Last week Hank had a tumor removed from his right hind foot. We have been waiting patiently to hear from his vet to learn if it was cancerous or not. Hoping against hope he would get a clean bill of health and go on to live a long happy life.
Well, we got the call. Hank has been diagnosed with hemangioma carcinoma. It is a very rapidly growing and rapidly spreading form of cancer of the blood vessels.
It is estimated that our Hank has six months to one year to live.
With as advanced as he already is, it is unlikely that treatment will buy him much more time. Treatment would also make him much sicker and we feel it would diminish his quality of life. Our veterinarian said he would do whatever we wanted him to do, but he and the pathologist did not think chemo or radiation would do him any good, nor would it cure him.
Hank also decided he wasn't going to wear his bandage on his foot anymore. We change it every night and so far he has left it alone. This morning, however, he decided enough was enough and chewed his wrap and gauze off. The incision was still closed by sutures and was not bleeding so we thought we would let it air out a while and give him a chance to be free of the bandage.
Unfortunately Hank took that as an opportunity to begin to lick and nibble his wound open. Within 4 hours of taking the bandage off, the incision became a gap I could fit my thumb into. Back to the vet we went.
This time he stayed all afternoon while they resutured his incision closed. Now we have to keep it wrapped for another week, go back to have it checked on, keep it wrapped another week, and then go back to have these sutures removed. Thankfully the vet did not charge us for today's visit.
You can't see the incision in this photo, that would be kinda gross. Instead what you see is his incredibly swollen, red foot.
It has been raining and misting here lately. Hank's bandage and sutures cannot get wet. In order for him to go outside to go potty we have to put his foot in a plastic bag and tape it at the top. His reaction to this is usually pretty funny. He hops around three-legged as though the bag prevents him from using the foot.
So that's our Hankie Doodle's prognosis. It's a grim one, but we will do our best to make this last year of his life the best. After his sutures heal, we will take him on rides more, take him on walks, give him special treats, and love him all we can.
