CHEMOTHERAPY – DAY ONE

I took Beasley in this morning for her first treatment.  We had to leave early because she couldn’t eat since he had to sedate her.  I couldn’t feed the other dogs and not feed her.  She was still awake through the procedure, just really groggy.

He used a drug called Adriamycin which has to be administered intravenously.  It took about a half hour. He also took a chest X-ray and didn’t see anything in the lungs. That gives me so much hope.  Also the heart murmur she had last year didn’t show. 

So far so good.  She’s not the peppy dog she was yesterday but it’s so traumatizing for her to leave the house.   When someone just knocked on the door, she was right there barking with the rest of them.   I remember how long it took me just to get her to walk out the deck door and go potty on her own.  She seems a little tired but she ate and went potty and let me take off her yellow band aid.

She may get a little nauseated on day 3-5 and I have some meds for that but if that’s the worse that happens, I think we can do this.    

I am not giving up. I am going to put all of my positive energy into fighting this as long as nothing hurts her.  As scared as she is (heck, I am too), she is a strong girl. She’s been through so much and has survived it all.  She needs to experience more love, not just from me but from all of my friends who love her. 

The vet prescribed a very low dose of Piroxicam. It’s mainly used for osteoarthritis but also works by preventing the establishment of a certain type of body chemicals which contributes to inflammation, pain, stiffness, tenderness and swelling.  You know I just copied and pasted that.

Last night, I read about a drug called Cytoxan, which they are giving women in conjunction with the chemo.  It helps slow down metastasis, especially to the lungs.  So we are both going to do our homework over the weekend. 

PRAYERS FOR BEASLEY

A few weeks ago, I noticed a bump on Beasley's belly and unfortunately, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.  A week ago Friday, my vet removed two boobies, three lymph nodes (one the size of a baseball) and three more teeth.  If you remember, when I first got her, she already had seven teeth extracted from trying to eat rocks.

It was a rough night.  Between the pain and coming off the anesthesia, she cried a lot. It was heartbreaking.  I gave her the pain meds but that didn’t seem to help. Finally around midnight, she was able to sleep.

Overall, it has been a fast recovery.  A week later, she’s off the pills, walking so much better and playing with toys.  The large lymph node was under her left front leg and caused her to limp.  Now she’s running and jumping. So for the time being, she acts like she feels really good.

The lab results came back today and sadly, she has Grade III solid mammary carcinoma.  This is the worst kind.  Widespread vascular invasion, effacement of lymph nodes and it extends to all tissue margins.  It’s not fair. She is just learning to trust and be a dog. 
 
She will greet people at the door, bark at them and then run upstairs and hide.  A few times, she has even come back down to bark again.  She lets a few of my friends pet her and even high-fived one. 

The lab tests have shown that dogs with aggressive carcinoma have a median survival rate of 2 ½ months.  My vet said 3-6 months. 

So I have decided to try chemotherapy.  I hesitated because of the reaction people have but the doses are so low for dogs that side-effects are less common. If they do occur, they are mild.  They also don't lose their hair, although it may thin.  Like humans, every dog is different. But I have to try it and see. 

One article said that overall, chemotherapy can make a dog feel better. Many dogs will perk up as soon as treatment begins - leaving their dog owners thrilled to see the puppies in them come out!

I hope this is the case for her.  It won't cure the cancer, it will recur, but it may temporarily kill what's there.  And hopefully, give her another year or two.  But I know the bottom line is quality, not quantity.  That was really hard to write but I will do what is best for my little, sweet Beasley.