adenocarci -WHAT?

If you are one of those people who responds with "It's just a frickin' dog!" please go the hell away now. Really. Just go away. Cuz it's not just a dog, it's my dog. My 11 year old, incredibly cute, sweet as all get-out, been around longer than 2 husbands, dog.
Last summer I noticed Skye had a knot on her belly, right by a nipple. About the size of the tip of my thumb. Took her to the vet, had it removed and sent it off to LSU Vet School to be tested. Biopsy results: Benign tumor, completely contained within sample. Whew!
But it gave me the horrors so I kept an eye on things (honestly, I think the dog got more tit checks than I've ever given myself).
This August, two little pea-sized knots popped up, neither in the same place as the big one from last year. Back to the vet we go. Skye was not thrilled about the extra visit even if it did mean crunchy treats from Dr. Lisa. Doc was a bit concerned since the benign tumor, if it recurs, comes back in the same spot. We scheduled another surgery, which was a bit nerve wrecking considering Skye's age. She did fine other than expected soreness from 2 incisions. Sent those off to LSU and waited for biopsy results. And waited. And then got smacked by Gustav. And waited some more.
Finally, finally got results today. Dr. Lisa called me at work to give me the results. Adenocarcinoma. At least I think that's what she said. I went deaf right after she said malignant. Shit. She gave me the complete name and I can't remember it. Whatever the $50 name is, it's breast cancer.
The good (??) part is that the tumors were "completely contained within the samples submitted" according to the report. Also, this type is considered a Grade 1 malignancy (I guess that's the correct phrasing). Which means that it may come back but it's not a super aggressive and quick spreading type. Going into heat seems to be causing them. So my options are:
A)keep checking constantly to see if any more tumors pop up. Hope they don't and if they do, have them removed. In other words, surgery once a year probably. And hope that the cancer doesn't decide to set up shop anywhere else. Umm, no I don't think so. Not much of an option at all in my mind.
Or
B)have Skye spayed immediately and as soon as possible. This seems like the best idea. The only concerns I have are her age and having this surgery so close to the last. She's 11 and I've been warned that anaesthesia is pretty risky at her age. As is any surgery that involves opening the body cavity. (The tumors were just below the skin, so the removals were surface incisions)


I'm going to see Dr. Lisa tomorrow to talk things over and schedule the surgery. I'd rather chance the anaesthesia than cancer if it were me, so I'm making the same choice for Skye. I'm pretty worried about my girl though. I've already bawled all over a couple of friends (thanks y'all) and T and putting it on here too. Some people may decide I'm overreacting, getting this upset about a dog's health problems. I really couldn't care less. It's helped me calm down which keeps Skye from getting to wound up. And that's really all I care about.

Update: I stopped in to talk with Dr. Lisa today (Friday). Definitely getting Skye spayed. I'd already decided that and Doc said not only did she think it was the best thing but the pathologist who did the biopsy told her it was the smartest thing to do. There's a good chance spaying Skye will prevent any more tumors from forming/growing/spreading into other areas. BUT. Skye is over 11 years old and this is major surgery anyway. So Doc wants to do a whole set of blood tests and an EKG before we schedule the surgery. Once she gets all the results, we pick a day for the surgery. I have to talk to BL and new BL to make sure I can take a day off in about a week or so for the pre-op stuff. That's gonna be fun, since I'm not quite sure who I'll be working for next week. Doesn't really matter much, I'm taking the day off no matter what.

I used to work for Dr. Lisa so that has really helped the whole situation. She's straight up with me, doesn't try to soften things and quite willing to explain anything. She's fairly optimistic about the whole thing and I know her really well, so I trust her. Plus Skye likes her so that's one less thing to worry about.