Lily Edwards
(by Robin E, & David S.) Lily came into our lives June 2007. I was asked to “babysit” a brown puppy while her rescue Mom went on vacation. Lily was brought to me in a cat carrier, she was that small. She crawled out of that carrier onto my lap, and I was hooked! I knew she wasn’t leaving our family. And to this day, her most favorite place to be is on my lap!
Anyone who meets Lily quickly realizes how full of life she is. We say she is always in the fast lane. She keeps us active and makes us laugh at her crazy antics.
In December 2013 I took Lily, then 6 years old, to our vet for nothing more than a routine vet tech visit to have her anal glands expressed. I waited in the waiting room while Lily was taken to the treatment area. It took an unusually long time for them to return her to me. That is when I heard the words, “Something doesn’t feel right”. I never anticipated that I’d hear those words and our world was changed forever.
Lily had surgery to remove both of her abnormal anal glands. The pathology report stated Bilateral Anal Gland Adenocarcinoma. Our surgeon said this was extremely rare situation since the glands do not communicate. Lily had two separate primary anal gland cancers.
We were referred to the Oncologist, Dr. Craig Clifford, for further evaluation and treatment. Lily went through iv chemotherapy followed by oral treatment given at home. For a few days after the iv chemo she would be quiet and nauseous, but then would return back to her crazy, silly self. We were becoming hopeful that we were going to beat this cancer.
However, at the end of her home dosed, oral chemotherapy we learned that one of her gland’s cancer reoccurred. To pursue a cure, another surgery was required. We decided that Lily’s drive to live was as strong as ever and we pressed on — another surgery!
Dr. Clifford recommended radiation therapy to prevent another occurrence. For this to happen, Lily would have to be boarded at a hospital 2 hours away from us for four weeks to receive daily treatments. This was no small requirement because Lily and I are extremely bonded. Lily has never been able to be boarded. In an effort to relieve the emotional stress on both of us, I brought her home on weekends to love her and tell her all will be okay!
Words can not adequately express how hard this month was on me and I am sure, Lily, too. Lily did complete 20 fractions of radiation therapy like a champ!
Since September 2014 Lily’s follow-up tests, including ultrasounds and xrays, have all been negative for metastatic disease. Dr. Clifford declared Lily cured from AGA! We were ecstatic believing that Team Lily had kicked cancer’s butt! We were ready to put the anxiety of “is it back?” behind us and enjoy life again.
Unfortunately, this past October a small lump at the base of Lily’s tail seemed to change. It seemed to be more firm than we remembered it to be. We had been told in the past that it was a fatty tumor, so when our veterinarian reported his fine need aspirate to us as “2 of 3 sites have abnormal cells” we were concerned. A surgically obtained biopsy revealed a completely unrelated cancer, Soft Tissue Sarcoma. To get proper “clean margins” and a chance at another cure, it was recommended that Lily have a high-tail amputation. While that may sound like an easy decision, it was not. Lily is so expressive with her tail and knowing we would never see that “propeller” tail wagging again was devastating to all of us. After many tears, I accepted that it had to be done to save her life. This fall, Lily underwent a high tail amputation. The pathology report recorded “clean margins”. The
Oncologist has once again declared Lily a cancer survivor!
Lily has recovered well and we are all learning to see Lily’s expressions in ways we hadn’t previously. She continues to be full of life and upbeat while bringing all of us laughter and joy every day! We did not think we were taking anything for granted before, but now we cherish each and every day more than we ever thought we could.
It has been a very long emotional road, but to be able to snuggle with her every day reassures us we made all the right decisions.
Lily is proof that cancer is not a death sentence. We approached this as a team- without anyone of us, mostly Lily’s reminder to enjoy life, her cures and survival would not be possible. We can not begin to express our gratitude to so many people that have made it their job to battle cancer.
Thank you for all you do.
Lily, Robin E, & David S.
Bloomsburg, Pa
(by David Sole) Lily, our beagle mix, was diagnoses with bilateral anal gland adenocarcinoma in December 2013. The story begins at our local vet hospital when an angel of a Vet Tech, performing a very routine anal gland expression on Lily, made the decision that, “Something just doesn’t feel right,” and brought that to our primary vet’s attention. The AGA spontaneously occurred in both glands. She underwent surgical resection by the very fabulous Dr. Charles “Chas” McBrien, (formerly at the Northeast Vet Referral Hospital, Plains, PA and now at MedVet in Lexington, KY), and shortly after began chemotherapy under the direction of Dr. Clifford. She had a local recurrence, underwent another surgery, underwent conventional radiation to the origin site by Dr. Siobhan Haney at Vet Specialty and Emergency Center, and restarted/completed another round of chemotherapy with Dr. Clifford at Hope. This past October, (2015), Lily was seen by Dr. Clifford one year following her last chemo treatment. She had no evidence of recurrent/metastatic disease! Her story is far more remarkable than I describe, as I’m sure you would guess I would say! She means that world to Robin, and we are thankful for every day that we get to enjoy Lily’s companionship!
