Cody, a precious 15 year old domestic shorthair cat also known as “Mr.Man” by Dr. Tobaben, has an amazing story. He truly lives the life of luxury with his loving family. He has a feline friend named Tashi that shares his home.

Cody had always been a healthy, happy cat until he started losing weight in November 2005. His bloodwork was unremarkable and his physical exam was normal. In December 2005 Cody started having some elevation in pancreatic enzymes and some changes in his urine. He was treated for an urinary tract infection and abdominal radiographs were taken. On his radiographs we observed an unusual area in his mid abdomen. An ultrasound was performed on Cody and revealed a mass likely attached to his spleen.

Cody was taken to the Dallas Veterinary Surgical Center for an abdominal exploration. Cody’s surgery went well but did reveal a large mass located on the pancreas. In order to remove the mass from the pancreas, the surgeons had to also remove his spleen. Even though Cody won over the hearts of the surgeons and nurses at the hospital, the diagnosis was not good. Histopathology was performed on the growth and the diagnosis was exocrine pancreatic carcinoma.

Cody was then referred to a cancer specialist (oncologist) for further evaluation and treatment recommendations. The specialists explained that Cody’s cancer is an aggressive cancer that usually metastasizes to other areas. The chemotherapy options are very limited to treat this type of cancer and there is no evidence that chemotherapy would actually help.

Cody’s family decided to take him home and spoil him instead of putting him through a course of chemotherapy that would likely not be beneficial for him. He was given a very short, grave prognosis. Cody soaked up the love and the spoiling. The only medication he has been maintained on is a pancreatic enzyme to help him digest his food better.

Cody has done amazingly well after his surgery. He was expected to only live 1 to 2 months. He has somehow outlived everyone’s expectations by years!!! We are so happy to be able to be blessed with his fun, loving personality for as long as we have. We hope to have him around for many years to come.