Where I’ve been: sad.
Elvis has stomach cancer.
It will be terminal.
I have been wanting to write this post since her diagnosis, but it took me a while to crawl out of the sadness cave.
Figuring out what was wrong with her took a while. Lots of vet visits. Lots of blood work. X-rays. Ultrasounds. Allergy trials. Vet specialty hospitals. Endoscopy.
The official report:
Elvis is an eleven/twelveish-year-old female cat, with large-cell, gastric lymphoma.
Her treatment is chemotherapy, with daily doses of steroids.
The hope is that the chemo will induce a period of remission… although there is no hope of curing the kind of lymphoma that she has. At some point the cancer will become resistant to the chemotherapy, and she will come out of remission.
I think that chemo seems questionable to anyone who has ever watched a human loved one endure it… but it turns out that the goal of veterinary chemotherapy is different than human chemotherapy.
In people, the goal is to completely and aggressively eradicate all of the cancer. But in animals the goal is different– the concern of preserving their quality of life is equivalent to treating the cancer.
Elvis is seeing a veterinary oncologist and she explained that people are generally surprised at how well their animals do on chemotherapy… and for the most part, I would agree.
Right now Elvis has more good days than bad days, but the bad days are a bleak reminder that the good days are just a pitstop.
Her good days make me thankful— that she is here now, and hopefully for longer… I am thankful she is responding to the treatment and tolerating it acceptably, and thankful for the doctor and the oncology nurses who are so wonderful.
This is not at all the post I wanted to write.
I’ve written 57 versions of it to try to tell you how much I love Elvis. How she is my favorite thing in the entire world. How she has the sweetest heart of anyone I know. How my satisfaction rate with her is 100%. How it is not very often you get the very best thing in the universe.
And none of the versions are right. Because they do not reach through your screen and put Elvis on your lap, so you can feel her fur; which is superior.
Or see how she drools when you pet her. Or how she likes to sleep inside your clothing— while you are wearing it.
Or the way she likes to tell you how her day was. And how she will come and stand on her hind legs so that you will pick her up.
How she believes there is never NOT room on your lap.
And how she will come up and paw the covers at your neck so you will let her under… then she purrs as loud as possible while madly kneading your arm and drooling.
Elvis is my family in every sense of the word.
August 18, 2015 @ 10:42 am
I’m so very sorry! In fact, as I type this, my cat Maude, who also drools, is getting a tumor removed from her jugular. I will add Elvis to my prayers. Please give her a snuggle for me.
August 18, 2015 @ 10:42 am
Hello. I am sad that others experience their loved furry member of the family has cancer. 🙁 Soft hugs go out to all!! I have lost three loved service Dobermanns in the recent past to different types of cancer. Treasure to good days and happy memories to help all of you get through the not so good days!!
August 18, 2015 @ 10:43 am
I’m so sorry. Please know that what you’re living through is a universal experience. We far-flung strangers all share a bit of your sadness by reliving a few moments of our own. To feel loss is to have known real love. Or something like that 😉
August 18, 2015 @ 10:46 am
I cannot tell you how sorry I am to hear about Elvis. I have loved and lost too many pets (although pet seems such a weak word; but I refuse to use fur children as it makes me a little nauseous), cats, dogs, and horses, over the years, and each time it takes a piece of me away. I agree that the animals I have seen who have been on chemo have done remarkably well, and I wish Elvis the very best of luck with hers. I have no words of comfort that I can easily impart, simply because there are none, except this: You love her and are doing the very best you possibly can for her, and she knows it. Love and hugs.
August 18, 2015 @ 10:47 am
Oh Elizabeth!!!! I am so very sorry about Elvis. Our love for our pets is no different than our love for the humans in our lives, and those of us who have loved a pet, completely understand what you are going through right now.
Thank you for sharing such a personal story. Love and peace to you, your husband, and the totally awesome Elvis.
August 18, 2015 @ 10:48 am
I am so sorry to hear about Elvis. Our cat, Spica (Spike for short), passed away this past March from kidney cancer. He was my light; all that was good, safe and kind in my world. Elvis has the best cat mom around…soulmates. And that lasts forever.
PS – Love that HER name is Elvis. I have a girl named Spock. Spock Elizabeth to be exact.
Peace be with you.
August 18, 2015 @ 10:51 am
Adding my well-wishes and love of cats to all the rest. I think our pets teach us to love wholeheartedly and how to keep on loving even though it is almost certain we will have to grieve them. One day I added up all the cats I have loved and lost over my 58 years, it is a big number! And I remember each sweet kitty’s special weird quirks. And I miss the hell out of them, but my goodness we had a lot of fun together. Can’t imagine life without a cat in the house even when I grouse about all the fur. Thank you for sharing Elvis with the interwebs, she is adored by afar by many. And Victoria, we are beside you in this too .
