Crap.

There's a whole long backstory with this, but the bottom line is that Moe went into the veterinarian's office this morning for an ultrasound, and it is more likely than unlikely that he has a transitional cell tumor in his bladder. We are being referred to an oncologist, and it looks like he'll have to have surgery to find out for certain that's what it is (because there is a slight possibility that it's just a polyp.) He also has a nodule in his spleen, which was relatively unconcerning to the doctor who did the ultrasound, but which will be biopsied during his bladder surgery. He is currently having a lung x-ray done to see if it has metastasized.

Being me, I did a quick bit of research and found that even after surgery in which there had been no spread of the disease, survival rates were less than a year. Our veterinarian did say that there is an actual cure rate for this, since his tumor is in an operable area of the bladder, which is unusual, with the addition of chemotherapy. She also told me that she herself had a dog with transitional cell carcinoma who had a great quality of life for a year on medication alone. I guess the thing that's bothering me most is that there is an actual possible end in sight for him, and I don't like being able to see it.

And seriously, can we even afford this? We have Zoe's tuition to pay and all the other things that cost money, but I just can't seem to make myself pragmatic enough to opt for euthanasia until I know in my heart that it's the best thing to do for him.

I'm getting ahead of myself, though. Hopefully we'll be able to get him an appointment with the oncologist early next week, and Dr. Parker just called--his lungs are clear! So that's one hurdle we've gotten over. We see the oncologist on Tuesday.

Okay. Gotta go pick the old boy up. Say prayers for him if you're the praying sort, and if not, a good thought will do. Thanks.