We have an 11 year old miniature schnauzer named Samson. He's been with us since he was 10 weeks old and has always been perfectly healthy. However, the past few months we noticed that his hind legs where shaking often. He was seen by the vet twice and everything was fine each time so it was attributed to him getting older. But a few weeks ago Samson just was not doing well at all. He could barely stand up and had many other serious issues that seemed to appear out of nowhere. We again took him to his vet and were ultimately referred to a neurologist. After a whole slew of tests, such as an x-ray, ultrasound, couple of MRI's, CT Scan, spinal tap, etc., we discovered that Samson has an inoperable brain tumor. He was put on Prednisone, which had a fabulous immediate effect, but we were told that the immediate relief it offers is only temporary (as we are starting to see 2-1/2 weeks later) and that he really only has a month or two to live unless he has radiation treatment.
Typical radiation treatment can have horrible side effects and takes 3-4 weeks to complete. I can't imagine a dog going through that. We had a second opinion and found a specialty center that has uses a new form of radiation (in the veterinary world anyway). It is actually a machine that is used on humans and subjects the animal to much less radiation, but significantly more precise in its targeting of the tumor, so it is completed in just 3 days. Far fewer side effects with a much better outcome. So Samson goes in for his "Cyberknife Radiosurgery" - essentially a better form of radiation treatment - this week.
Here is to hoping that all goes well for Samson (animal), that he gets off the Prednisone soon (green - the bottle), much faith that all is going to work out successfully and the tumor will stop growing and begins to shrink, and that Samson will live happily to enjoy this Spring and many more!
