Bette To Have Radiation for Nerve Sheath Tumor

UPDATE: Bette will have radiation beginning late April. She had a CT scan today and we get a report next week. She will have 20 days of treatments because those only have a 10% chance of damaging the colon which would end her life vs. 5 days of treatment which has a 30% chance of damaging the colon. I will take her to MSU in the a.m for a few hours and then return with her and then shampoo/rinse/repeat each day.

She will get sick at the end of the treatment for 8 or so weeks. Her condition will worsen for a short while and then she'll recover; or she could be paralyzed. Or it could all go perfectly well. It's one day at a time.

We have been here before with sick cats that have chronic or serious conditions. At first-especially at first-it feels overwhelming, upsetting, unstable, as if life must come to a halt so that you can make adjustments to schedules, project lists, the care of other family/pets, etc. in order to concentrate on the sick cat. Eventually I get organized for their care, I get into a schedule and know where to take care of other people and pets and things. I set aside what I can-maybe I won't paint that many rooms in the next few weeks or schedule workman in the house during that time or during her post recovery time. Those can wait. But the other cats need tending, appointments, updates. I can only pray they do not get sick and that between the two of us we can tend to their appointments. 

How long will we pursue this line of treatment? For as long as she needs, for as long as we can. Yes, so much depends on keeping jobs, saving money, having the ability to tap into savings AND put it on credit cards and use CareCredit and THEN pay it off down the line.  But the tumor won't metastasize into cancer (rare chance) but it can cause worsening of the lameness and inability to pass urine and bowel movements. But plenty of cats are paralyzed and wear diapers and little wheels to get around. It's too soon to think of ending her life just because she's sick. This blog, this Cat Facebook pa
ge has never supported the idea that just because a cat is sick it must be put down. We are responsible for them-for FIGHTING FOR them. We must try-try to save our vulnerable cats; try to save our HCM cats with medications and cardiologists and supplements-so why not try to save Bette? (She does not have HCM.)

But I must think of the diameters of determining when it will be time to end her struggle, to call an end to the fight, and how and whom and where to end her life. What is the best case scenario? Which ER-the vet school, our regular ER? Her vet? Her vet visiting her at home? What happens if she crashes because of a complication? Where/who then?

But first, I need to rearrange my schedule for the end of April and into May to take care of her. 

Then I need to prepare for Easter. 

Please pray for Bette's safe and effective treatment outcome. 

Bette Davis