We were preparing to depart for Virginia Beach so I could do my annual AV Tech job for MCV's Pediatrics At The Beach conference.
We had booked Millie to stay at Four Paws for the weekend and Kimberly took her, intending to drop her off on the way to work. When she got there, she discovered a slight red tinge to Millie's urine and brought her back home so I could take her to the vet. Our assumption was there was a urinary tract infection.
I called and arranged to drop Millie at the vet for a check...they called later to confirm a UTI. But Millie's vet asked to speak with me. In examining Millie, she discovered that all her lymph nodes (those that are accessible by hand) were very enlarged. Her concern was that this possibly indicated Lymphoma. After discussing options with her, I gave the go ahead for a cell aspiration test. Basically they use a needle to draw cell samples from a node to be sent for testing. The issue with cell aspirate tests is that they are often (anywhere from 50-75% depending on whom you believe) inconclusive, leaving actual biopsy as the only way to be certain. I was concerned, but not overly so...I thought it was possible that the infection was causing the lymph node reaction and that it would pass after the antibiotics prescribed were finished and the UTI gone. In the back of my mind, I did recall that Kimberly had noticed one of Millie's lymph nodes in the back of her rear leg ( not knowing what it was) and being concerned, but we decided it didn't merit a vet visit when we found the identical structure in her other leg. That actually could have been our first warning, but we did not recognize it at the time.
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