Week Two

This was a hard week. The drug that was infused is called cyclophosphumide and it made Phoebe very lethargic and weak. She didn't really eat much of anything and hung out in her crate, sleeping for most of the day. She got up periodically to drink water and go outside, but otherwise, it was like she had the flu, felt shitty and didn't want to be bothered. Finally, by about Tuesday night (infusions are on Thursdays), she started feeling more herself and like eating. But she really didn't get back to normal until the day of her next infusion. I could see how thin she had gotten from not eating and it really tore at my heart, but I don't think there's another way to go through this sort of treatment. It's an ugly, nasty disease and I hate that my sweetheart is having to go through it, but she is such a trooper.

Week One is Done...

and onto Week 2 of 19. Chemo is not real exciting, to be honest. We go to our fantastic Vet's Office: Timber Ridge Animal Hospital, in Bonney Lake, WA (they don't have a web site...can you imagine?) and have blood drawn for a CBC. It's important to run a CBC prior to the actual chemo infusion to take a full inventory of important numbers...like white cell and red cell counts, as well as levels of enzymes, etc. It also helps chart progress or lack thereof. To be honest, I didn't need a blood test to tell me that Phoebe's chemo has been working...Pre-chemo, she appeared to be channeling her inner bullfrog...4 days post infusion #1, the lymph nodes were noticeably smaller and the squishy mass, was mostly gone.

She's been drinking more, lots more and subsequently peeing more...sometimes there have been accidents in the house. Considering the dose of prednisone she's on it's expected...plus it's just about time to finish the new flooring in the hallway and hell, the bedroom could use a makeover anyway.

Bloodwork looked fantastic, in fact, once again the bloodwork indicates there's not much wrong with my dog. That's one of the really shitty things about cancer...it tends to fly under the radar, until it's too late to do much about it. Tonight, post infusion Phee didn't eat much, she liked the leftover hamburgers, but the rest of her meal was not very interesting to her. I'm not stressing that, going to the vet takes a lot of energy. Meeting, greeting your Public is a lot of work. She's been drinking extra water (she was given a diuretic as well as the chemo), but is napping and isn't much interested in the Bulldogs that are SERIOUSLY acting out!!!

Update

Phoebe spent Sunday and Monday being a bit sluggish and while her appetite is great, when I woke up this morning it looked like she puked in her crate. She's not crated at night, but we set up a giant soft sided crate for her a few months ago when she had a foot flare-up. We haven't taken it down because she sometimes likes to chill out in it (and Diesel goes in it and sometimes seems to forget how to get out...which is funny).

Anyway, there was definitely vomit in it this morning, so I cleaned it out and clorox wiped it and went about business as usual. She ate her breakfast of Beef Heart and Grilled Chicken like a champ and I added clear pedialyte...just in case she was going to have oogey guts the rest of the day.

Aaron got home from work first and fed everyone and he said Phoebe inhaled her dinner and that she definitely seemed more herself. When I came home I could tell she was feeling more her bouncy self, so I'm dialing back down to level 4 stress. ;)

Results....already??

Phoebe's first infusion was on May 13th, yesterday I was giving her a path and I could feel how much smaller her lymph nodes were! I spent a good portion of yesterday preparing her a home cooked cancer meal. I used beef soup meat, pork, spinach, green beans, turnip greens, lima beans, broccoli, cauliflower and garlic and stewed it all together in a crock pot, until the meat was falling apart. It smelled delicious and I gave Phoebe some as top dressing this morning and she devoured it!

On the other side, I've got some JEALOUS bulldogs...cause they aren't getting any!

Still deciding...

Even though I had been given fantastic advice from my friends and Dr. Ron, I was still stressing out. I guess I've seen one too many movies where people are affected by radiation poisoning or chemo and in my mind's eye, I kept seeing Phoebe racked with pain, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting...all while I was away at work, with no one to comfort her. I was scared that that was going to be my baby girl and that I was going to be putting her through a cure that was worse than the disease.

I told Ron May 12th, to order the drugs we needed for the recommended chemo protocol; called a modified CHOP. On the 13th, we tentatively planned on having her first infusion. But here's where I went off the beaten path and consulted with a friend and Reiki Master, Polly Klein (www.tonglenhealingarts.com). She not only taught me my second level Reiki, but she is an animal communicator. We went to Polly and I had her ask Phoebe a series of questions about how she was feeling, what her favorite things to eat were (in case she lost appetite), etc. In short, Phoebe was feeling strong and healthy, besides for a few aches in her joints (she is elderly afterall), was mentally alert and was picking up on my stress and worries. Well, after hearing that and knowing what I do about myself and my dog, I felt like a weight was lifted from my shoulders.

We headed back to Dr. Ron's for her first chemo infusion and she handled it beautifully. No reaction at all, no change in appetite or energy...nothing. YAY Now we have 18 weeks and 18 more infusions to go.

Diagnosing and Deciding

Phoebe and I went to our appointment with Dr. Ron on April 29th. He examined Phoebe, felt the lymph nodes as I had and immediately aspirated them, so we could get send samples to the lab for Pathology. The whole time, Phoebe was wagging and bowing and generally being the charming girl that we love and adore. Ron and his staff have always loved my Bullmastiffs, remarking on how sweet and cooperative they are. When many dogs would be muzzled for safety, mine never have been, they just aren't that way.

