Category Archives: Chemo

Big Long Catch-up Post

March 24, 2013CCNU, Chemo, Hairless Pup, Kill Barney Tour, Little sisters, Loungin'doggiemomma9

Butchey Hudson & his Momma here. Momma owes me a 4 hour long rub down. We haven’t posted since January when Barney was here. She is a naughty naughty Momma.

Momma wants me to say she is very sorry. She has a lot of excuses, like Dada going back to work days and still working nights. It is her very busy time of year (she does taxes, I guess that is when the gophermints collect bones from you, and people don’t like to give up their bones) and that Hairless Pup started daycare and she’s been sick, too of course, she’s brought every germ home. Well I’ll give Momma this – she has been busy fussing over me, Lola and the Hairless Pup. But I’m still demanding my 4 hour rub down.

So here goes…

That stinky smelly guy was here and he was alright! We hung out on the couch mostly, because you know I AM the Master of Relaxation. (I should give classes Momma says).

We took a trip into Boston Garden (GAHDEN) while he was here. We went to see the Ducklings. He didn’t behave himself much, because he tried to ride one of the ducklings. I told him this isn’t that kind of rodeo, buddy.

Don’t worry, I didn’t pee on the ducklings. I do have some couth.

Then we took Barney on some sightseeing. He wanted to see the Boston Public Library. Why, I’m not sure. He certainly can’t read with that eye sticking up the way it does.

Then Trinity Church and the John Hancock Tower.

Then we went (well I couldn’t go) but Barney went to the Skywalk at the Prudential Building and got to see some sights. Here he is overlooking the Back Bay and the Charles River (Rivah).

And then we went to Boston Harbor and looked longingly into the Atlantic and to take some time to wonder how the Barney across the pond is.

We hear that other other Barney is a teetotaler. Not sure he’d get along with Momma, she likes her wine.

I had to make sure I taught Barney how to chew a bone before he left.

The rest of the time we chilled.

Momma read the journals and cried a lot. She went through a few boxes of tissues. She said that was the awesomest part for her. We added our own entry and gave Barney one last sniff and then sent him on his way to Jill the Cat. Thankfully, she gave him a new shirt. Although we were partial to the Bret Michaels dress, it was looking kind of rough. Every rose has its thorn.

All in all, we were very honored to play host to the Purple Menace. We hope every Tripawd gets to spend some time with him during their journey. Thanks to Angel Lupe’s Mom for sending him along to us.

So let’s see…What else. After Barney left, I had some appointments with the cancer doc. I’ll give you the nutshell version. I still have the 2 mets in my lungs (Oscar and Felix) and now I’ve also got a lump on the side of my head just under my ear, and my lump has come back where the barber gave me a bad haircut last June. So it would seem that the CCNU was not working, because Felix and Oscar continued to grow and the other 2 happened while I was taking that drug. So Momma & Dada & the Doc talked about giving me that 6th round of Adriamycin that I never had back in November of 2011. So I had that back on March 8 and did very well with it. I have a re-check next week, and we’ll see where to go from there.

But I’m doin’ FINE, still lovin’ life and giving kisses for free. I also celebrated my 20 and my 21 month Ampuversaries. Yes in the traditional cheesy-eggy-goodness style.

I did have one little mishap where I pooped in my crate the other week. Momma says I don’t need to tell everyone that, but I said I would document everything in my blog, so there you are. I pooped my pants, except that I don’t wear pants. I had to have a tubby, of course. And I’ve been loving to chew my paws even worse lately. So Momma, Dada, Nana or Mimi have to put my rubber booties on everytime I go out because it seems to be the cold or the wetness that makes me want to chew them. We even have a song we sing when we put them on: “Booty Time, Booty Time, Get on Down the Road”.

Momma is driving me nuts! Fussing over me, checking me for dry skin, treating my paws with some stuff that does feel good. And always rubbing me and checking me for more lumps.

Speaking of lumps – Lola had to go and get a lump checked, but it came back as a fatty lipoma. She lucked out, that girl. She’s always sniffing me, too. Bugging me to play…urgh. She’s a pest!! She runs at me and jumps right over me, sometimes even T-bones me. No respect, I tell you – no respect.

