HoN O WaR (with a backwards 'R')

So we started palliative radiation yesterday. There really was no option, the tumor is bigger and stopping her breathing through her nose, but other than that she’s still my little war pig. So it was do this and slow / stop it growing for a while or have a dog who can't breathe. If the tumor was anywhere else, it wouldn't be necessary, but this will physically prevent her from breathing before the cancer becomes systemic. She came home from the vet with her face shaved and a green sharpie grid across her head to help them line up the 'zapper' and was totally her normal spunky self. We went for a walk and ran into a neighbor who had just been to the corner store and was walking home eating an ice cream, then another neighbor with a mini-bag of lays potato chips left over from lunch. Needless to say, she got the minibag of chips AND 3/4 of a vanilla ice cream bar, which she ate off the stick. So that, coupled with the fact that C has been calling her 'warpig' since she started taking prednisone, resulted in the xmen name 'HoN O WaR'. I totally want to get it in rhinestones across the back of her collar.

Palliative is really different than definitive, which is what she had in February 2008. The definitive radiation is 30 doses (!!) and has the goal of killing the tumor completely. Side effects, other nastiness insue. Palliative is 5 doses, and the goal is to reduce the inflammation around the tumor, and maybe stop / shrink it a bit. it's not a 'cure' like definitive intends to be, but to preserve the quality of life when it's necessary. The chances of side effects is vastly smaller. The doc predicted 'lots of snot, you may want to cover your furniture' (I told him that I didn’t care last time, I don't think he believes me). So she'll have her last dose Monday, and for a week or so after apparently will be a snot rocket.

I just heard about Sophie, the dog who's blog was the best guide to what honey went through, and she's been diagnosed with an additional cancer in her pelvis. So awful. The extra time you get is never going to be enough.