Week 6 Vincristine

Just a quick update to share how Emily is doing.  She handles her week 6 treatment of Vincristine very well.  I gave her the anti-nauseant for 2 days after her treatment.  She went off veggies, peanut butter and sardines but still ate smelts so go figure.  Today she had her multivitamin in peanut butter, she's had her ND diet every day and is eager to eat so I didn't bother giving her the Cerenia (anti nausea pill) today.  They make her very drowse and they are very expensive so I don't want to be handing them out whilly nilly! 

Yesterday she was playing with her treatball and lost her footing while in the kitchen.  I heard her whine and when I went in her 2 back legs were going in different directions and she couldn't get up.  It was very frightening to see.  Emily as a Bouvier, is a working dog and can get very focused on a task.  We have to monitor her and make sure she doesn't over do it.  She had beat herself out yesterday and was still trying to work even though her body was ready for a rest. 

One thing I have noticed now that Emily is no longer on the Prednisone is that some of the foods I thought she liked she was only eating because the Prednisone was making her ravenous.  I thought she liked pumpkin but since her Prednisone was reduced and now no longer part of her treatment, she turns her nose up at it.  Which is fine.  I only gave her pumpkin to try and regulate her bowels. 

Overall it's happy days around here.  I think the dogs may have a marrow bone to enjoy on this sunny Good Friday (I'm pretty sure the no meat rule only applies to humans!) although I may save it for Easter Sunday as we're going to brunch and may need something to entertain the dogs with after when all I can do is lay around and moan from the over eating...

Enjoying the long weekend,
CJ, Emily and Ollie

Chemo Treatment #4

Today was Emily's fourth chemo treatment and it was the most dangerous one in the protocol, Doxirubicon.  She could have had an allergic reaction, her pee will be orange or red for the next couple of days and, most importantly, this one can cause heart damage.  There is a limit to what she can have over her lifetime and it has to be tracked.  This was one of the reasons why I was so eager to get Emily on the L-Arginine supplement.  It's good for cardiac health.  She did fine.  They gave her benadryl to manage any possible allergic reaction which she seems to NOT have.  So that's good.  We are just watching for a cough. 

We also came up with a possible recourse to deal with the nausea.  She has a post chemo anti nausea pill that she gets 24 hours after her treatment.  If she's showing signs of nausea the next day I can give her an additional pill!  I love a plan.

While Emily got her treatment and Nanny hung out with her at the vets (Emily is a serious Nanny's girl).  I took Ollie, who Nanny can't console at all when he want to be with his Momma, to the park for a big walk.  It was really nice to spend some time with him outside of Emily's cancer. 

Emily was in excellent spirits when we got to the vets.  She was cheerful, energetic and very social.  It's hard to pump poison in her system when she's feeling so well.  Big picture, trying to focus on the big picture.  This evening she's just tired.  And her Prednisone came down again so hopefully that will help again with a decrease in her appetite (She's still really whiny but only at one point during the day) and help with her steadiness.  She's also been panting a lot.  We're watching that. 

Supplements and Post Appetite Loss Update

Emily's appetite has returned to normal.  Now I just have to get her pill schedule back to normal.  Right now she's reversed, Prednisone in the AM and Prilosec (for her stomach) in the PM.  She had a huge breakfast with all her components, meat mix, veg mix and garlic turmeric mix, no problem.  Yesterday she got her supplements.  I've added a multivitamin, Centrum Forte, and 1000 mg of L-Arginine and 2 tsp of L-Glutamine in powder formula.  When she eats the ND diet she really only needs half of these but she's hit or miss on the ND diet so until I'm sure she's going to eat it I prefer to give her the full dose.  Thank god Santa brought me a mortar and pestle for Christmas.  The most use it gets is smashing up her pills to sprinkle on her meals. 

