MSU's Oncology Consultation Part 1

We made an appt with MSU's Veterinarian School the day we found out Max had cancer. We are so lucky to have this school so close to us (only 1 hour away) because the MSU Veterinarian program ranks #1 amongst the BIG 10 schools. It ranks #5 for the best Vet school in the nation and it ranks  #12 internationally. Talk about big guns!

We could see why immediately when we drove onto the campus and walked in to their facility. It is quite impressive. It's a 170,000 sq ft medical center that has it's own oncology center and it has 3 floors where they treat furry patients. They treat all kinds of large animals and small animals including farm animals, horses, and household furry loved ones.

Here is a link that gives you more information about the Veterinarian school: https://cvm.msu.edu/about/facilities

If you have a chance to take your pup to a University, they usually have fantastic programs that are advanced, forward thinking, and they usually have great research depts since it's a learning program so getting into a University made sense for us.

The wait was 4 weeks to get in though for a consultation. I put us on a cancellation list and they did call to say we could get in early BUT the day was the same day as his surgical biopsy so that was a no go.

We took him to MSU and met with Dr. Paulo, their oncologist, on 7/17. Dr. Paulo spent over an hour just talking with us about what TCC is, prostatic cancer, treatment options, and answering my 12,000 questions I had written down. He was so patient and so empathetic and we felt instantly comfortable and confident with him and the school.

Dr. Paulo wanted to run some additional tests on Max to see what treatment he would be a candidate for. There are different levels of treatment but he'd need to run tests to see which option would be best for him.

We were told by the specialists that gave us Max's original diagnosis and that performed his surgical biopsy, that Max's cancer was at stage 1. This would mean that his cancer had not spread anywhere and was in 1 localized spot.

When it comes to Max's particular cancer that is located on his prostate, in the past, doing radiation on a dog with prostate cancer was not really an option.

Radiation can kill or reduce the size of tumors in an area, but it does affect the healthy cells and tissues in that region as well.

With the prostate, it's a VERY sensitive area for dogs, because you can do more harm to the urethra (how they pee) or you can harm the colon (how they poop) very easily.

Radiation just wasn't an option UNLESS you can find a vet that has a stereotactic radiation machine because that type of treatment uses specialized technology to deliver precise and very high dosages of radiation to a tumor while protecting and sparing the surrounding good cells and tissues (meaning it can zippity zap just the tumor and nothing else around it).

The cost of this type of treatment for Max would be anywhere from $5,000-$8,000.

When cancer is caught early enough and it's localized and if they can use this stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT), the prognosis can be very very good (2-4 years).

Well.....

It just so happens that MSU just purchased a $3 million stereotactic radiation machine so they can now perform this type of therapy for their patients!

Say WHAT?!

Can this be for real?

(tears)

Colin and I just stared at each other bc we couldn't believe this!

(more tears)

Our hearts were pounding! My cheekies got flushed!

How insane is it that the very school we go to just so happens to have just acquired this exact machine that could extend the life of our dog by YEARS! And since we knew he was stage 1.... this was a dream come true!

Dr. Paulo took Maxie so he could run some tests on him to check to see if he was a candidate for SRT. They were doing a radiograph and ultrasound on him to locate the cancer and to make sure it was indeed stage 1.

Well of course it was! That is what we were told by our specialist just days ago.

We were thrilled. We were so freaking happy!

We had about 2 hours to kill so we walked around the facility to explore and hit up the cafeteria that they had specifically for pet parents (FREE).

(this is where I had my paper straw/pepsi experience - paper straws are a no from me. Ewe. ;)

We walked around the hospital and were blown away by the organization, the staff and students that were EVERYWHERE, and the overall facility itself. VERY impressive.

We knew God put us at the right place.

We headed back up to the oncology department and hung out in the waiting room waiting for them to come and get us. We made friends with a Mastiff named Rocky and a tri-pod Dachshund and talked with other pet parents about their experiences with the school.

The longer we sat there waiting, the more anxious I felt.

I went from feeling ecstatic about this new SRT and thinking that maybe..... just maybe we could have our boy for years to come...  to having a feeling of despair and worry.

Remember that rocking I told you about a few blog posts ago.

The rocking started again.

I rocked.

I tapped my foot.

I bounced me knee.

I took a sip of my pop, got grossed out from the paper straw, and I rocked.

My excited feeling became more of a panic feeling now.

I took another sip from the stupid paper straw. Gross.

I bounced my knee.

I tapped my foot.

I rocked.

I kept looking at the clock on the wall and saying to Colin "He should be out by now" and "What is taking so long".

At this point I couldn't talk to anyone any more.

My paper straw ruined my drink, or was it that my panic was ruining the paper straw? Could it be that the pit of despair I was now feeling could be because we were about to get some horrible news??

Oh crap.

I see them.

They are walking towards us.

This straw sucks.

My legs hurt from tapping.

And then we heard "Let's step into this room".......

Cost of treatment:
Consultation fee & Ultrasound & Radiograph: $1,030.00