Just Heartbreaking

Back on March 17^th Chloe and Chancey had a spa day where they got washed and trimmed down for their spring do. When Chancey came home, I pointed out several white hairs which I hadn’t noticed when his hair was all curly. Each day more white appeared. With his fur turning white we joked that “Chancey was having a mid-life crisis and was turning into a Westie.” Our vet had seen Chancey twice in one week and was concerned about how much whiter he was getting.  At that point, she suggested a biopsy which was done on March 28^th. 

The results came back on April 2^nd.  Chancey has a rare skin cancer called Epitheliotropic Cutaneous Lymphoma.  It was decided that we would take Chancey to the New England Veterinarian Oncology Group (NEVOG) in Waltham near Boston to get a second opinion, which we did. We learned he is in Stage 4 and neither surgery nor radiation is an option. Chemo is the only option and we don't like the odds. Without any treatment, he has about six months to a year.

We are extremely sad and we are trying to deal with the waves of grief that keep hitting us. It is hard to accept that he isn’t going to grow old with us. He’s only seven and we thought we had many more years with him in our lives. I can’t image coming home one day and Chancey not being there to greet me. I’m crying as I write these words. It hurts so much. I want time to stop. I want this all to be just a bad dream and it isn't.