Here she is pushing me around in one of the many snow storms we’ve had here this winter.

And here we are in yet another humiliating picture of us being dressed up that Momma just insists on…. Momma likes to say it is the Hairless Pup and her Irish Guard

That is it for now folks. It is time for my supper!

Hoppy New Year 2013

January 13, 2013CCNU, Chemo, Hairless Pup, Hemangiosarcoma, Little sisters, Loungin', Metastasis, Metronomics, Soccer ballsdoggiemomma9

Hi everyone, it is me Butchey Hudson. I hope you all had a Hoppy New Year! I thought New Year’s was fine, but Momma says we got some bad news on New Years Eve at our doc appointment. It would seem my latest X-Rays show that although Felix is stable, Oscar is still growing. Quite a bit. And now I have lumps under my one of my ears, too. The Doc aspirated them and they came back positive for hemangiosarcoma. Phooey.

So now I am on a new drug, CCNU, in hopes that this will slow things down on the cancer front. Momma and Dada decided to stop the Cytoxan and Doxycycline because it didn’t seem to be doing enough. We check back with the doc 3 weeks after that New Years Eve appt. My CBC 1 week post CCNU came back OK. So I will probably have another dose of CCNU at my next appointment. It is in pill form, so no IV which Momma likes. We will do X-Rays again 6 weeks after last ones to see what the Odd Couple are doing, and we will monitor the size of my ear lump.

Momma and Dada are very sad, but hopeful that the CCNU will help me. Meanwhile, I just do what I do best: LOUNGE!

The trick is to become one with the pillows

For any of you wondering, the ~~gray~~ red soccer ball has been my favorite lately. It has the most flavor stored up in it.

I still like to be near the Hairless Pup a lot. She’s alright. Even though despite all the promises made to me, she has only just started to drop some food my way.

Lola just walked into the picture to get her self in the photgraph

Did I mention Momma had gotten a new camera? She likes this black and white stuff.

Me smelling the air. I LOVE sniffing the air. Tells you a lot about what the neighbors are eating.

The Hairless Pup complained to me about the Tutu. Just wait until they put her in the Cone of Shame!

Here is our official Christmas Picture for 2012. We only stay for CHEESE.

Here are me and Lola opening up our presents on Christmas morning.

Santa Paws brought me an Indoor Chuck-It. Yeah…Like that WON’T break anything in the house! And that floppy green dog behind me is Roofus. He get’s a whipping when he’s been bad, but I still like to hang out on the couch with him.

So that is it for now. Or so I think. Momma has seemed a bit giddy the past couple of days. She says she has a secret that I will like a lot. But she says ‘contractually’ she can’t say anymore….yet. What the woof is ‘contractually’? So I guess – Stay Tuned!

Coming off panic mode….for a few days at least

July 3, 2012Chemo, Hemangiosarcoma, Metronomics, Momma says, Nice peopledoggiemomma9

Butchey Hudson’s Momma here. Just a quick update, as we are fresh back from our visit from our oncologist to consult on the Hemangiosarcoma tumor removed from Butchey’s neck last week.

First the good news: No metastasis to spleen or heart. They did new ultrasounds and x-rays and no masses were found in those areas. For this we can feel like we can come off of panic mode, at least for a little while.

There are a few routes we can take for treatment. We could do chemo treatments using ifosfamide or dacarbazine. Or we could use Palladia, Palladia/Deramaxx/Cytoxan as maintenance, or go back to metronomic protocol but replace Deramaxx instead of Piroxicam. Let me footnote this with I am pretty sure I have all the drugs correct, but the brain is swirling and we agreed not to make a decision right at this point in time. She is going to consult with her other veterinary oncologists and we are going to discuss again maybe this Friday.

We have some concerns with going the chemo route again, after doing the Adriamycin last fall. We also have some concerns with GI upset after having some vomitting issues under the metronomic protocol over the past couple of months.

