At some point between initial diagnosis and the 4th surgery, I reached out to my CCI family. The responses I received were so helpful in understanding the real side of cancer. I think the time aspect was very eye opening. If we decided to meet with on oncologist, I was hoping to not be blindsided with information. I also found all the clinics that were within driving range. There are four: Illinois, Indiana and two in Michigan.
While I am the primary caretaker of the canines in the house, I am not the only two- legger. It was time to have ‘the talk’ about what the next step might be. We knew surgery number 4 was going to happen but what then. The cancer came back in 5 weeks. Do we put Arri through surgery after surgery? So we pursue radiation? I knew the route I was leaning towards but I had no idea what Tim thought. So I asked.
Now, I am not saying this to air dirty laundry. Family members may not agree on treatments. It is a reality to be acknowledged and worked through. Tim did not think we should put Arri through radiation. My blood pressure immediately went up. I did manage to calmly ask him what his reasoning was. He had two reasons. 1. The clinics were all 2.5 hours away. It would take too much time. 2. Labs only live to be 14 and Arri is nearly 13. At that point I walked away from the conversation. I was speechless. He was not considering OUR dog but basing his decision on a statistic. So the fact that he said NO was not what bothered me. It was his logic. It was then that I realized I had done the research, not him. He was completely uneducated on what might go on. Needless to say, I was going to do what was best for Arri and Tim would have to deal with it.
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