We finally have a strategy for the cancerous area under Sherbet’s right eye.
There have been a number of recent advances in dealing with cancer in this area, and we are going to take advantage of some of them.

(BTW: the photo is a close up of Sherb’s eye.
You can see the lesions clearly.
They are, admittedly, disturbing looking. But Sherbet seems to be unaware of his appearance, and the oncologist feels they are typical of his condition.)

The plan is to begin with minimally-invasive surgery to “debulk” the mass.
The goal of debulking is to reduce the size of the mass, not to remove it completely.
This makes for a quicker surgery, yet still provides good biopsy samples and also sets him up for the next stage.

The next stage is cryoablation, which uses extreme cold to kill the cancer cells.
This uses gas delivered via a thin needle and is done under anesthesia.
This allows for quick recovery and can easily be repeated if warranted.

Our hope is that will eliminate many of the cancerous cells.
And, given Sherbet’s advanced age, it is likely that the cancer will never become a problem.

I feel good about this approach. There are more aggressive strategies, but given his age and quiet disposition, I would not want Sherbet to have a difficult recovery, or to spend much time in a cage (say, for radiation treatments).

Keep a good thought for Sherbs.
I will let you know as soon as he is headed for his first treatment.