Surprised myself
I was also a little surprised that his regular vet did not want to see him after coming back to the office. I guess there really wouldn't be much to see without scoping his nose.
I did speak to her yesterday & she felt confident that it is some sort of growth. She thought waiting to have a scan until/unless he has another bleed would be the most conservative approach.
I asked what would be the benefit of doing that if she is so confident of a tumor? Wouldn't early detection &/or treatment offer a better result than if we waited? She left it up to me to decide.
I'm beginning to feel like she is writing him off. Older dog, check. Bloody nose, check. Must be cancer.
Part of me is still hoping (praying) it is an infection.
Worst part? If we decide to just give supportive care for the nosebleeds & "suspected" cancer, he can't continue to take Rimadyl. That drug is the only one that has kept the pain in his knees tolerable. I guarantee that he would stop walking tomorrow if I took him off that.
So I went ahead & made the consult appointment with a specialist down near Boston. We go 11/27. I am hoping this visit will give us the information we need to make the best decisions for him.
The good news is that my regular vet felt he is healthy enough to handle the anesthesia if we wanted to do the scan. The real question is if we went ahead with it, what we will decide to do if they find something. I have no idea what treatments are available or the prognosis either way. I won't put him through a treatment if there isn't a good chance for success.
More good news is that after the specialist spoke with my vet, the estimate for a CT and biopsy is about half what I was quoted over the phone. So it would only be 1/2 a month's salary. LOL
Still no new nose bleeds as of today.
Hugs to Trevor!
