Maxwell Update--Not Good

Max has a huge shaved area from his ultrasound, and I kept the hair. I plan to find a nice antique jar to put it in.

Ennis tried to hiss at him when they met up, and Ennis got a slap on his butt.

The Radiology Report

Findings: 10.1cm, invasive, pancreatic-origin tumor which encircles portal vein prior to entering liver. Ascites which is hemoabdomen. Splenomegaly with hypoechoic parenchymal stippling.

Diff Diagnosis: Pancreatic carcinoma in non-resectible form. Mass rupture. Hemoabdomen.

Sure contains a lot of words that were meaningless to me. But I have since learned "hemoabdomen" means blood in the abdomen and "non-resectible" means it cannot be surgically removed. "Mass rupture" with the other words of course means the tumor has opened and is bleeding into his belly. "Splenomegaly" means his spleen is involved. 10.1 cm is about 3.75"

What the Radiologist Told us Verbally

It’s a pancreatic origin tumor that cannot be removed because it has wrapped itself around the portal vein (the vein from the liver). The tumor has ruptured and Max is bleeding internally. The radiologist is 95% sure that it is cancer.

Besides the ultrasound, he did an ultrasound guided abdominocentesis to draw some of the blood from his belly. He gave it to me in a tube to take to Max’s vet in case he wanted it analyzed for tumor cells and pathologized.

The radiologist suggested I talk with the general vet about options and outcomes. Surgery and/or chemo may be able to “de-bulk” the tumor and make Max more comfortable. The radiologist doesn’t think Max is in pain right now, just feeling shitty like he has the flu. I left the blood sample and US pictures off with the general vet (who won’t be in until Monday), and the radiologist will have the report faxed over.

I will not be taking Max for surgery on Monday because the vet already has said that if it were a tumor he could not completely remove, he would let Max pass on the table. No need to open him up; we know what’s there. And not yet time to PTS.

With the help of a vet tech friend on the FDMB, plans have been made today (to see a "fill-in vet) to do a little more blood work and to get a blood pressure reading to see how much Max is bleeding internally. I also know the signs to look for clinically: whitened gums, whitened paw pads, ascites (swelling of the belly).

I called back to the radiologist to see why he didn't do this blood test and blood pressure reading. He said that on clinical exam, US, and the visual on the blood that was drawn from Max's belly, it was not an active bleed. He echoed the cautions the vet tech had given me about clinical symptoms, agreed today's tests were appropriate, and also said to try and keep Max from too much physical activity. I was very distressed when Max fell off the bed last night, looking up at me with a "What the F?" look. I carefully lifted him back to bed.

I really screwed up last night and didn't test or shoot Ennis for his diabetes or take my own meds. Because of finding out about Max's cancer, I just curled up in the bed about 6:30 and tried to forget the world.

About 4am I was woken by Max on my right side and Ennis on my left side, both pawing my face. I swear it was synchronized. I had gone to bed without feeding them. I opened a can (I sometimes keep cat food in my bedroom), and plopped it down onto a single plate. They shared and ate most of it. I had to smile.

As I'm sitting on the can, Max comes in, sits down, and starts washing his face. Ennis PLOPS down on the bedroom floor. OMG! Hypo? Nope, one of Althea's Nip sticks. Then Lily (my dry food kitty) comes over to the food plate and tries to bury it.

All was well with the world, but then I started getting nauseous with fear over losing all this "normalcy' and woke Jim up to hold me while I cried. He didn't really want to do that; he wanted me to get myself a glass of warm milk and take my evening pills. That I did, as well as tested and shot Ennis and gave the cats a proper breakfast ~ 5am.

I also have made an appointment for a phone consult with his regular vet (back in on Monday) to see where we go next. Even if we could get rid of this tumor, Max would continue to be a diabetic, CRF cat. But we can't get rid of the tumor.

I also have an appt. with an Alternative Vet (the one who put Bailey down) for Max to have a Reiki massage and acupuncture on Tuesday, to make him more comfortable.

I also have gotten the phone number of a mobile vet who will come to the house for euthanazia, when that time comes.