Aside from the Multivitamin, Arginine and Glutamine, Emily also get digestive enzymes with each meal, 1 glucosamine/chondroitin tablet per day, 10 wild salmon pills (yup, 10... plus she gets fatty fish during the day!) and 1 tsp of flax seed oil drizzled on either yogurt or cottage cheese.  Both yogurt and cottage cheese have active bacteria cultures which are not only excellent for digestive health but also general health overall, for both our dogs and us!  Watch for additional ingredients.  I like to see nothing else but milk and active bacteria cultures. 

There are a lot of options out there for supplements and you can make yourself crazy.  One important warning - You must be sure they don't interact negatively with the chemo or any other meds your dog is on.  Consult your vet.  But be aware, a lot of vets aren't well versed in supplements so do your homework if you aren't confident.  I have an entire vet office consulting and researching on Emily's case so I really like consulting them after I've done my research just to be sure I haven't missed something.  I'm sticking with the basics as recommended by Dr. Ogilvie years ago and still supported by conventional research.  Arginine, Glutamine and the Omega Fat pills in the form of Wild Fish Oils are the most important. 

Today Emily has had a raw from frozen, straight from the freezer beef marrow bone, 2 play session in the yard with her balls, a huge breakfast and is now enjoying a well deserved nap.  I need to get her in the tub but she's had such a rough week and is just now feeling like herself so I hate to torture her (or I might just be procrastinating...)  We'll see how the rest of the day goes.  Staying on top of her grooming while she is feeling okay really is the best idea.  She's just so damn peaceful and content at the very moment.

Emily's First Bout with Appetite Loss

Well it's been a stressful 17 hours.  I think we're on the other side now but Emily experienced her first solid bout with appetite loss.  Yesterday afternoon she had a snack and her antibiotic around 1:30.  She was very tired, lethargic and uninterested.  Although she did follow me around, laying down where ever I was.  Supper time she didn't even go into the kitchen.  Nothing interested her.  I had salmon, sardines, smelts, chicken wings, her cooked homemade food, just the meat mix out of her food, just the veggie mix of her food, cooked cabbage, cabbage juice.  She totally went off fish and still isn't interested in fish.  Thank goodness there is none in her meat mix!  In fact, moving forward I think I'll do one protein at a time instead of a mix of 3 or 4.  Her veg mix is also just veggies.  I did up a egg white mix with the turmeric and garlic so all of her food is separate components.  This is proving to be quite beneficial as at this point Emily will only eat the meat mix and will turn away from the dish if the veggie mix is present at all.

Late last night we managed to get a bit of her kibble in her.  This would be the kibble that she no longer gets because she's on the special canine cancer diet.  Guess what - what they eat doesn't matter one bit if they won't eat.  I was so worried that this was the start of a slippery slope.  So I was so glad she was taking a bit of the kibble.  She only ate a little but I guess to her it's comfort food.  I had defrosted and cooked a plain chicken breast which is also her traditional comfort food but no dice.  I didn't dare try and give her any of her pills but I was stressed that she was missing a prednisone dose because it is not a drug you should abruptly stop. She also wasn't drinking which was an even bigger concern.  However she was still peeing a good bit.

This morning after her morning bathroom outing she headed to the kitchen.  It took some trial and error but she finally settled on some cooked chicken and brown rice warmed up a bit.  She ate the whole bowl which was a 4oz chicken breast and 1/4 cup rice.  She also had some kibble.  I ran and got another chicken breast out of the freezer and microwaved it but she was done.  I popped in her Prednisone and counted it a successful breakfast.

She is now going to the kitchen occasionally and we pull out everything we can think of until she finds something she likes.  She managed to get her Sucralfrate which I really should have popped in her last night since it's one of her stomach pills but I was totally dumbfounded that she wasn't drinking I really didn't want to shove anything down her throat.  Today that fear is gone!  We even managed her antibiotic mid afternoon after another snacking session where she ate the meat mix.  Her current favorite food is thawed chicken wings.  It's her first choice but we were able to persuade her to munch away on her meat mix (ground pork. turkey leg meat, beef round, beef liver). 

