive thoughts help - he's got it!  :-)

So pleased all appears to be going well and Like is slowly improving.  Slow but sure....

Thanks for that Jean. It is always good to hear someone else's story. I am not too concerned about the mucous membrane because I certainly don't believe that he is having any blood loss now and I keep saying to the Vet that I am not surprised as he has been through major surgery but the Vet just seems to worry us every time we see him. I think maybe he is now trying to be ultra cautious which I appreciate, however wish he had been more careful first time around. Having Luke alive and here is brilliant and would be the icing on the cake if it came back benign or even an abcess, can but hope.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you that it's good news when the results come back!  So pleased he is home and doing well.  I have seen a few vets since living in France, some good some not so good but the vet hospitals are usually excellent and with reasonable fees and well worth going to.  Really hope the cake is iced soon!!
Jan

What a wonderful boy.  Fingers crossed for good results from the biopsy......

Have you had Luke's results back yet - still hoping news is good x

Just taken the phone call from the Vet. It is a sarcoma and aggressive and the prognosis is guarded. The Vet is going to speak to La Rochelle Hospital and see what they have to say about what they saw when they had Luke on the table. We will speak further about what La Rochelle want to do after hearing the biopsy results and then go from there. We will just have to stay as positive as we can.

Oh dear - hopefully they will have a plan of action that can help further.  How is he in himself?

Really well thanks. His mucous membranes are now a nice pink and he is eating like there is no tomorrow. We have been feeding him 3 meals and we couldn't possibly miss out that third meal as he is looking for it at 10pm. All we can do is keep positive. The way I look at it, we are in a better position than we were 4 weeks ago so onward and upward and who knows what the future holds.

Bless him, agree you are in a much better position than you were.  At least you know what you're dealing with and Luke is much better in himself.  Positive thoughts still...

A friends dog had an aggressive sarcoma removed from his gut 12 months ago (4 year lab) still doing well - I know it's not the same as your boy but it gives hope x

My 11 1/2 Ridgie had a nasty tumour removed about 3 years ago, they weren't sure that they'd got it all and they gave a "poor" prognosis. She's still here and full of beans :) Admittedly she's had another couple of lumps removed in the meantime but she recovers well.

Thank you for the last two posts. It just goes to show that hearing the words 'aggressive sarcoma' isn't the end of the world. We feel that until someone says that there is nothing else that can be done then not only are we in there with a chance but also we are in there for the long haul. We will (hopefully) know a little more next Tuesday. In the meantime Luke is well, play fighting with the girls again and looking to play with his special ball. As a puppy he was the laziest puppy I have ever known. I think his attitude was 'why run when you can stroll'. So just because he isn't bombing around that doesn't make me concerned as he has always been a dog that if he didn't have this special ball that only he plays with he doesn't put much effort into anything , yes he is THAT laid back. The fact is that now he is wanting to play with the ball again so we know he is feeling tons better. Thanks for the comments and support.

Just to let you know I am so glad that Luke is enjoying life and fingers crossed he continues to do so.

Sheila xx

Thank you, nice to know people are rooting for Luke.

Sorry Alison just seen your news - I'm sorry to hear the results of the tests weren't the best but hope that Luke is well in himself at the moment, I'm hoping for you all that the vet may have some positive news for you.  Good luck and hugs to Luke.
Jan

Thanks Jan
We have spoken the the Vet at La Rochelle today and they are going to start chemo next Wednesday to ensure that we can hit any rogue cells that might be there. I feel very positive that we are doing the right thing. It will give Luke more time and maybe even kill any problems, can but hope. In the meantime, Luke is going from strength to strength.
Will you be showing at Niort?

Hi Alison, pleased you are feeling positive I think it's so important for you and Luke and I think if there are any little bits of the cancer left it will help kill them off.  So pleased that Luke is doing well I pray it continues!
No I'm not going to Niort a bit too far north for me I'm planning Montlucon, Toulouse and Perigeaux (but am also hoping that we may hear the patter of tiny paws soon!)  So not much showing for me, but I'm sure we'll get to meet up sometime this year, I saw you were at Poitiers last year and I very nearly went but wasn't keen on the judge!!!  Keep us updated with Luke's progress and I send hugs and best wishes to you all.
Jan

I am so very pleased for you.  Do let us know how Luke copes with chemo.  It all sounds as if he has more time with you than you initially thought.  He sounds such a darling, and I have watched your news intently.

Very best wishes.

Jean

I'm sure Luke will sail through the chemo just like my Winnie did, and she's still here nearly 3 years later. :)

Wishing you all well. x

We went for his first chemo last Wednesday and then I had to administer the tablet form of chemo on Thursday morning. I have to say that he then became very nauseous after the tablets and was pretty much like that until, Sunday when he started eating as normal with a very good appetite so all is well thankfully. His next chemo is in three weeks time. The Vet was very happy with all his stats and his Urea level was in the normal reading so we are very pleased. I must say one thing, the chemo treatment is so much cheaper than in the UK, not that that has any bearing on anything in the scheme of things.

I'm glad to hear he's doing OK. Is he on steroids as well? I know Winnie was and her eating and drinking increased considerably.

So pleased to hear your lovely boy doing ok.  xxx

Bless him,glad he is feeling better.

Sheila. xx

No he is not on steroids, just Vincristine and Cylophosphomide

I am so pleased to read this.  I'm smiling at the thought that he is still here and something is being done.

Good Luck!

Great news! :-)

Brilliant news - may this continue.  You must be so happy and relieved. 

Nice to hear he is doing so well:-)

Another Update. Back at the Vets yesterday for Luke's third chemo session and this time an echocardiogram. All is clear!!! and he is tolerating the chemo so well. Asked a few questions yesterday as I have read on the internet that dogs with kidney cancer usually survive about 16 months after surgery. I know we don't have a crystal ball but the Vet says that he will echocardigraph him every two months and if after one year he is still clear then they then say that he is cured. Obviously he has now only one kidney so who knows what other conditions he may suffer but for now everything is looking fantastic.  For other people who have had such horrendeous prognosis don't give up, always challenge and who knows, we have been lucky and there is always hope while they are still breathing.

> dogs with kidney cancer usually survive about 16 months after surgery.

A friend of my husbands has just died of Kidney Cancer.

He was given 5 months to live in 2007 when he was diganosed when his wife was pregnant.  All he wanted to do was have his child remember him.  She will be 6 in July.

So will to live has a lot to do with it.

So pleased for you, Alison. What great news!