So our heads are spinning on a decision of what is the best route to take. A difficult aspect of this is that this isn’t a textbook case of Hemangiosarcoma (HSA). While we are extremely happy that the HSA hasn’t acted like it normally would and have gone to his organs (and have a much poorer prognosis) there really isn’t much to compare it to. I believe she told us 5% at best of HSA show up subcutaneously. But to have two spots is quite unusual. Her concern is that this is metastatic, of course. The thought that this was a separate HSA tumor is just too coincidental. I almost feel like we might be playing whack-a-mole with HSA. Where will it pop up next? But these are my own layman’s terms.

In other news, he is doing very well recovering from last Wednesday’s surgery. He is off the Tramadol now and seems to be in no discomfort, other than itching at the incision site. We had a bad bout of Montezuma’s revenge over last weekend following the surgery, but that seems to have been resolved. We are trying to contain his energy and keep him from whipping his toys around and playing too rough with Lola. However, we think that he might end up being a little sore tonight though, from wrestling with the vet techs for his ultrasound. But so far, so good. He is a happy boy, feeling well and still doesn’t know he has cancer (of course). He thinks life is grand and he’s most concerned with where and when his next piece of cheese is coming from or which squishy ball to choose to lounge on the couch with.

So that is it for now. We are going to take a long nap now and try to have a relaxing 4th of July holiday. Well as much as we can with the Butchmeister hating fireworks and thunderstorms. =0/

Hope everyone is enjoying a well deserved day off! Thank you all for your good thoughts, emails and kind words. Time is precious; enjoy EVERY day!!

Many Thank You’s and we decided to go with 5th chemo

October 4, 2011Chemo, Hemangiosarcoma, Momma saysdoggiemomma9

Butchey Hudson’s Momma here again….First of all – Butchey’s appointment went well. Cardiac ultrasound was good, blood chemistry panel was good. There were a couple of things that did pop up, but our veterinary oncologist (or as Butchey likes to think of her as “the lady with the knees I like to lick”) told us they were within normal range and/or normal in a dog not even on chemotherapy. So all in all a good report.

We discussed his weight loss as well. Brett & I had thought over about what we had done differently as well after the 4th treatment and we realized that for about 2 weeks we had switched his food (due to loose stool issues) and he was getting less fat in his diet. So we are increasing his portion size and much to his happiness, he’s going to be getting more eggs. She also mentioned his “haggard appearance” is from the adriamycin and will disappear after he finishes his treatment. I am also going to order a peanut from FitPaws and add that to our PT workout.

All in all, both Brett & I felt it was the right way to go. Both in gut and in heart. We also discussed metronomics and will most likely follow that as a treatment plan, when we stop the adriamycin. I think Tatespeeps had mentioned that in a comment, too. =)

I want to thank all of you, both here on Tripawds and on Facebook, for all your comments, thoughts, advice and kind words. We are more grateful of your support than you could possibly know. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts!

I tried responding to a few comments individually. I apologize, but I haven’t totally figured out this wordpress thing yet. Perhaps when I get our new computer, I will sit down and figure it out. Right now, things are loading slowly and I’d rather be playing with the pooches! =)

To do a 5th chemo treatment or not to do a 5th chemo treatment – That is the question

October 2, 2011Chemo, Eggs, Hemangiosarcoma, Momma saysdoggiemomma9

Butchey Hudson’s Mom Nancy here. Tough to write this one from Butchey’s point of view ;0)

Background: At the time Butch was diagnosed with HSA in right rear knee joint, the oncologist recommended amputation and 4 to 6 treatments of chemotherapy (Adriamycin). I hope I am quoting her correctly (will review all specifics with her on Tuesday’s appointment), but she had told us that 4 treatments is standard and if he was doing well he could get a 5th and 6th. But definitely no more than 6 treatments.

So we have now completed 4 treatments. Our 4th treatment was 3 1/2 weeks ago. This upcoming Tuesday we meet with her again and Butch gets an ultrasound of his heart to see if there has been any damage. If there is any signs of damage to the heart, then obviously chemo is out of the question. If the ultrasound comes back okay, then we have a decision to make on doing a 5th treatment.

We decided to have our regular vet and holistic vet check him out. We trust them both very much and just wanted to rule out any obvious signs (to them) of any health issues. They both think he looks good. To me, although his spirits are great, he looks a bit haggard. He has lost a ton of coat and has that skin discoloration that apparently is a side effect of adriamycin. He has also lost about 5 pounds in the last 3 weeks, which visibily (to me) includes a lot of muscle mass in his front shoulders. I would have thought his muscle mass would increase in his front shoulders, given the rear leg amputation.

