WAR EAGLE!

Auburn 28-Alabama 27

Auburn 12-0!! War Eagle!

Dread Update!

Dread had his 2 week follow up appointment this afternoon. At this appointment he got his staples from his incision taken out and had an ultrasound performed to determine if the cancer has spread to any other parts of his body. I'm elated to announce that we got excellent news today!!!! Dr. L said that there were no signs that the cancer has spread and the area in which the mass was removed looked clear as well!! Dread started his first round of a low dose chemotherapy today as a precautionary measure and he'll go back in four weeks for another round of chemo.

I want to take a moment and thank our family and friends from the bottom of my heart for all of your love and support during this ordeal. I cannot express how much we appreciate all of the phone calls, text messages, and emails!! Dread, Jep, and I feel very loved!! :)

SEC West Champs!

Last weekend Jep and I were able to sneak away for a quick trip to the "lovliest village on the plains" to watch our Tigers play. We had the best time tailgating with friends and watching Auburn defeat the Georgia Bulldogs! WAR EAGLE!!!

Tailgating!

Our view of Pat-Dye Field--9th row, endzone...best seats ever!

Cam Newton showing the fans some love!

We're going to Atlanta!!

Now...let's BEAT BAMA!!!!

Update!

We got news on Tuesday that the results from the biopsy were in...the results were not what we had been hoping and praying for...the doctor confirmed that the mass removed was in fact a hemangiosarcoma.

We had an appointment today to meet with Dr. Lothrop to talk about the results and begin discussions on where to go from here...the good news we got today was that Dread's heart and lungs sounded good!

We have another appt. scheduled for Tuesday afternoon for Dread to get his stiches out and we will find out the results from a "c-kit stain." Many mast cell tumors in dogs are known to express mutations in c-kit (protein on the surface of some cells--"altered" forms of this may be associated with some types of cancer) which promotes survival, growth, and malignancy in these tumors.

I believe if they find that the cells are "altered" than we can treat him with Palladia (a relatively new anti-cancer drug for dogs.) It won't cure it but will be a temporary fix...

We will also do an ultrasound on Tuesday to see if it has spread to any organs--if so, then we may go the chemo route...

We left with a lot to think about and not a whole lot of answers yet...

Keep the prayers coming for Dread!!!!

Homecoming for Dread

Jep and I were able to pick Dread up from the animal hospital this afternoon!!! It was such a relief and so great to be reunited and greeted with lots of tail wagging! It's amazing how much of a part of you your pet can become. Last night with him being gone, I felt like a part of me was missing! The house was so empty--no offense Jep! :) We both are beyond ecstatic to have Dread home!!!

So back to our visit with the Dr. Milton this afternoon. Before we got to see our little baby, Jep and I had some time to speak with the vet about how the procedure went. He was pleased that he was able to remove all of the mass and did not see any signs that anything has spread to his liver or spleen. (GREAT NEWS!!) However, he is still very perplexed as to what this mass could be. Worst case scenario is that it could be a hemangiosarcoma-a very aggressive, nasty type of cancer. We are praying that this is not the case! Or, he said it could be something extremely benign. So, we are playing the waiting game...half of what Dr. M recovered has been sent to Auburn to be further evaluated. The other half was available for Jep and I to see! You heard correct--Dr. M actually let us see what he retrieved from Dread's side. It was a bloody mess about the size of a fist and looked a lot like a sponge.

Below is a picture of poor, pitiful Dread with his incision--Dr. M said he had to go in pretty deep so Dread has about three different layers of sutures. I counted 28 staples on the incision. We have a strict recovery regime we need to follow: Dread is not to run so he needs to be kept on a leash at all times-even in the house; he is supposed to be confined to a 6x6 space again so he doesn't run around too much; he also needs to wear an e-collar, and take three different meds (anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, and pain meds) multiple times a day. We go back to Dr. M in 2 weeks for a follow up.

Please continue to keep our little guy in your prayers...we still aren't completely out of the woods. We'll hopefully get the results from Auburn by early next week. We'll keep you all posted!!

Out of Surgery

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts, prayers, and kind words of encouragement! Dread is out of surgery and we can bring our sweet boy home tomorrow! They were able to remove all of the mass and it will be sent to Auburn to hopefully find out exactly what we are dealing with.

And, with that update I will leave you all with a picture of our "little professor."

Day of Surgery

Dread on surgery day....I caught him with his tongue out! :)

Please continue to keep him in your prayers!!! We'll keep everyone updated on how surgery goes and if we get any additional information today.

Please Pray for Dread

Yesterday we received the results from a biopsy that Dread had done this past Friday and the news was not what we were hoping and praying for. The vet has informed us that the growth on Dread's side is in fact malignant. We've scheduled surgery for first thing tomorrow morning to remove the growth and will find out if it has spread to any of his other organs. We would really appreciate all the prayers we can get that surgery goes well and that the cancer has not spread.