What a horrible, scary experience.  After her chemo session she gets an anti-nausea pill.  After her first session one of the vets and I had a discussion about how aloof she seemed.  In hindsight she was still recovering from her massive GI bleed that she had right before her first chemo treatment.  On top of that she had her first chemo treatment.  Her poor system was struggling to get ahead of itself.  I kept saying "there was no joy in mudville" as she seems to have no joy in her.  So the vet
recommended only giving her half of the anti-nausea pill.  This week I thought that was a good idea because clearly the chemo treatment had left her tired and lethargic and I didn't want the anti-nausea pill to make it worse.  Yeah, never again.  Better tired, lethargic and a bit stoned then not eating!!!!!  She can't regain her strength without fuel. 

By the way, the only 'trick' to get her to eat that worked was the warming of her food.  But it wasn't just any food, it was her comfort food, chicken breast and rice.  Leftover cooking juice from the meat, veggies, cabbage didn't work.  Frozen fish treats didn't work.  Note to self - always, always keep chicken breasts in the freezer!

Post 2nd Vincristine Treatment - Tired!

The only word to describe Emily post chemo treatment #3 is tired and maybe a little stoned.  She had the Vincristine which she also had on week 1.  Her appetite took a nose dive week 1 but we are yet to see that this time.  She lacks the energy to be constantly asking for more food like she has been as a side effect of the Prednisone.  The quiet is almost a welcome change as long as she still eats her meals and allows me the chance to cook up  her weekly homemade diet without her under foot, whining the entire time.  She did thoroughly enjoy her homemade breakfast.  Last night she was slow eating her can of ND diet but she did it in 2 sittings.  She turned her nose up at peanut butter this morning!!  First time ever.  And of course I had her sucralfrate (to protect her stomach) pill already buried in a wad of peanut butter.  I stuffed it in a chicken heart and she had it no problem.  You have to have a selection of tools in your feeding arsenal when traveling the canine cancer journey. 

One thing that may help her stomach and the impending nausea is cabbage.  Emily loves cabbage which is a shock.  She never had it before she got sick.  She loves the core to crunch on, loves it cooked up and she loves the leftover cooking juice to slurp up.  It needs to be cooked down quite a bit so the canine gut can digest it and absorb the nutrients.  That's why the leftover cooking juice is so valuable.  It has the nutrients!  I simmer all Emily's veggies and I keep all the leftover juice for her to drink.  Ollie loves it too. 

I haven't mentioned the importance of filtered water (when not slurping up leftover veggie juice).  I have read that the cancer canine can't handle the toxins in regular tap water like you and I can.  So we got a brita.  Truth be told... I'm loving the filtered water.  I'm a big water drinker but I don't like water kept in plastic containers because there has been a correlation between plastics and cancer.  But with this brita and using it to fill the dogs water bowl twice a day, water never sits in the plastic for long! 

Ready for Treatment Week 3!

Well Ms. Emily is certainly a lot stronger and much more like herself than she was this time last week.  We should be good to go tomorrow for her 3rd treatment after having to delay it last week.  Her whining has decreased dramatically, her appetite has almost returned to normal(from ravenous) and she's interactive and more cheery.  She's still not 100% herself.  She's still having a hard time getting up and that hasn't really improved but I'm going to get some mats to put around the house tomorrow.  I have all laminate floors and in the last few weeks she's had a hard time getting her footing under her when she tries to get up from a laying down position.   

We've got cookies made for the vet office to show our appreciation for all the effort they're making regarding Emily's care and our whole family's well being.  This includes putting up with Ollie who goes into the vets with Emily each week for his weigh in and then leaves when it's treatment time.  I'm watching his weight because a couple of months ago he had gained weight for the first time in his life and since then he's lost 13 lbs which is great.  Don't want a beef boy and with all the different treats he's getting along side Emily we need to keep a close eye on it.  But he is a real attention hog and they have to deal with him before they can get to Emily.

