Indy -- 2nd Round of CHEMO

Today was Indy's appointment for her second round of chemotherapy.  If you'll remember, it was postponed from last week due to her leg infection and the fact that we hadn't received her MDR Genetic Testing Results yet.

So Jared dropped her off this morning around 9am.  Dr. Choy called us around 12:30pm and he was very pleased with the progress on the infection.  Her leg had responded nicely to the antibiotics and much of the swelling was gone.  In addition that lymph node had decreased in size -- although still larger than he would like, he was pleased with the progress.

This all made way for the O in the CHOP -- vincristine is the drug and the trade name is Oncovin.  It was administered intravenously via injection and Indy did marvelous.  Dr. Choy didn't expect any side effects since her genetic testing came back NORMAL -- and so we will just keep an eye on her.  Considering that we are both off now until the 4th of January, that shouldn't be problem.

Additionally, her Predinsone dose remains the same and she has no dietary or activity restrictions.  So that is good!  The one piece of bad news is that since we skipped chemo last week, the lymph node in her shoulder had increased to about 2".  This was expected (although it would have been great if it hadn't happened).  Dr. Choy will continue to monitor next week when she goes in for the next round!

Go INDY!

The Tolt on a Sunny Day in December

Indy was at her Chemo appointment, so Jared decided to take the camera and hike west on the Tolt Pipeline Trail.  It was a cold day (38 degrees), but the sun was shining and there wasn't a breath of wind.

At the top of the hill, it was easy to see all the snow on both the Cascades and the Olympics.  Below are the Cascade Mountains to the East.

There was still ice over the pond at the top, but it was beginning to melt... especially were dogs had hopped in for a dip.

And, looking west towards the Olympic Mountains.

Hindsight

As our Indy drama subsides (hopefully), we have had a chance to go back and catch up on a few things.  Going back through some photos we had taken, but not taken off the camera, we found the following:

Now looking at these photos, no one would ever know that this dog has cancer.  These photos were taken about a week prior to her being diagnosed with Stage IV lymphoma.  We beat ourselves up for not noticing something was wrong with her.  The Oncologist reassured us that there was nothing we could have done from getting blood tests on monthly basis.  We believed him, but we still felt bad. However, after looking at these photos, we are convinced -- we could not have done anything sooner to diagnose Indy.  Look at that face -- who would know that anything is wrong with her?!

Indy at Her Cutest!

Now we realized that we are biased, but Indy was looking pretty darned cute so we had to take some photos.  She is very relaxed now that all of her Christmas presents are open and that Christmas dinner is over with and everything is all cleaned up.

That being said, she decided it was time for a doggie nap in her cushy doggie bed!

If you look closely at the photo below you can see a scab forming on one of her holes (lower left in the photo).

And here she is keeping a very close eye on Daddy -- she is thinking that she is trying to nap and Daddy keeps disturbing me.

And finally a close-up of that cute face...

Christmas

Christmas was quiet this year and we were all very thankful for it...just a few weeks ago, we weren't sure if Indy would still be with us.  That being said, she was, so we took full advantage of it.  Note that there are THREE stockings (as usual) on the mantle -- hers being the fullest!

 And here is a shot of the Christmas Tree with the fire in the background...it was a calm, quiet Christmas -- just like we wanted.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

An Unexpected Oncology Vist

By the time today arrived, Indy's leg was even more swollen than it had been.  This made both Jared and Kristina a little uneasy.  Ever since the vet visit on Sunday, we had been following the ER vet's directions precisely (more walks, but shorter; heat applications).  So, Jared called the oncology department and asked what they advised.

Considering that she was supposed to go in on Wednesday (23rd) for her next round of chemo, they thought it best to bring her into the office.  So Jared loaded her up and took her into the office.  They measured all of her lymph nodes, did her blood work, and did a complete physical exam and came to the conclusion that she had an infection in her leg.  It was likely caused from the cut in her pad that we discovered on Saturday and since her immune system is compromised from the chemo, it took hold of her.  So, they prescribed two antibiotics and postponed her next chemo treatment until the 30th.  We were still waiting on her MDR genetic test results anyway, so it was an easy decision.

Hopefully we can push through this infection and get on with the chemo.

An Unexpected ER Visit for Indy

As mentioned in an earlier post, Indy had her first CHEMO regimen appointment this past Wednesday.  She had no lingering affects that we could see, except that yesterday we noticed that her right back leg was swollen.  We watched it all day yesterday, but today we were a little unnerved, so we went to the ER today for a quick check.

The working theory is that her lymph node back there is having trouble draining properly.  She re-assured us and after about an hour, we were headed home again.  We are going to apply a heat pack to it for 20 minutes at least three times a day, and we should take her on shorter walks and more of them to aid in drainage.

The one wrinkle in everything is that somehow she has scuffed a pad on that paw as well and now we are trying to get that healed up as well.  When it rains, it pours.  Jared is doing a great job of being the paramedic and we are sure she will be as good as new in no time.

Next up...CHEMO round 2 on this upcoming Wednesday!

CHEMO Treatment #1

Indy had her first CHEMO treatment today -- she was given the C in the CHOP.  They gave it to her in the form of pill since her MDR genetic test results are not back, but Dr. Choy assured us that it would be fine and that the dosage is the same.

Jared dropped her off around 9am and would be back to pick her up around 12:30pm.  For each appointment, we drop her off, they do a full physical exam, blood work, administer the drug and then monitor until we pick her up.

When Jared picked her up, she had taken the treatment well.  Dr. Choy adjusted her regimen at home a bit and they were off.

