Update on Willow (mostly good!) [View all]
Earlier this month, I posted about Willow being diagnosed with mammary cancer, promising future updates. Things did not go as quickly as expected, so there wasn't much to report for a while, but I am finally back to fill you in on what's been happening.
After the diagnosis, the game plan was to do some preop testing before scheduling surgery. First item on the agenda was an abdominal ultrasound to check for any signs of metastasis. Our vet clinic's ultrasound tech had just left for vacation, so there was a bit of a delay while they made arrangements for us to get it done at another practice. We took her to have it done on a Friday, and I think it was Tuesday for our vet got the report. Fortunately, it was good news; everything looked fine.
Next up was a visit to our vet for a chest xray and blood work. The results from that were good, too, so we were good to go as soon as the vet had an opening to do the surgery. We didn't hear anything for the rest of last week, and then our vet called on Monday (yesterday) to tell us, "I can get her in tomorrow if that works for you." We said, "Sure," and Willow had the surgery today!
Everything went fine. Two masses were removed and she also got a teeth cleaning while she was under the anesthesia, and we brought her home this afternoon. Tonight she's pretty much her usual self, amazingly enough.
The masses that were removed were sent to the pathologist, and we won't have a prognosis until the lab results come back (probably another week or so), but so far, so good. I'm just glad the surgery is over and we have our little girl back home safe and sound. 
As an added bonus, Willow got rave reviews from the vet clinic staff for being a great patient. One tech said Willow was the sweetest tortie she'd ever taken care of! Tortoiseshell cats have a reputation for being a bit of a handful, but not Willow! That was very nice to hear, even though we can't really take any of the credit for it. 
That's it for now. Thank you all for the support, good vibes, etc. It really means a lot.
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