Hi and welcome
BIG HUGS
I am so very sorry for the tough decision you have to make. 8 years is a grand old age and clearly a testament to your good and loving care.
The oldest piggy I had operated on was my Hafren for a large cyst that promptly put on a sudden growth spurt and burst while my specialist vet was away on holidays. The cyst was more unusual because it had a thick fleshy mantle and inclusion and bled heavily when my local vets tried to express it, leading to cancer worries. Thankfully, they did not bear out during the removal operation just a month short of her 7th birthday. She made a full, if slower recovery (due to the slowed down metabolism) and lived for several months more before old age caught up with her.
Hafren with her burst cyst
View attachment 258810
and and impressive post-op scar and hole
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The operating vet uses isoflurane as a GA drug. It is generally much better tolerated than vetergesic but it is quite a bit more expensive, which is why it is not used by most vets.
Unfortunately, the one thing you crave most and what you cannot get is a peek at the outcome and there are never any guarantees. You have to fly this totally blind, weighing up the various pros and cons to work out what feels more acceptable for you for the long term. It is your privilege but also sometimes your heart-crushing duty as a pet owner to be the only one who can make that decision.
Please ask yourself the following questions. Unless you are dealing with an emergency, sleep on it and allow your subconscious to mull over it.
- Your boy is now another year older, the tumor is larger and the risk is accordingly greater.
- Are you prepared for potentially losing him or having him make it through the op but struggle with potentially very expensive post-op complications and a battle royal to save him (which may not happen)?
- Do you feel strongly that giving him that chance at life is more important for you than a certain death in the foreseeable future? Would you be more at peace even if it didn't come off?
- Your boy doesn't know that his condition will lead euthanasia (we call it pts - putting to sleep - over here in the UK); for him, it is just life.
- Would you feel ultimately happier if you celebrated the remaining time with him and made it very special before sending him to the Rainbow Bridge in the gentlest of ways when his quality of life becomes impacted too much?
- Essentially, it comes down to whether you want to gain it all in a last throw of the dice for the big price or whether you want to concentrate on making the very best of whatever time is left and basically opt for cashing what you have in the bank.
- Neither way is wrong and they have both their rights. It is your unenviable burden to figure out which feels 'righter' for you.
Please sleep over it, try not to put yourself under too much pressure but listen to what is in your heart of hearts and run with that. It is what you can live best with for the long term once your head and heart come back together again eventually that should be your choice because this what you can ultimately live best with, as I know from my own experiences.
I have chosen either way with different piggies and different prospects, ages and operation chances. Some operations did come off but I have also lost young piggies in or after make or break operations and know the devastation that comes with that. It's something you can never predict and count on.
Looking after a terminally ill piggy is a bitter-sweet time. Sweet, because you can pack so much love, fun and enrichment into a comparatively small span of time and create lasting precious memories and bitter because underneath it all your grieving process keeps rumbling on and your fear of loss is a constant shadow. Death is not the start but it comes well into your grieving journey and sometimes near the end of it, depending on the journey leading up to it. Terminal care when it is not just a matter of days does however mean that there will be that bit less grieving afterwards because you never grieve less overall, just with different dynamics. The pain of the actual loss is however never less because every time a unique and special bond is broken.
Sadly, what is not on the table for you is what you truly want, to be able to keep your beloved boy forever.
You may find this guide here helpful. It doesn't make for easy reading (but it also hasn't made for easing writing with all those memories coming back up) but it may help you to make your decision if not with a less aching heart but at least with a bit clearer and less conflicted mind.
1 Your mental health, sensitivities and work commitments
- Mental health and support resources
- Sensitivity aspects
- When work and other commitments clash
2 Life or death emergency – Can my piggy be saved?
- Contacting a vet clinic at all times and link to life and death emergencies list
- What to do if I cannot access vet care instantly?
- The need to save up for emergency vet access
3 Is my...
We continue to be here for you for any questions, concerns and moral support throughout your journey, for as long as it takes. It would help both sides a lot if you please bookmarked your thread so you can pick it up anytime and keep all information together. As a result, you won't have to explain the full back story every time and we can refresh our memory, no matter how long the gap, and give you the answers you really need and not just our standard advice. Each journey is different and unique and we will try to get it as right for you as we can as a community.
I am grateful to have found this forum and community— even countries apart.
) for them it's a good day. 
