Good prognosis!

Luke and I had our appointment at 10:30 this morning at the Animal Cancer and Imaging Center in Canton. It was a consult appointment after he had the mass removed from his tongue a couple weeks ago. I've definitely been nervous about it because I don't want to hear bad news, but I was also excited because it would mean answers - something I haven't really had a lot of since the whole thing started.

First thing's first - I really liked the place. It was in a great location tucked away from everything. Then they had a kitty room (since dogs and cats both attend this place), which was great. Though he could have walked around the kitty run, Luke, of course, opted to hide in his carrier behind the cat bed.

It didn't take too long for us to get into an exam room. The girl who weighed him and spoke with me initially was very, very sweet and commented on how handsome Luke is (I never know whether to say thank you since I obviously have nothing to do with his looks).

The oncologist came in shortly thereafter and proceeded to give me great news.

Essentially, the tumor Luke had on his tongue is one in a million. Most oral cancers in cats are aggressive and spread to other areas at a rapid pace. This type of cancer (a fibrosarcoma) doesn't typically spread, though it can be difficult to remove it in its entirety.

The tumor was sent to Colorado State for evaluation, so they know that it wasn't fully removed because there weren't "clean edges" around it. This means there are still cancerous cells within his tongue.

They took Luke back and sedated him so they could fully check his mouth and throat and make sure there were no other legions. They also did a chest x-ray to confirm nothing had spread to his lungs, heart or surrounding edges.

It was all clear!

Since all we are dealing with is the cancerous cells on the tongue, the surgeon checked Luke's tongue and said he was a candidate for additional surgery. The surgeon will remove a larger portion of the tongue to more than likely remove all of the cancerous tissue. Once that portion is removed, it will be sent to Michigan State for analysis and - if it has clean edges - Luke will be considered cured!

The surgeon came to see me before I left and had such a liaise fare attitude about it because it was such a low grade tumor that I felt immediately reassured about things. He is confident he will be able to remove all of the cancerous cells.

Thank you to everyone for all of the thoughts and prayers regarding our kitty! We are relieved he will more than likely be just fine.

In other news ...

• Abby is currently obsessed with sippy cups. We currently have four on our counter because she needs to keep trying new ones.
• She is also obsessed with her "thats" (pacifiers). She needs to be holding two with one in her mouth.
• Her big-girl bed arrived today. There are positives and negatives surrounding this. Positive, she loves our bed and says "night night!" when she's on our bed. Negative, she will be able to get out of her bed. Yikes.