look closer, things are not always - what they appear....

cameragirl21 wrote: So I haven't been around much lately as some of you may recall I mentioned a few weeks ago that my cat was sick and that vets told me it was a mast cell tumor (malignant) and shipped us off to an oncologist so yeah, I had a more pressing matter to attend to, namely--cancer.
i know some may say she's just a cat but that cat is my BABY, my first thought when the c word came up was, "why her...why not me instead?" that said, i cried my eyes out for a week then snapped out of it and spent nearly every waking moment online trying to research various forms of feline cancer--prognosis, treatments, etc. so the first vet i went to (i had to find a new vet because after what happened to Starlight, my old vet was history) said it felt like a tumor and when i asked if she thinks it's definitely bad, her response was, "i don't like it." she already talked about sending me to an oncologist. so i opted for a second opinion...this doc palpated my cat and didn't take it any further, told me to go straight to the oncologist. i nearly passed out in his office, literally felt like i couldn't breathe, like my chest was closing up and his techs had to help me sit down. so the next day, it's off to the oncologist. lucky for me, the oncologist had a whole team, visiting docs from other veterinary hospitals who palpated my cat and all said it's a malignant tumor, they weren't 99% sure, they were 100% sure, no ifs, ands or buts about it. so they said to have it surgically removed so off i go to a vet who was recommended to do the removal. that vet...feels the mass and tells me that it's so bad that i need a board certified surgeon to get rid of it, that he isn't qualified. so needless to say i walked out of there shaken and in tears. at any rate, when he scheduled me for the surgeon, he accidentally set me up with the internist instead...who said she won't call it cancer till there's proof and $2800 later, she scoped out a giant (think larger than a rat) hairball out of my cat's stomach--no tumor, no cancer, no problem.
imagine that oncologist's surprise when the internist (who is fresh out of her residency) called her to tell her that that "tumor" was a hairball.
the lesson i took from this is not to jump to conclusions and not to assume anything...when a doc tells you you have something, don't panic, he may be wrong, a whole team of docs and specialists were wrong where my cat was concerned. and before you assume anything about anyone, or jump to judge others, be careful--things are not always what they appear to be.
normally, i'd be complaining left and right that i paid nearly 3 grand for a hairball but it occurred to me that if (God forbid) it were cancer and someone came up to me and said, "for $2800 i'll make this all go away" i'd have said, "take the money, it's all yours." also, it's amazing where opportunity finds you--this is a major, upscale animal specialty hospital and while i waited in the waiting room, they asked to see my pictures and then asked me if i'd come to their place on a regular basis with my lights, camera and action (lol) and take pictures for their clients. while i love animals and do pet photography, my specialty and favorite subject has always been children (usually accompanied by animals but typically they're exotics like lions and tigers and bears, oh my!) but they gave me some food for thought...nowadays, believe it or not, people are spending more money on their pets than their kids!
in addition, this is my second cancer scare in about 3 months, some of you may recall my mentioning a close call with skin cancer...so i figured that cancer is knocking on my door...not in the sense that i think i will be sick but rather that in light of all the charity work i did for ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) i found myself rather dismissive of other diseases because they aren't quite as harsh...cancer being one of them. then it occurred to me that i was named after my father's father...who died of cancer and i must say that my father would probably not be amused at my dismissive approach towards everything that wasn't ALS so i decided to do some charity work for the Susan Komen foundation...i just shot a huge wedding for a hot shot lawyer's daughter but her mother was missing from the wedding and all the pictures...because she died of breast cancer when this bride was 7.
at any rate, i really wanted to share this (rather long) story because i must say all in all it's turned out to be a good experience for me...what i learned in the last 3 weeks will be ingrained in my soul for the rest of my days.
and in case i didn't get the message, the powers that be amplified it when i called to check on the rooster that i told you all i'd found on Memorial Day Weekend....this was a gorgeous, large rooster with a huge comb...Cherie, the farm owner said it was one of the most beautiful roosters she'd ever seen and she's lived on a farm and owned animals all her life. she marveled at how well he got along with all the other chickens both male and female, said he was a very good natured rooster...then he laid an egg. Even she, being a farm animal handler and expert (she has at least 100 goats, horses that have been used in movies and more chickens than i could count) was sure he was a rooster.
look closer, things are not always what they appear to be.
on a lighter note, i hope everyone else has been well over the last 3 weeks or so, i've not been around so i hope you've all been happy and healthy. i myself just got back from a stint in the er...after a rollerblading accident...let me tell you, when you trip over a rock, fly up in the air and land right smack on your tailbone and get the wind knocked out of you, it HURTS!
but nothing's broken so it's just a matter of time till i put the blades back on....