While Ron was preparing the slides I asked if we should get a chest x-ray, to see if the heart or lungs were involved in anyway. This is a typical request when staging cancer, as some forms will involve the internal organs immediately. Ron agreed with me and we did xrays. Xraying a somewhat recalcitrant 110 pound dog isn't easy, but we managed to get her on the table and cooperate with relative ease.

Ron asked me what I thought was going on with Phoebe and I said that I suspected Lymphoma, but that I was really concerned it could be the Malignant Histiocytotic Sarcoma again. He told me he really suspected lympho as well and that we'd get path reports back asap.

Pathology reports came back the next afternoon, confirming our suspicions of Lymphosarcoma and suggesting that it was a intermediate to high grade of the disease. There were both good and bad things about this; one the higher the grade, the faster it spreads, but the second part was, the higher the grade, the more responsive it is to Chemotherapy. Before we could set up a chemo protocol, we needed to get an abdominal ultrasound to see if any of the organs with lymph tissue were involved. This appointment was set for the following Thursday, which was a lot slower than I would have liked, but not many vet offices have radiologists on staff. So we waited for the 6th of May to arrive.

The results of Phoebe's ultrasound indicated that there was some internal organ involvement, specifically the spleen was misshapen and some internal lymph nodes were enlarged. This was not great news, but again, it wasn't the absolute worst. Ron and I talked about our options for treatment and he strongly suggested that we use a fairly aggressive chemotherapy protocol, that he would consult with an oncologist group about.

At this point I had some real concerns (ok, fear) of how Phoebe would react to the chemotherapy and second, how was I going to pay for all this. The initial exam and ultrasounds already had me 800 dollars out of pocket and I had no idea what chemotherapy was going to cost. However, while I was worried about this, at the same time I couldn't look at my vibrant and healthy Phoebe without knowing that no matter what I needed to give her a chance. There just wasn't anything WRONG with her. She eats with gusto, demands her cookies, joins in the Bulldog games my barking and body slamming them...for an "elderly" bullmastiff (she'll be 7 in July), you sure wouldn't know it.

That's when I needed to draw on the support of my friends, Monica, Jewlz and Kris, who have all fought cancer, lymphoma specifically, but other nastier ones as well. Monica owned Marley, who was Foley and Bella's littermate, he was diagnosed with lympho at the same time Foley was being diagnosed with MHS. Monica is an AMAZING caretaker of her dogs and has always been a resource for me regarding nutrition (we both feed raw) and now, for Lympho. They treated Marley with chemo, achieved remission and were blessed with more than 2 years of good health with him. It was through Monica I found out that the oncologists Ron was working with, were the same that treated Marley...that made me feel better.

Jewlz and I have battled cancer in our dogs together, different types, but she had remarkable success treating her boy Sting, and gave me the low down on natural supplements she felt had been critical for his survival.

Kris had been down the lympho road before, several years ago, with her boy Angus, who was the toughest and coolest dog I may have ever known.

Through listening to their experiences, I knew we needed to treat and I felt like we had a chance to fight this disease.

How did I know?

I've always been interested in dogs, from my earliest memories I wanted a dog more than anything. I was fortunate enough to have parents that finally caved into that desire and we had a Golden Retriever through most of my High School and College years. Sunny was an awesome dog, but I can't say that she was really MY dog, she was our family's dog and I was not ever fully responsible for her.

When I graduated from college I began to research the various breeds and had my heart set on a Bullmastiff. I had always wanted a BIG dog and everything I had read and learned about Bullmastiffs screamed that they were the RIGHT DOG for me. Plus, I can remember my parents telling me, "When you have your own place and are a grownup, you can have whatever kind of dog you want!"

While I was researching and learning about the Breed, I joined a List Serve that was solely for Bullmastiff Fanciers. There was a lot of information on the breed, about showing, living with Bullmastiffs and there would always be posts about people's dogs who were sick or had died. A common thread ran through those, that even before the dogs were showing symptoms of cancer, somehow the owner knew there was something "Off". Well, honestly, I never truly believed that was possible, I mean if your dog is sick, how could you possibly know unless there were obvious symptoms.

Ten or so more years later, I faced similar situations with first Bella and then six months later, Foley, who was my first heart and soul dog. I simply knew something was wrong and unfortunately, there was, both were diagnosed with a particularly aggressive cancer called Malignant Histiocytotic Sarcoma. Both were dead before we could fully diagnose and treat.

So when Phoebe, put her head in my lap on April 24th and I felt hugely swollen lymph nodes and a squishy mass in her throat, I KNEW something was wrong. Symptomatically, aside from the swelling, Phoebe was eating, playing, sleeping and being her typical delightful self. In my heart, though, I knew she had cancer and I made the first available appointment to see our Vet, Dr. Ron.

Why we're here

This blog is being written to chronicle my Bullmastiff, Phoebe’s, battle with Lymphosarcoma. I am not a veterinary professional or expert in any capacity, I am simply a devoted and responsible dog lover. In it, I will chronicle our experience with the disease, treatment, decision making and tips and tricks that will hopefully assist others when they are faced with a similar diagnosis and situation.