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An Update on Luna

Luna relaxing on the floor

Luna went for her third chemotherapy treatment this past Thursday, and it went well. In addition to the treatment itself, a new chest X-ray and physical exam by the oncologist showed no visible-sized cancer, which is a very good sign. Microscopic cancer cells remain a concern, but that is what the chemotherapy is for. We have one more treatment in a few weeks, then go into monitoring. Hopefully things continue to go in the right direction.

Meanwhile, our life at CatSynth HQ is slowly edging back to normal, at least with our health. As you can see from the photo above, Luna’s fur has mostly grown back from the surgery. And it’s now safe for her to go out and play on the patio in our beautiful fall weather in San Francisco.

Luna on the patio

As I need to remind myself, there isn’t a state of being “cured”, this is something Luna will be dealing with for the rest of her life. But now we can hopefully look forward to a longer and happier life. Thank you again for all the thoughts and purrs, and please keep them coming.

An Update on Luna

Luna had her first chemotherapy treatment yesterday. It went well and she is now back home.

Luna chilling out after chemo

She has been eating well, and is affectionate and at her normal activity level, all of which are good signs amidst an otherwise difficult situation. Also a good sign was that the chest X-rays before the treatment were clean showing no visible cancer in the lungs – spreading to the lungs is the main danger for her type of cancer – but that does not preclude microscopic cells or clusters like those found in her lymph node after the surgery. So the chemo is the prudent and necessary step.

The technicians also went out of their way to mention both to me and in the official report what a sweet cat Luna is, she is very affectionate and quite mild-mannered. It’s a reminder of what a special companion she is and why we have undertaken this care to continue to give her a good life. And we have been spending quite a bit of time together lately, as I take care of my health and pull back from some activities.

And Update on Luna…and me

Luna continues to improve after her surgery. She has had her stitches removed and she was clear to be cone-free. Her energy level, appetite, and affection have all returned to normal. And we have been enjoying quite a bit of time together.

Luna and Amanda at CatSynth HQ

This is all good news, though her overall prognosis remains challenging. We will be going forward with her first chemo treatment in a couple of weeks, the first of up to four, depending on its effectiveness and how she handles it. The most important step was the surgery, but this will hopefully reduce the cancer a bit more and give her a longer and better quality of life. It still remains difficult to reconcile the dire diagnosis with the lively and affectionate cat that I still see every day. We will just have to take things as they come.

In the midst of Luna’s health crisis, I suddenly find myself facing one as well. Two Wednesdays ago, I suddenly started having distorted vision in my left eye and localized headaches in the vicinity of the same eye. I quickly went for an eye exam, and it deemed serious enough to warrant a visit to a retina specialist as soon as possible. That visit happened, and while I will spare the details in this article, it was pretty serious. (Those who are really interested can Google “central vein occlusion” and “retinal hemorrhaging”.) It’s not as dire as Luna’s diagnosis, but it remains physically problematic and has been quite disruptive – I have already canceled a few music gigs – and it reverberates though other aspects of my health. I’ll probably have a better sense of things in the next few days. Meanwhile, I have a few upcoming shows in the next two weeks that I plan to still play, but beyond that I am keeping things pretty low-key for September and October, focused on solitary creative projects (e.g., resuming work on the solo album), and on healing. Indeed, Luna and I are now healing each other together.

World Cat Day, and Update on Luna

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August 8th is World Cat Day. As described on the Cat Blogosphere, it’s an “annual event to simply recognize the beauty,
majesty, humor and fun of cats”. And we at CatSynth love all cats! But this year is tinged with mixed feelings on this day as we continue to worry about the cat we love most.

Luna resting

Luna continues to recover from her surgery and rest comfortably. She is eating well and communicative, but a bit lethargic and depressed. That is not uncommon after major surgery, for cats or humans. But the cone is particular source of misery. So we’re giving her a bit more cone-free time under supervision.

Luna walking around cone-free.

When liberated from the cone, she perks right up and even displayers her “happy tail.”

We haven’t heard any lab results yet, so that is leaving us still quite anxious about what comes next.

Luna is home

Luna home after surgery

Luna has come home after her surgery. Basically, she had a full mastectomy and removal of a lymph node that was a likely target for spreading. She recovered well during her overnight stay at the hospital, and indeed was quite energetic and charmed the staff with her sweet and affectionate nature. She will have to wear the cone of shame for a while, but somehow she manages to still look good with it.

She’s going to need quite a bit of care and support over the next few days as she heals, including pain medication and comfort. And we are anxiously waiting for the oncology report from the removed lymph node later this week. This will determine our next steps, and right now we’re holding onto hope for a good result. So far she has been quite resilient through this ordeal, and hoping that will be a good sign.

As always, thank you all for your purrs and thoughts, and please keep them coming!

-Luna and Amanda

An Update on Luna

Luna and laptop on bed

I want to share an update on Luna’s condition with everyone.

On Wednesday, Luna and I visited the oncologist to discuss her situation and the next steps. He pretty much confirmed what we already knew from the diagnosis: that this is a very aggressive mammary cancer and that one of the tumors had compromised a blood vessel. The latter is particularly concerning because it may indicate spreading. It is a pretty dire prognosis, but not one without steps to take. A “cure” is unfortunately very unlikely at this point, but there are things we can do give her a longer life and better quality of life than letting the disease run its course, which would be fatal.