He has also had a big issue with skin allergies. About a week or so ago, we finally made the decision to put him on Temaril-P (prednisone). This has made a HUGE improvement in the allergy department. He hadn’t been able to be out of his “cone of shame” since the surgery in June, really. Where before you couldn’t get him unfocussed off of chewing his paws, now he barely pays them any notice. We had to compromise with the prednisone aspect to give him a better quality of life, and we are very glad he is doing better with that.

So now what to do about a 5th treatment? If you asked us 3 weeks ago, we would have definitely have said no – given the allergy issue. Now that the allergies are so much better, we are on the fence. The weight loss really concerns me. And I am of the mindset, that if all that (including my perception of his haggard appearance) is happening on the outside – Then WHAT is happening on the inside? Or more aptly phrased – “How bad is it on the inside?” Otherwise, his appetite is great. He had a bout of diarrhea around his 4th treatment. Flagyl along with a hamburg and brown rice diet cleared that up and he has been okay in that department.

I am very interested in hearing from any of you who have found yourselves at this impass before and what was involved in your decision making process. I know regardless of what route we choose, hindsight is 50/50 and we could have regrets and What Ifs either way.

Of course we still have our appointment for the heart ultrasound and a consult with the oncologist first. Our decision might be made for us, and she could have additional info that could sway us in either direction. I wonder if I am making too much of the decision and should just go with it if we get the clear. But something in my gut just tells me to be cautious….

Here’s a recent picture taken about a week ago. This one even includes Lola!

Lola (left) and Butchey (right) Fall 2011

Well gotta go…Big Boy is nudging me to let me know that he wants his supper. For some reason I keep seeing an Egg… I told you his appetite was fine! =)

Today was FUN and other catch-ups

September 11, 2011Amputation, CDSP, Chemo, Eggs, Nice peopledoggiemomma9

My Momma says that her Dada had a saying when he had cancer. The saying was “When you get up every morning and both feet hit the floor it is going to be a good day”. Well I guess I can say the same thing when all THREE of my feet hit the floor! You also know it is going to be a good fun day when your training bag is packed and Momma is cutting up a steak and cheese into little pieces at the kitchen counter and putting them into the doggie cooler. You say Potato….I say Cheese.

Today WAS a good day. Me & Momma did our first obedience trial as a Tripawd. There is this venue called Companion Dog Sports Program (CDSP for short). They allow for exercise modifications for dogs like us so we can still strut our stuff in the ring. I could get an exercise modification for my slow pace, because that is harder for me to slow down now. For the recall over the jump exercise the bar could be on the ground. You know I can’t do everything as perfect as I could before, and some exercises are harder for me now. But we don’t get fussed over crooked sits and perfect performances, we just like to have fun working as a team! Momma says we weren’t going to care if we Q’d or not, just as long as we had a good time. And I had a good time! The Judges and other teams were super friendly and everyone didn’t smell all stressed out like they have at other obedience stuff I’ve been to when I had four legs.

Let’s see…what else? I had my fourth chemo treatment this past Friday. Momma and Dada are not sure yet whether I will continue on for a fifth or sixth treatment. They are a little weary of the cumulative effects of the chemo drug. I get Adriamycin every 3 weeks. My scans that were done just before my third treatment didn’t find any masses. So that was good news, but it doesn’t mean that the hemangiosarcoma isn’t anywhere else in my body. We go back again in 3 weeks and I get an ultrasound of my heart to make sure that is okay and then we will talk to the nice doctor who has great knees about how to proceed with treatment.

I’ve been having some problems with skin irritations and allergies, but we don’t know if that is chemo related or not. I was on Benadryl, but now we are trying Hydroxyzine. Dada had to get the Hydroxyzine prescription at the drugstore pharmacy. It came with a warning to not operate heavy machinery or drive a car. How can I drive a car with only 3 legs??? I won’t get into the details of my diarrhea on Friday either. It is not a proud moment in a dog’s life when our person has to clean our bum…in public.