Oh yeah, and we also found out that she had B-cell and not T-cell lymphoma.  This was the best news that we had heard in a while -- B-cell means that we might even be able to have her live longer than a year.  BIG SMILE!

Indy -- Part 3

Today was a great day -- Indy came home from the animal hospital -- and she looks GREAT!  They released her from the ICU this morning and since we weren't supposed to pick her up until 4pm, she had the run of the office from 10am - 4pm.  We aren't sure how she does it, but she always manages to end up running the place -- no matter what place it is.

We picked her up with no diet restrictions or activity restrictions at all.  Dr. Choy gave us a regimen of medicine for her and we were off.  It was good to have her home, and she was the same ol' Indy! Next step will be the start of her CHEMO -- her appointment is set for 16th.

Indy Winning the Fight

Here's a picture of Indy in her Cancer Swag...

Go INDY!

Indy - Part 2

Today we went in to see the oncologist, Dr, Kevin Choy.  It was all Kristina could do to keep from sobbing, but when the oncologist comes in he starts explaining everything as if he can treat Indy.  We stop and ask him, "She can be treated?" -- and he says YES!  We can't believe it!  For a dog that has Stage IV lymphoma, we thought there no hope -- we now have hope!

Basically, he believes he can return Indy to a normal life for some time (maybe even a year), depending on the treatment option.  He goes on to explain that there are 4 options:  no treatment, steroid only treatment, 1 chemo drug, or the gold standard, "CHOP", which is a mix of 4 chemo druges.  He went on to explain all of the treatment options and the life expectancies with each option, along with cost.  When all was said and done, we decided on CHOP, and we can start next week.

In the course of 30 minutes, we went from having no hope to having hope again -- which is what we needed.  He then said that he would need to keep Indy overnight again -- she had made good progress, but he wanted to watch her and try to get the lymph nodes smaller.  However, we could go see her and that she was doing well.

We walked into the ICU and our Indy was back!  Her eyes were brighter (and less yellow), her energy was back (she tried to jump out of the cage), and she had eaten well for the last 24 hours.  We were so happy to see her improvement in just 24 hours.  And she was happy to see us and definitely wanted to go home, but she couldn't.  They needed to watch her, so we left...as we were leaving, we heard Indy's bark -- as if she was saying, "Hey, don't forget me!".  We would never forget her!

Hope is a wonderful thing!

Indy -- Part 1

Well, we left Indy at the ICU at SVS today.  SVS stands for Seattle Veterinary Specialists and things don't look good.

Right before Thanksgiving, she was a bit barfy -- not that big of a deal for Indy because she is a barfy dog.  She has always had the tendency to eat too fast and eat whatever she finds (whether it is edible or not).  That being said, we just assumed that it was just her being barfy.  The Sunday after Thanksgiving, she barfed 2 times consecutively and that worried us.  So, we decided to switch to a bland diet -- poached chicken and steamed rice.

The next few days, she rebounded like a champ and in no time she was back to normal.  However, on Thursday (a week after Thanksgiving), she started getting worse.  She would no longer eat poached chicken and steamed rice and it just kept getting worse.  Getting Indy to eat was a challenge and it has NEVER been a challenge in the past.  We watched her and by Friday she was very lethargic and not getting any better.  Kristina called and got a vet appointment Saturday morning (5th).

We showed up and by this time, Indy's lymph nodes were very swollen and still not feeling well, but we could get her to eat a little bit here and there.  The vet said she could just have an infection, or it could be cancer (even though she is only 6).  That being said, blood tests needed to be run, so they collected for blood and aspirated all of her lymph nodes so that they could test those as well.  Test results wouldn't be back until Monday evening, so we were just supposed to watch her.

Soon after the appointment, Jared had to leave to go to San Francisco for work over the weekend.  So that left Indy in the care of Kristina.  Indy was not good all weekend -- more and more lethargic and not eating.  Jared came home Sunday night and he agreed that she didn't look good.

On Monday, Jared stayed home with Indy to await test results.  The vet called late that evening (after Kristina had gotten home from work) and the blood work did not look good - liver enzymes were way off.  The cancer test hadn't come back yet, but she said that things did not look good and suggested we see an oncologist.  Ugh...here we go again, we lost Logan at Christmas time 4 years ago and we had just started to enjoy Christmas again.  This can't be happening.

Early Tuesday morning, Jared called and we tried to get into the oncologist, but there were no available appointments until 12/21.  We implored that she can't wait that long.  So the woman on the phone suggested we come in through the emergency room and see the oncologist that way.

We arrived at the ER and you could tell by looking at the staff that things didn't look good.  Dr. Newton, the ER vet, was pretty sure she had cancer, but they were going to re-run the test to make certain.  Within an hour, it was confirmed, Indy has lymphoma (by the way, we still hadn't received the original test results back from the Saturday appointment).  We left Indy in very capable hands, but it was difficult.  However, she needed to stay -- she was not eating and they needed to get some nourishment into her.  She had lost almost 10 lbs in just a week...not good for dog that only weights 65lbs to begin with (not that she couldn't have stood to lose a little weight).  Things don't look good.

November Rain

Well, if there was any doubt if the rain was going to come back...be rest assured, it came back. We do feel a bit relieved.  After the dry spring and summer that we have had (not complaining, just mentioning), Kristina was a bit worried that the "dry" pattern might continue, especially since it is predicted to be an El Nino year.  However, we received 7.68" of rain in November.  The average is 5.8" and we were well above that, so it is looking good going into December.  Hopefully the snow will come back in the mountains this year!

Happy December!