Graceland

While I was nursing my lymphoma community our lovable lab Gracie was growing her own tumor in the underarm of her front leg. A week and a half ago it was the size of a baseball...my friend c. gave advise on the go-to vet but he was booked a month out. Lo and beheld Dr. Gooddog called us directly after I left a message and arranged to see Gracie straight away. Long story short, after he spent sometime with Graceland on the floor of his office he offered to do surgery two days later. We picked Gracie up from her adventure on the way home from me receiving my remission permission slip from Dr. Chemistry. I was bubbling with joy and told the office folks at the Vet hospital my news...they said it gave them the chills and one offered to throw fake confetti for me. How can you not love a place that has signs on the wall that read "If you had a tail you'd wag it too" and "Acquiring a pet may be the only opportunity a human has to choose a relative." From the minute we saw Gracie post-surgery she was happy! The doc said the tumor was bigger, deeper and elongated inside her (I could just hear G's truck going whooshing by her). G has made a remarkable recovery despite her 10 inches or so of incisions...doing things she hasn't done for many months. Just now she and I hightailed it up to the park without a single hitch - neither of us feeling a single pain, our tongues hanging out and the gentle breeze in our fur (hers mostly brown, mine mostly white.). People ask me how I'm celebrating and if that ain't a party then I don't know what is.
Graceland - it's a state of being that can't be matched. Sandman summed it up so nicely with this Facebook posting:
Mom being officially in remission after 6 months of chemo plus beloved pet regaining mobility by having a giant tumor removed equals great way to say "F!!K YOU CANCER"

Couldn't have said it better myself.