Dear Sippy's Mom,
I am so sorry to hear about Sippy and what you are having to go through. TCC is a terrible disease. Because it is typically not discovered until late, the prognosis is poor.
When Ginger was diagnosed, my vet oncologist made it clear that treatment would only possibly extend her life by months. The goal was to maintain a quality of life as her life quality had not diminished when she was diagnosed.
With Ginger, it had not spread to her lymph nodes, so that is why we opted for the combination perioxiam and chemo. She had two small tumors in her bladder. And even though, her official prognosis was "guarded to poor."
It did not appear to be in her lymph nodes because they were small. Her lungs were also clear. Her liver showed some spots, but without an actual biopsy, could have been cancer or could have been related to age.
Sometimes I question if I should have even done the chemo as it didn't appear to lengthen her life. On the other hand, she maintained a quality of life until the end. You would not have really know she was sick (except for the more frequent peeing). But at the end, she stopped eating and was starting to stop drinking. I knew it was time. I was not going to let her starve/thirst to death. We had a wonderful last day together . . .taking a long walk (but slow) . . .sitting in the yard . . .holding her . . .
What I did learn is that you have to watch them carefully and make the best decision for them. My friends had told me that I would know when it was time to let her go. I didn't understand or realize that until it actually happened. But I did know. And she knew too. Having the vet come to my house made all the difference in the world. I didn't want to have to bring her into the vet again. At least she left here in my arms. It wasn't easy, but that's one thing I'm so glad I did. I'll never forget the last thing that she did when she looked up and gave me a kiss before she passed . . . that meant the world to me.
It sounds like you are doing all the right things. All you can do is to make her as comfortable as possible. I'm glad she did not suffer a lot. That's the hardest thing . . . not wanting to lose them but not wanting to see them suffer. Keep doing research on the internet. I did a lot of reading. And I asked my vets lots of questions. They were very good, patient, and open.
Hang in there and keep me posted. I'm thinking of you as I know the difficult road!
Frances