Casper is dead

Casper went in for his first radiation treatment this evening. When they gave him anesthesia he stopped breathing and they could not bring him back. He died at 7:30 PM.

Casper Update

Here is Casper lying on the couch this morning. The shaved head fur was from the MRI procedure. The blue marks were placed after a CAT scan so they can accurately target his brain tumor. Casper begins radiation treatments next Tuesday.

He has been on prednisone and was just started on mirazapine for appetite stimulation. He feels better than last week, moving around more, sunning himself in the window, and coming up to us for petting. His energy level is still limited but he seems to not be in as much discomfort. His pupils have constricted to a degree and they again react to light. The prednisone appears to have temporarily reduced the swelling and the mirazapine has boosted his spirits some. It's good to see him more relaxed. Our main hope now is that the radiation will shrink the tumor without side effects. Our oncologist said that we could expect one to one and a half years of extra time with the treatment.

The Oncologist

We spent an hour at the oncologist, a very nice young girl who looks like she just got out of med school. She does seem to know her stuff. I just don't know how much she can help Casper's pituitary tumor. I saw the MRI and it is a big tumor pressing on the optic chiasma and extending down the brain. They sent off the MRI to the University of Florida to see if Casper is a candidate for stereotactic radiosurgery or if he will have to go through the 6 weeks of standard radiation. They say it will extend his life an average of 1 year. I just hope it's worth the stress and side effects to him. Meanwhile Casper is hanging in there. We got more cortisone for him and valium in case he begins having seizures.

Going Insane Without Really Trying

Our cats and bunny are our children. Most people don't understand that. They tell me that I can just get another pet if anything happens to one of mine. I am literally ill from worry about little Casper. I've stayed up the past few nights stroking his poor body while he lies next to me in bed. Despite the prednisone he is on Casper has had a couple of bad days with his brain tumor. I can tell he is in pain with it at times and other than petting him there hasn't been much I can do to help him. I can't cure him or make him feel better and it's killing me.

Casper would not eat well yesterday so we had to force feed him once. Today was a better day for him and he ate pretty well. We are trying to keep Casper going so he can make it to the oncologist consult tomorrow. Hopefully there will be something we can do to help shrink the tumor and relieve the pressure on his brain. One possibility is a "one shot" stereotactic radiosurgery treatment at the University of Florida if the tumor is not too large. At the very least I will ask about pain control for him so he can live out the last few weeks of his life in relative comfort. I don't want to give up on him and have Casper euthanized if he can gain months of time and get relief from this cancer. I do not want him to suffer but as long as he is willing to fight it I am behind him 100%. The worry, though, is driving me crazy.