Insanemomof3 replied: So glad to hear that your cat is ok. I was wondering where you have been!!! I have missed ya!

Crystalina replied:
Your father's father was named Jennifer? Or you have another name? Middle?

Glad to see you back btw!

grapfruit replied:
I caught that too.


Jennifer; I'm glad to hear your cat is ok, and you didn't break anything!! I think sometimes medicine is anything but exact and doctors sometimes fall into the "I've been there done that" before routine.

Good lesson!

cameragirl21 replied: LOL! No, my grandpa's name was Leo, and my Hebrew name is Leah (after him) and my Russian name is Lena, after him...remember, i was born in the former USSR.
Jennifer is just an English name my parents picked for me when we moved here...my mom picked it technically after her father, Jacob, who died of a heart attack when i was 2, so my full set of names honors both of my grandfathers.
the thing is, in my religion, we name our children after someone who passed away. It can be the first name, middle, or Hebrew name so there are many options and that makes it possible to name one child after several people.
so technically, in choosing Jennifer to honor Grandpa Jacob, it's not *really* in line with tradition because i knew him, he died after i was born but still, my mom took the opportunity to honor him.
i totally adored him though, and i don't feel he was properly honored so when i have a son i intend to name him Joshua or Jacob after my Grandpa Jacob.
thanks for the well wishes for my furbaby, thank God she is ok!

mom21kid2dogs replied: That was one expensive fur ball! YIKES!! So glad she's fine now!
Sorry about your tailbone. I broke mine 3 mo before I got pregnant with O. Very painful injury, indeed!!!

gr33n3y3z replied: I'm glad your cat is ok
what have you been up to?

Calimama replied: Aww, I'm glad she is okay!!

amynicole21 replied: I'm so glad your kitty is ok... what a relief!

redchief replied: I'm glad your cat is OK.

redplaydoh replied: Oh I'm so glad your baby is ok. What a great mommy she has to go to such lengths.

DH was just diagnosed a few weeks ago with skin cancer. He has an appt next week with an oncologist here. We're hoping and praying that when they removed the spot that they got all of the cells. We're just hanging tight to see what the doctor says.

I had to laugh when reading about the rooster. I got to the part where he laid and egg and thought to myself... I didn't know roosters could lay eggs. I wonder if I've ever eaten a rooster egg... then I finished the story and felt like a bloomin idiot.

It's so good to see you back! I've missed you so much!

cameragirl21 replied:
thanks so much, DeAnn, I've missed you (and others here) too.
And you really made me lol when you said you wondered if you've ever eaten rooster eggs....
So sorry to hear about your DH...skin cancer can be scary but as long as you keep it under control it really is not life threatening...is this a melanoma or carcinoma?
In light of all the research i've done lately on cancer, one thing i want to tell you is to make sure DH does not eat ANY sugar...including fruit...carbs, particularly sugars (because they digest so fast and are thereby easy and fast food energy) totally feed the cancer. Someone living with and recovering from cancer should not eat any sugar at all till the cancer is gone.
I have a really good feeling about your DH (and remember, i read tarot cards so my intuition is usually quite good) and I really hope it all turns out well. Skin cancer is common but like i said, doesn't have to be so scary. Remember that sunscreen is a must from here on out!
Take care.