I've got a little surprise for tomorrow, I'll snap a pic and share it later!

Kisses!

Yesterday I got some Emily smooches!  They were the first smooches in weeks.  Emily is not a big kisses kinda girl but in the last few years she has been known to give a polite kiss or two.  She was whining yesterday but had just been out and had recently eaten so all I could think was that she wanted to get up on the couch but Ollie was in the way.  I made him move (that never happens but he lately he's been spending all day on the couch which is odd for him) and she got up, ears went back and I got 3 of the most delightful kisses!  Sigh, there's hope...

Then last night she actually picked up her rubber lamb and flicked her indoor ball.  As you may remember we have had some outdoor ball play in the last couple of days which is huge progress but that was the first time she touched her indoor ball in weeks.  I almost cried.

And finally, the best part of her current state of being - she didn't wake me up at around 4am.  It was actually Ollie who got me up at 5:30am which is my fault because he was last out at 9: 30pm and he needs to go out later than that to make it to 6am.  Emily had a massive breakfast of her homemade food and we all went back to bed.  The only reason we got up at 8:45am was because Emily heard her Nan getting up. 

She is mostly just whiny with my Mom these last two days.  But she's always been way more whiny with Nan because when she whines Nan automatically gives her a treat.  Emily has her Nan very well trained.....

Ah quiet

Ms. Em is finally having some quieter days.  Earlier this week I thought we'd all go nuts.  I guess it takes a couple of days for her to feel the effect of the prednisone reduction.  Oh she's still hungry as a horse but she's not as all consuming ravenously hungry.  (yes, there is a difference)

Emily's energy level is a bit better too.  She's got a little pep in her step.  She's also a bit more steady although I did nearly knock her over trying to clean a back paw. 

Now if she would just take her duck for a walk, I'd say all was right in the world.  But she has cancer so all is not right in the world.  Hopefully her blood count will be okay for treatment on Tuesday. 

I've added some pumpkin to her diet.  Bit of vitamin K, a good dose of beta carotene and it helps regulate her poo.  Even though you'd think it's a sweet starch veg and therefore high in carbs it's not.  I only add a bit with her cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, broccoli, spinach, and/or red peppers.

Emily is napping now.  Somehow that seems like a good idea since she had me up at 4:30am, again at 8am and then again at 9am when I gave up all hope of ever catching up on my sleep.  I'll sleep when she's in remission!

Exhaustion is my middle name

The last two days I've been totally exhausted.  If Emily is awake, she's whining for food.  This is after her prednisone had been reduced by half.  And she is still really, really unsteady.  She wants to eat every couple of hours, day or night.  Since she only gained .2 lb last week I'm worried that her feeding plan is not enough so I've up'ed her intake and am spreading it out.  I'm out of the ND diet so I cooked up some brown rice to add to her homemade diet.  The ND diet is a bit higher in carbs than conventional wisdom indicates for lymphoma patients but it does give her some of that bulk so I'm trying to replace that and brown rice has polysaccharides which are thought to be beneficial for fighting the cancer.  The ND diet and Dr. Ogilvie both use rice.  Emily gets less than half of her daily intake from the ND diet so she's getting a lighter carb load.

I've also added a bit of pumpkin.  It's surprisingly low carb for a starchy veg and full of beta carotene and vitamin K, both of which are important in the cancer fight.  Although to be honest I really started using it because Emily had a case of the runs and then only had a very, very small poop and I'm afraid she's a bit constipated.  Pumpkin will absorb liquid, which she is still drinking buckets of, and regulate her bowl/poop production.

Right now when Emily naps, I nap.  And any food she does get in between meals I make into an event, take up her dish, freshen her water and serve her whatever snack/treat she's getting spread around her dish.  After she eats it, she has a drink and then settles for a bit. 

Just a week and a half left of the prednisone and hopefully the appetite will return to normal and she'll get some steadiness back.

Just hanging in there..