![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Sep. 12th, 2006 04:50 pm
Kitty Bob Update
I took the old lady in for an ultrasound today. She wasn't happy about having her belly shaved, but otherwise, she did really well. No fussing, except her usual indignance about being in the carrier.
The doc said the mass is very large and in her liver. They took some samples for analysis, and I should know more about that by Friday. Also Friday, she's going in for another liver test. The first one they did showed no problems with her liver, but this one is more functional, and it'll tell us if her liver's been compromised by the growth.
The good news is that they don't think it's malignant. It's big enough that it's been growing there for a while, and if it were aggressive, it would've gotten to her lungs and other organs by now. The biopsies should tell us more on that. The bad news is that there's really no way to get it out of there. It's really attached to her liver, and getting it out without liver damage would be impossible. Also, the trauma of the surgery itself, since they'd have to open her up so wide, would be very risky.
So at this point, the only question is how long. We'll find out whether it's compromised her liver function, and see whether the thing is growing more. And then we just leave it be until she shows signs of pain with it or her liver function is compromised. She really does seem fine. Her only behavior change is eating habits--she's always hungry, but doesn't eat much at a time. Not a surprise with that mass there getting in the way of her stomach expanding. So we just feed her small amounts more often to try to get her weight back up.
If the mass doesn't grow and doesn't interfere with her liver function, she could do quite well for some time to come. But we'll know for sure by Friday.
In the meantime, her highness spent the rest of the afternoon watching ( her favorite show )
The doc said the mass is very large and in her liver. They took some samples for analysis, and I should know more about that by Friday. Also Friday, she's going in for another liver test. The first one they did showed no problems with her liver, but this one is more functional, and it'll tell us if her liver's been compromised by the growth.
The good news is that they don't think it's malignant. It's big enough that it's been growing there for a while, and if it were aggressive, it would've gotten to her lungs and other organs by now. The biopsies should tell us more on that. The bad news is that there's really no way to get it out of there. It's really attached to her liver, and getting it out without liver damage would be impossible. Also, the trauma of the surgery itself, since they'd have to open her up so wide, would be very risky.
So at this point, the only question is how long. We'll find out whether it's compromised her liver function, and see whether the thing is growing more. And then we just leave it be until she shows signs of pain with it or her liver function is compromised. She really does seem fine. Her only behavior change is eating habits--she's always hungry, but doesn't eat much at a time. Not a surprise with that mass there getting in the way of her stomach expanding. So we just feed her small amounts more often to try to get her weight back up.
If the mass doesn't grow and doesn't interfere with her liver function, she could do quite well for some time to come. But we'll know for sure by Friday.
In the meantime, her highness spent the rest of the afternoon watching ( her favorite show )
