Cancer Chronicles Continued

It's hard to believe that it is almost four months since Bow was diagnosed with a brain tumor and we have since gone through radiation therapy, a steroid regimen and daily eye drops. Considering that most of the articles I read said that life expectancy after such a diagnosis is two months, I am grateful that she is even still alive. The fact that she is feeling fine, has her regular energy and appetite has been incredibly encouraging through the whole ordeal.

The only visible indication of the tumor has been muscle wasting above her right eye and her right cheek. By late April, these were quite severe and the vets prepared me that this might be permanent. The muscle mass has restored about 60 to 75 percent over the past month. This is a very encouraging sign that the tumor is likely in remission. We have a follow up MRI in August that will tell us for sure.

We all know that our time with our fur kids is limited, but the thought of losing an otherwise perfectly healthy in her prime was really devastating. The team at UC Davis has been incredible, and we feel so lucky to have such an incredible resource reasonably close. We keep our fingers and paws crossed for good news next month and thank all in the BRAT community for such great support. We hope also that Bow's story brings hope to others when they receive a frightening diagnosis and know that there are resources out there to get through health challenges.