Quality

Oncology offered Nicholai a sixty to ninety percent chance (which is it – 60 or 90?) of surviving nine to twelve months (which one, 9 or 12?) with a six month course of radiation and chemotherapy. After that, he, like the majority of dogs, would most likely suffer a recurrence and succumb to the disease. Turning the statistics around, I could see that Nicholai had as much as a forty percent chance of not living for nine months, perhaps not even outliving his treatment period. That didn't seem like a good option for a wild boy like him.

My holistic vet didn't hold out variable promises to me, instead he concurred with medical opinions that Nicholai would likely die within three months without any treatment. He felt certain that holistic support could garner an additional three months, but beyond that, he told me frankly, was a crap shoot.

I am so happy that I was able to choose an approach that I felt was best for my dog. We are blessed to have so much time together, with such great quality of life, and so little financial burden. I shudder when I think of having undertaken expensive and invasive therapy, imagining the agony I would have felt to see Nicholai suffer, especially if treatment failed. I read lots of stories about dogs with cancer, and so often the writers discuss the dog's courage, praise its bravery, and commend it for being such a trooper. Every day I'm thankful that Nicholai doesn't have to be a trooper; instead he can just troop along, having a gay old time. We didn't opt for length of life, we opted for quality – and we got both.

I'm learning to ask lots of questions, to review as much research as I can, to find out who supported the research, and then in the end, to act out of love rather than fear. It isn't easy, but it's worth it.