Cancer

We found out today that the inflamed lymph node removed from Gizmo last week was inflamed because it is cancerous.


Moe's been cuddling with me since I got home and Alan told me the vet's news, but it's not because he doesn't feel well. He's acted completely normal since we first found the lump two weeks ago. Tonight he can just tell his momma is sad.
When Alan proposed to me almost three years ago, he handed me a tiny pug with a blue tag on his collar that read "Gizmo."
"Gizmo, this is your momma," Alan said.
Moe has been my shadow ever since.
So, now we need to figure out how to get Gizmo well, even though he doesn't know he is sick.
He has a mast cell cancer, which is one of the most common cancers in dogs. There's some easy to understand information about it here.
Although it's a well-documented condition, it's also a very tricky cancer because it acts like other conditions. In Moe's case, we think his allergies are a manifestation of the cancer.
But Moe's condition isn't even following any of the patterns "usual" for mast cell cancer. The vet found it in a lymph node, but the pathology report says that the cancer spread there. That means it began somewhere else. And we don't yet know where.
So, we don't really even know the extent of it yet. It is serious, but how serious?
Our vet is sending us to a canine oncologist in Houston. We'll probably get an appointment next week. There, Gizmo will have an ultrasound that will hopefully locate the origin of the tumor. Then we'll know what to do next.