It’s particularly hard to comprehend for me, as Luna is still young, and so full of life. Since we were cleared to remove the cone she is back to her normal self, with normal “senior kitty” energy but her exceptional affection. Indeed, she continues to be the one who comforts me with purrs and love as I process what has been an emotionally crushing experience.

Luna being snuggly and affectionate

Right now, the best thing I can do is focus on the next steps and not look beyond that. The next step, and indeed most important one for treating her, is surgery. In all likelihood, that will happen this Saturday as the sooner we do this the better. Then it’s some time to heal, and then evaluation on the next steps, most likely two rounds of chemo. From there, the path is uncertain, and it’s best for me not to dwell on it (no small task). In this instance, I do envy the ability of cats like Luna to live in the moment and focus on the love and happiness they are feeling in that moment. For my end, all I can do is promise to get her the best care and give her the best quality of life I can for as long as we can have.

Thank you to everyone who has provided purrs, healing vibes, prayers and good wishes! It means a great deal to us.

An Update on Luna

Dear friends, it is time to bring you all up to date on what has been happening with Luna. It’s not the best of news, but she is most definitely still with us and still the same cat we know and love.

Luna the cat and iPad

A little over a week ago at Luna’s annual checkup, our vet found some rather concerning lumps on Luna’s belly, essentially on her nipples/mammary organs. It was pretty clear that was some sort of tumor, mammary cancer being fairly common for cats. But it wasn’t clear exactly what kind, what it’s status was, and what would be the best course of action. So last Wednesday, we went back for a biopsy, which is itself quite an ordeal. An preliminary X-ray suggested no obvious growths in her chest or lungs, which was a huge relief. So the focus stayed on the two original lumps. The biopsy procedure went well, and Luna came home that evening, albeit with a “cone of shame.”

Luna with cone / bonnet.

Cone aside, she remained in relatively good spirits, and has been as sweet and affectionate as ever – she knows I need her comfort as much as she needs mine. The cone has been a source of distress for her, and she hasn’t been eating much. And she is staying near the bed, sofa or other places that we use for resting or cuddling. I have been removing the periodically and bringing her food over the resting areas, which she devours with aplomb.

Luna eating without cone.

We anxiously awaited results from he biopsy. And on Friday evening, we received them, and it wasn’t good. Not the worst, but not good. Basically, they are an aggressive form of feline breast cancer. They can easily be removed with surgery, but one of them may have already attacked a blood vessel, which puts lymph nodes at risk. So at this point, the situation is quite serious.

Our next step is to see the cancer specialist this next week and decide what is the appropriate course of treatment. Regular readers of this site know just how precious Luna is, and have promised both her and myself that she will get the best care I can provide and will do what it takes to give her a good quality of life. There isn’t much to do until the appointment next Wednesday except wait, spend time together, and continue with the myriad other things that are happening in my world right now. Wednesday isn’t that far away when life is so busy, but it seems like an eternity at the moment.

Please keep Luna in your thoughts and purrs.

A Great Day! #LoveWins

The map is a bit misleading, because it also should include Alaska, Hawaii, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the territories. But this is a great day no matter how one looks at it. Today’s Supreme Court decision ends this particular battle and its sometimes baffling legal opposition once and for all.

The hashtag #LoveWins does feel like a bit of a cop-out in terms of the profundity of this moment. Some of the fears of the opposition are what make it momentous – we stared down traditional mores and prejudices and powerful social and religious institutions and won! But at the same time the decision and result just affirms them. Anyone who has been to a same sex wedding (at least in the U.S.) knows that it differs not at all from the variety of customs in opposite-sex weddings.

The already famous lines from today’s ruling:

No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family…In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.

As this coincides with Pride weekend, there are going to be crowds at this famous corner of Castro and Market Streets with The Flag flies. I choose to contemplate it quietly with a photo from last week.

This was never a self-serving fight – all my relationships with marriage potential have been opposite-sex relationships – but it has nonetheless been a deeply personal one since it entered my consciousness almost 25 years ago. Now the perhaps even tougher work of getting job and health non-discrimination begins. This includes the needs of transgender folks (something which seems to at times splinter the LGBTQ movement into separate letters), and going up against the new and nasty wall of so-called “religious freedom” in getting employment protection. And there is a whole hemisphere of the planet where sexual minorities have no protections and face mortal danger.

There will also be time to enjoy the shadenfreude of the opposition on today’s ruling. But for today, we can be a little sentimental and simply say that #LoveWins.

Happy 10th Gotcha Day, Luna!

It was exactly ten years ago, June 10, 2005, that I brought Luna home from the Santa Cruz County animal shelter. And so we are celebrating her 10th “Gotcha Day” (adoption anniversary) over the next few days in style. It began the evening before with a festive meal, complete with main course, treats, and a “cocktail.”

Gotcha Day dinner

The “cake” didn’t quite come out of the can perfectly, but as we can see that did not bother Luna at all. She devoured her special dinner with enthusiasm.

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It is hard to believe that 10 years have gone by, but it is hold hard to imagine life without my special little girl. We have been through a lot together – adventures and transitions – more than be documented on these pages.

Here is her official photo from animal shelter, followed by a portrait from her first week at home.

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Baby Luna at home

At the time, she was 7 months old. Still a baby in many ways. Over the years, I have watched her grow into a beautiful cat. Here are just a few photos, including one of the most recent.

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We are certainly looking forward to many more years and adventures together, wherever life leads us. Please join me in wishing Luna a Happy 10th Gotcha Day!