19 Ryde Road, Pymble, NSW 2073
Murphy’s chemo
By Helen Burns | Dated June 24, 2021 | 0 Comments
Right at the end of April the […]
Deede’s cancer scare
By Helen Burns | Dated February 29, 2016
Deede Recovering from her life saving surgery.
Delightful Deede visited Gordon Vet a few weeks ago for her annual check up and for us to check a lump on her wrist that had doubled in size. It wasn’t worrying her, and nor was it red or sore. In fact, it just looked like she had a swelling there. Lumps that grow quickly or that are in this location can worry us, so Deede was booked in to have the lump removed under a general anaesthetic the following day. No long hospital wait lists for Deede!
More true to her kelpie nature than her 10 years of age, Deedee bounded into the hospital for her surgery, and had the lump removed then sent to the lab for testing. The wrist is a tricky spot to operate on, because there is so much movement there, and no spare or stretchy skin. Trying to close Deede’s skin wound was a bit like doing a jigsaw puzzle, but we got there is the end, and she went home that evening.
Three days later her lab results were in and unfortunately our concern that this was a cancer was confirmed. The lump was a soft tissue sarcoma which was growing from the blood vessels on her leg. Although these cancers are very invasive where they are, and hence are extremely difficult to remove, they are very slow to spread elsewhere in the body. The crux of this tumour behaviour is that if we can remove the leg we can usually cure the cancer.
Our advice to Deede’s owners was confronting and scary, but they took it in their stride and a few days later Deede returned to us to have her leg amputated. Yet again she bounded into the hospital and coped beautifully with her anaesthetic and surgery. Once she was awake from her anaesthetic she was up and walking as though nothing had happened. At her recheck a few days later, Deede was not only walking beautifully, she was pulling us on the lead and jumping all over us! She is a truly remarkable dog and a great advocate for the way in which our canine friends just get on with life when they are thrown curve balls!
Well done Deede!
Written by Helen Burns
Helen graduated from Sydney Uni in 1997 with First Class Honours and worked in a practice on the Northern Beaches for 16 years. Helen joined the Gordon Vet team early in 2014 and our clients have really enjoyed getting to know her. She loves being a vet and takes a keen interest in all of her patients. Her gentle, friendly nature helps pets to feel relaxed when they visit the vet. Helen lives locally and has 3 children. At least one of her children seems destined to be a vet! When not ferrying her children around, Helen cares for her menagerie of pets. These include Chloe the dog, Obi and Leia the cats, Little Cocky the galah and Rosie the very tame eclectus parrot who all happily coexist at her house. In her spare time, Helen likes to be active outdoors, running, kayaking, camping or playing any manner of sport with her children.
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