Schmoopy's Health Update: May 9, 2017 - Tuesday

• Schmoopy has been recovering from surgery quite well.
• His appetite has gone back to normal for the most part (he's eating with gusto.  So thankful!)  The week before surgery was rough.  I could barely get him to eat anything.  If I was able to get 100 calories a day into him, that was a lot.
• He has been loving the fresh turkey that Peter cooked for him as well as the sliced turkey from Italian Gourmet in Vienna, VA.

• I did speak with the surgeon today.  The pathology report came back from what she removed.  I don't have any new information per se...just confirmation.  Unfortunately, based on all the research I have done, his representation is pretty much text book.  I say unfortunately because the fact of the matter is that it's an aggressive cancer.  Typically by the time it's diagnosed, the dog is hypercalcemic (which he was) and typically it has spread to the iliac medial lymph node (which it did)
• The rectal tumor removed had clean margins (good news)
• The lymph node confirmed that the cancer is metastatic (bad news) and that it extended to the capsule (not sure what that means exactly but I'll find out more tomorrow)
• The mitotic rate is 30 (not sure what the scale is but whatever it, this is confirmation that it's an aggressive cancer.  Meaning it replicates/divides rapidly.  Spreads fast. (obviously bad news))
• Oncologist appointment tomorrow for second phase of treatment journey.