Kat
Seeking wine/shopping/teeth brushing support group
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2010
- Messages
- 1,876
Some of you might remember me chatting about Courage, our 12ish year old buff cocker, who has lymphoma... he is halfway through his chemo protocol. He's alive (and otherwise wouldn't be) and feels like himself most of the time, minus some nausea here and there. We haven't had to drop a kazillion dollars (yet) and my MIL is doing all of his care and babying him like he deserves.
A couple months ago, Sadie, our 12 year old chocolate cocker got a cancerous tumor. It flared up to more than softball size Friday and she got really sick. We thought we were losing her. We spent yesterday at the animal cancer center, a specialty clinic, which is totally different than how Courage's chemo is being done.
We started chemo pills today, she feels really good. But it's SHOCKING the difference from our regular vet doing chemo in her office to a "we do it all" specialty clinic. They wanted 1500-2000 for her consultation and work up, with a CT scan and ultrasound, and then chemo (a pill you give at home every other day) is 300+ per week. They want to do radiation and hope that will shrink this massive size tumor to where it can be surgical removed. That cost is an additional 3000-6000 dollars. We couldn't believe it.
So we are working out our budget and trying to plan what to do. We want her to feel good and do well, but we don't have a money tree either. This clinic won't let you make a down payment and pay off the treatment through out... you pay up front everything. I get it, people don't pay, but golly gee willickers...
So it's crazy stressful around our house. At least she feels good for now and the tumor shrank again but it's still huge.
Since we don't have human kids, these dogs are our "kids" and have been with us for years upon years upon years. Both my hubby and I have been kind of freaking out at that thought of them not being here. We already lost one dog to cancer, and our 14 year old cat died a couple of months ago of cancer. These guys, we just thought, at 12, we had more time.
So just rambling about it, sharing it, I don't know why it helps but it does. I wrote a bit about it on my photo blog with some pictures of the dogs. http://ktsimplyphotography.com/blog/
****Update 10/27 am
Sadie started her chemo pills Thursday and I am shocked, b/c they haven't made her sick really at all, it's a huge blessing. I was sure she'd have an upset tummy or some nausea Her tumor seems to be smaller already, which is also wonderful news. It's a very active tumor and it shrinks and grows and changes a lot, so I am trying to keep that in mind. The chemo pill did give her the smelliest gas a dog could ever have. It was so bad that when she and I went upstairs, my husband came down a few minutes later and could STILL smell it, lol!! To sit by her, you need a gas mask. But if that's the worst of it, then that's fantastic.
We hope to have a decision made on the rest of it today. She'll need more chemo pills on Wednesday so we have to get serious on what we will still do. She is feeling like herself so we are really glad to see that and can only pray that it lasts.
My MIL called the past few days to keep us UTD on Courage, and he's perked back up too.
A couple months ago, Sadie, our 12 year old chocolate cocker got a cancerous tumor. It flared up to more than softball size Friday and she got really sick. We thought we were losing her. We spent yesterday at the animal cancer center, a specialty clinic, which is totally different than how Courage's chemo is being done.
We started chemo pills today, she feels really good. But it's SHOCKING the difference from our regular vet doing chemo in her office to a "we do it all" specialty clinic. They wanted 1500-2000 for her consultation and work up, with a CT scan and ultrasound, and then chemo (a pill you give at home every other day) is 300+ per week. They want to do radiation and hope that will shrink this massive size tumor to where it can be surgical removed. That cost is an additional 3000-6000 dollars. We couldn't believe it.
So we are working out our budget and trying to plan what to do. We want her to feel good and do well, but we don't have a money tree either. This clinic won't let you make a down payment and pay off the treatment through out... you pay up front everything. I get it, people don't pay, but golly gee willickers...
So it's crazy stressful around our house. At least she feels good for now and the tumor shrank again but it's still huge.
Since we don't have human kids, these dogs are our "kids" and have been with us for years upon years upon years. Both my hubby and I have been kind of freaking out at that thought of them not being here. We already lost one dog to cancer, and our 14 year old cat died a couple of months ago of cancer. These guys, we just thought, at 12, we had more time.
So just rambling about it, sharing it, I don't know why it helps but it does. I wrote a bit about it on my photo blog with some pictures of the dogs. http://ktsimplyphotography.com/blog/
****Update 10/27 am
Sadie started her chemo pills Thursday and I am shocked, b/c they haven't made her sick really at all, it's a huge blessing. I was sure she'd have an upset tummy or some nausea Her tumor seems to be smaller already, which is also wonderful news. It's a very active tumor and it shrinks and grows and changes a lot, so I am trying to keep that in mind. The chemo pill did give her the smelliest gas a dog could ever have. It was so bad that when she and I went upstairs, my husband came down a few minutes later and could STILL smell it, lol!! To sit by her, you need a gas mask. But if that's the worst of it, then that's fantastic.
We hope to have a decision made on the rest of it today. She'll need more chemo pills on Wednesday so we have to get serious on what we will still do. She is feeling like herself so we are really glad to see that and can only pray that it lasts.
My MIL called the past few days to keep us UTD on Courage, and he's perked back up too.
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