Well thanks to everyone for their encouragement. We had the surgery done at OSU Vet Hospital. The neurosurgeon was so compassionate and helpful. She took time to answer all our questions so we could make a good decision. Raven made it through the surgery! She's doing really well. They only got 95% though, but the biopsy came back and on the mitotic scale it was a zero! So the neurosurgeon said that instead of her likely having symptoms that would be fatal within a few months she could likely live a year or two before it reoccurs! I'm not doing radiation or chemo for the rest because there does not seem to be good evidence it helps these kinds of tumors. But I have her on a homemade food diet (organic meat and greens) with supplements (omega 3s, maitake, immune boosters). I think we made the right decision. She recovered amazingly from the surgery and is back to her old self, playing and hiking.
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Originally Posted by Ravensmom
Ravens' MLO is on the back of her skull. Her neuro exam did not show any signs of cerebellar compression yet, but I'm worried it is fast growing. They can't tell how fast unless they surgical biopsy a part. Surgery is an option but the tumor is dangerously close to the dorsal longitudinal sinus so could be fatal from bleeding if the hit it. We can't decide whether to do surgery or not. She's happy and loves her walks and everything now, but if we wait it could be harder to remove because it will probably be closer to the blood vessel. They could surgically debulk it but won't it just grow back soon?bthey say they grow back, but they can't say how soon because they don't know how fast it's growing. I wouldn't have expected her to live too many more years but if I can keep her happy for a year or two it would be worth whatever would do that. And should I put her through the trauma of surgery? Her lab results show she is healthy enough for surgery but isn't it maybe too traumatic? Radiation is not proven with Mlos and would require like 20 sessions under anesthetic over 4 weeks. Mlos are not supposed to be responsive to chemo either. Can anyone help me make a decision or does anyone have any insight or ideas?
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