It's Back....

Mom and I took Collin to his cancer vet yesterday only to have my suspicions confirmed: that lump I found on his side is indeed another Mast Cell Tumor (aka cancer).

I must admit that I'm taking it better this time than I did when he was first diagnosed in October/November 2009. Collin's vet, Dr. Davis, is an absolute gem and I have no doubt that Collin will be in good hands with her. I asked her about the staining technique she was using to test the slides and she offered to take me in the back and look at them under the microscope myself. Having just finished a Microbiology course I obliged. She showed me the Mast Cells, their nuclei, the surrounding erythrocytes, and the small Mast granules that the cells had released into the surrounding tissue. I found it ironic that Mast cells stain purple/lavender, my favorite color. I'm glad I got to the "face" of the enemy.

Anyway, Collin is pretty famous at that place (Veterinary Cancer Group) and the whole staff looks forward to his visits. He'll make even the most miserable person laugh out loud with his antics. He gets nervous and excited whenever we walk in-so much energy that sitting still is impossible. He whimpers and whines the entire time causing everyone to stare at him. Anyone that walks by gets attacked with wet slobbery kisses. He'll even jump up to the counter so he can kiss the pretty girls that work there on their faces.

Yesterday, once we got into the room, word had spread that Collin was here and people kept stopping by to see him. "So this is the famous Collin the staff keeps talking about," one visiting vet says, as Collin jumps up on her and starts licking her face. Yep, that's Collin alright. All in all, Collin managed to lick no fewer than a dozen people on the face yesterday, whether they wanted it or not. That's my boy.

We'll be meeting with his regular vet on Tuesday to prepare for surgery to remove the tumor. Dr. Davis seemed to doubt that he would need chemo again as this was a low-grade tumor. Thank GOD! Please keep my boy in your prayers and I promise I'll start updating more often now.

Love,
Kristina