All in all, life has been good. I enjoy playing ball in the backyard just like I used to. Stairs have gotten easier for me now. I’m a little afraid of walking too far from my own house, but we are working on that. I always get excited when we turn around to walk back home. Momma says pretty much that the only things I can’t do now that I could do before are scratch the right side of my face and mount my sister. Somethings you do need 2 back legs for…

Momma says this Wednesday, September 14th will be my 3 month Ampuversary. I’ll take her word on it, because I can’t read a calendar. That should be a good day, too. I bet I’ll get eggs for breakfast!

Busy busy fella

July 31, 2011Chemo, Eggs, Hemangiosarcoma, Nice people, Physical Therapydoggiemomma9

So I had a busy couple of days!

Friday I had my second chemo appointment with the nice doctor whose knees I like to lick. You can tell a lot about people by the way their feet smell. This lady is busy busy busy and very nice. So far, I have been feeling great after my treatment. AND Momma is making me fried eggs again. I am scheduled to back to NEVOG again in 3 weeks, and this time they will do an ultrasound and x-ray again. Momma says she will be nervous. I don’t like they way she smells when she’s nervous. She also said I am going to have to get my belly shaved again for the ultrasounds. Oh well….it is nice being cooler with no fur on my belly in the summer.

Then later that afternoon I went to see my holistic vet. She is very nice and her feet have been very busy, too. I had a good appointment, but the only thing was…..my little sister tagged along. I like Lola, I do, but sometimes she gets in the middle of me trying to get my sweet on with somebody. Always butting in…..I suppose she means well. Anyway, the people there are very nice and I like to pee in the park next door.

On Saturday I went for my first Physical Therapy appointment (no Lola tag along, yeah!). That was a lot of fun. I met new people and they were very nice. Their feet smelled busy as well, lots of dogs. We did a lot of fun stuff! Serpentines with cones (just like rally!) and jumps and ladders, oh my! After I did all these activities, the nice lady gave me a rub down. That felt really good. Momma & Dada got me a balance disk that will help strengthen my back leg. I get lots of treats when I get both front paws on it at the same time. And guess what…this place has a pool! Just for doggies! But I can’t go in yet. Momma says my sore needs to heal up completely before I can get in the pool. My sore keeps getting smaller and smaller, but chemo slows the healing process down, so I still have to wait a little while.

So I’ve been a good boy, taking all my medications that Momma & Dada give me. I’ve been eating all my suppers with all of my supplements. They keep taking my temperature, which is not so much fun. But Momma says it has to be done so they can tell if I am getting sick again. I hope not, but at least I got eggs last time when I was at the ER Vet.

It also seem that Nana comes and stays with me after I get chemo, too. She likes to make sure I am doing okay and that I am feeling well. She is good company and a very good ear massager, too. My Mimi was here the other night, too. She brought new toys for me and Lola, and there were hidden treats in them!!! Mimi likes it when I lick her shins. I like both my grandmommas a whole lot.

My cousin Kayla send me a nice note after I had my surgery. She is only a few months older than I am, but she writes a lot better than I do. Of course, she does have thumbs, and I don’t…..

Kayla and her sister Tori are a lot of fun. I like it when they come to visit me. They like to feed me treats.

Momma says we know lots of nice nice people. I know I like the vet techs a whole lot. They like to give me treats. And some I know from the doggie gym, too. The vets are very nice and even call to check on me. One of them used to have the nickname Butch when he was younger, too! Momma says that my doctors keep in better touch with me than her doctors do with her. I think she needs new doctors! I hope she at least gets treats when she goes to see them.

The other doggie Mommas are nice too. They sent this nice package with lots of toys and treats. It even had Chuck-it balls! My sister and I were playing with the armadillo today. I remembered Momma cried the day it came. I got very excited and wanted to sniff through the box. I guess I hadn’t gotten up on my own in a couple of days until this package came. That day I was catching balls in mid air again. Momma cried. She cries even when she is happy. She says we are very lucky to know such nice nice people.

Momma says she hopes to type my blog for me more often now that I am doing better. Maybe we can put up some pics of me on my new balance disk.