August 18, 2015 @ 10:52 am
I cried. Sweet Elvis. ❤️
August 18, 2015 @ 10:52 am
I am so very sorry. My heart breaks for you. Know that you and Elvis are in our thoughts and our prayers.
August 18, 2015 @ 10:52 am
Elvis surely is a special kitty. We had a tuxedo girl named Ling and she had that special soft fur as soft as velvet. She had a distinctive personality, too. We’ve lost two of our kitties too soon, and I know the heartache. They are family to me as well. We want to do everything possible to keep them with us, but not to prolong any suffering. She obviously knows how loved she is, and that is the best thing you can do. I believe you will be with her and your other loved ones one day again. May the Lord surround you and your family with peace.
August 18, 2015 @ 10:52 am
Victoria I am just so sad about the news of Elvis…….I have always had cats, and a few special ones were pets i will never forget, i loved them so much. My heart breaks that you have to endure this journey, i know she is that one in a million companion that you have bonded so closely with. My thoughts and prayers will be with you and Elvis, and I hope she responds well to the treatment and continues to enrich your life for a long, long time to come.
August 18, 2015 @ 10:54 am
I am so sorry. They are family, for sure. The are animals on in the biological sense. They are little furry people who love unconditionally and never fail to show it. They take care of us in ways we neglect to take care of ourselves and retain a purity we lose as we move through life.
Your sadness is well understood; tomorrow will be one year since I lost my little furry soul mate, Frankie, also from cancer. It was so hard to watch his decline, but I’m grateful for the time I had to show him how much I loved him and how important his presence was in my life. I hope you are given this time, too. My love to you both and a wish for the easiest possible transition for all.
August 18, 2015 @ 10:57 am
Oh, I am in tears right now…I am so very sorry for your pain. I had a kitty like Elvis – her name was Friday. She was a tiny tabby (runt of the litter) that we bottle fed; as a result, she was imprinted and was our fur baby. When she was diagnosed with kidney failure, I thought I would die with her. That was 8 years ago, and I still miss her every day…but my sorrow is replaced with bittersweet smiles as I recall that little cat that loved to greet everyone at our garage sales and chase 80 pound dogs from “her” yard – she was all of 6 pounds. She would sleep on my pillow encircling my head and purr me to sleep every night. Your Elvis is a very special kitty that can never be replaced, but aren’t we so lucky to have had such magical creatures in our lives? Thank you for giving her such a wonderful life. Much love to you and Elvis.
August 18, 2015 @ 10:57 am
HUGS!!! Every pet is a tragedy someone once told me. Tragedy that we can’t possibly live without. I had an Elvis. His name was Treasure and I will miss him until the end of my days. I’ve loved all my pets, but Treasure was special.
August 18, 2015 @ 10:58 am
I’m sorry for this sadness in your lives right now. I understand completely. I lost my little orange tabby-buddy 2 years ago from kidney disease. We’d found him wandering the neighborhood as a 6 month old kitten, and had him 17 years, and although we’d had other cats, he was the special one. After he passed I did cry buckets, but I was also at peace because I knew how lucky he and I were to have had each other, and that I’d given him a long and wonderful life. Many hugs to you.
August 18, 2015 @ 11:01 am
Victoria:
It saddens me to learn that Elvis is ill. I will pray that she continues to have more good days than bad. Thank you for sharing your love of Elvis with us. She has brought us all some measure of joy.
August 18, 2015 @ 11:02 am
I am so sorry. I can”t stop crying.
August 18, 2015 @ 11:06 am
I am so, so sorry. I lost my Cookie to a fibrosarcoma last year, and I still cry often. He’d meow at my door every night to be let in, then excitedly run and jump onto the bed, wait for me to settle back in, do laps so I could rub his ears and his tail, then snuggle up right next to me and sleep all night long. For him, chemo wasn’t an option, and I had to put him to sleep not long after his diagnosis, when the knot on his side made breathing painful for him. The vet came here, and put him to sleep in front of the fireplace he loved.
Although you’re lucky to have Elvis, she’s lucky to have you, too. She couldn’t have picked a better Human who’d love her any more than you do. My thoughts are with you & your family, and with little Elvis.
August 18, 2015 @ 11:07 am
I lost my mother to lymphoma. My heart aches for you. I hate cancer. 🙁 <3
August 18, 2015 @ 11:09 am
Awww…that little spot on her face looks like a little heart! I’m sorry your fuzzy angel is sick.