Angry at Traditional Vet

A day has passed since I took Weasel for his ultrasound and x-ray and now that the news and the events that unfolded have settled into my psyche, I'm angry.

The vet that I saw, was the same one that told me that Weasel had 3 months to live over a year ago.  He pressured me into a $5000 surgery and lay quite a bit of guilt on me for not taking that course of action.  Yesterday, he back peddled, stating that it wasn't necessarily pancreatic cancer and could be another malignant form of cancer that 'behaves' differently, which explains why we had another year with Weasel..ummmm no.  It is behaving identically to pancreatic cancer which is why the liver was impacted.  The other traditional vet I saw and Dr. Haghighat confirmed that it's pancreatic cancer without a doubt.

On top of that, he had the audacity to mention that due to the fact that I didn't have the surgery previously, it has spread which will cost more, as they have to remove both tumours.  I didn't go there to pursue surgery and he knew that so mentioning it was pretty sad on his behalf.

What I saw, was a man with a god complex - pure and simple.  He couldn't admit that we succeeded in achieving longevity of life through alternative methods, and in fact, it's highly likely, we would have lost Weasel had we done the surgery due to the stress it places on the body.  The other traditional vet I saw a year ago stated that almost 100% of cats that undergo that surgery die 3 months later due to the severity of it.

This same vet told me at best I only have 1 year left with Weasel.  Why on earth would I believe someone who completely screwed up in his last prognosis and why would he have the confidence to state that after seeing his previous error?  Why can't these vets stop focusing on such negative outcomes that cannot be proven and instead support their customers, tell them, "you're doing a great job! Keep it up!" or simply remind them that yes, it's a terminal illness but there are cases out there that prove that quality of life is still achievable and even longevity.  Positive thinking is our greatest ally when facing these situations.  Bringing stress home is not only hard on the owner, but the pet senses it as well.  What I witnessed was a process that drives revenue through scare tactics.

Yes, Weasel has another tumour; however, there's the fantastic fact that we shrunk a pancreatic tumour by 1 cm.  That is amazing and it's those small victories that mean the world to me and perhaps to others as well.

I will continue to treat Weasel as best I can to address the new tumour and even if I only have one more year with him, that's a heck of a lot longer than what the traditional vets informed me.

By no means am I against traditional vets.  I know that they believe in what they do and want the best for animals; however, they really need to educate themselves on alternative treatments to compliment what they practice, offering their clients the best outcomes possible.

Ultrasound and X-Ray Day

Today was the day that I took Weasel to the Emergency Vet Clinic to have an ultrasound as well as X-Ray done.  His demeanour and health this past year (although there have been many 'down spells'), has more or less been great.  After being informed that Weasel had only 3 months to live, and defying those odds, I really thought that I would have a glory moment today - showing the vets that miracles can happen.

Well, I have to say that my emotions have been thrown back to how I felt a year ago - again.  Dr. Haghighat was very kind and warned me that what I will hear will scare me, as vets can make news seem terrifying.  He told me to focus on the positive progress we've made and not to let today consume me.  It's hard not to though.

The good news is that the pancreatic tumour has shrunk by 1 cm.  The bad news is that a tumour has formed on his liver that is 6 cm.  Based on the growth of this tumour, the vet predicted that Weasel has a year at best.  The two tumours are not even connected.  They float over each other as separate entities so it's not an extension of the original one.  Once again, surgery would be far too hard on the cat and would require a gruelling and long recovery time with drugs for the rest of his life.  I personally think that inflicting that kind of torment on an animal will kill them faster.  My goal is to give him as much quality of life as I possibly can and lots of love.

I thought I had mentally prepared myself for whatever comes next..thankful for the year I had but I can see that when the day comes, it could be a horrific ordeal as the vet warned me that the tumour can burst, causing internal bleeding, so Weasel would go down quickly and painfully as well.  Seeing someone you love die in such a horrible manner is more than I can comprehend.

On a plus note, the regimes I have been following - which have been focused on the pancreas, seem to be effective; however, we haven't isolated the cancer growth so inevitably, more tumours will emerge.  The challenge is administering more and more stuff that targets each area.  Milk Thistle for instance is great for liver cancer but Weasel refuses to touch it, and disguising pills in a pill pocket is a dead end street.  So even though there are protocols out there that would help, I'm doubtful I can give it to my kitty who is so difficult.