Well not so good news - Raven has lymphoma...
So after the major surgery last fall to correct the herniated disk in her neck, she had recovered and was mostly back to normal, but we noticed recently she had swollen lymph nodes, lack of energy, and loss of appetite. Checks of fluid drawn confirmed a type of lymphoma, so we had her into the vet again today to talk about the next steps. We decided to start her on the chemo today, so she is there getting her first course that will conclude in 25 weeks. At first it will be every week, then after 6 weeks it goes to treatments every 2 weeks.
We are hoping that this will help get her appetite back and get her back to being her normal self, stalking me for my lunch and keeping Remi company on the couch...
The vet says that the success rates are pretty high for remission, and that the remission period often lasts a year, so this will give her some better health we hope and add some time on for her. She's such a good dog and we were hesitant to put her through any treatments considering all she's been through, but the vet said they focus a lot of improving quality of life, so the goal is to make her feel better and not feel more sick.
Hoping for the best! She was a bit of a miracle dog last year as we didn't think she would make it through the spinal surgery, so hoping we can repeat that again here!
We had fun at the dog park this weekend - running free and playing tag with the other dogs
So a quick update on Raven and her cancer treatments. There have been some ups and downs, and after the last treatment that was given at home (just tablets) when she had blood work done the next week prior to her next intravenous treatment, her white cell count had collapsed. They could not carry on with the treatment, and she was immediately put on anti-biotics as a preventative measure, because she would not be able to fight off any sort of infection. We had to try to keep her away from anything that might cause any sort of infection - not easy with dogs who have their noses in the dirt and grass every time they go outside.
We had the levels tested 2 times, and on Monday they had come back up and we were able to get her in for the treatment that she missed last week. Her weight had come up almost a kg, but yesterday she basically wouldn't eat anything I was offering. In the end the only thing I could get her to eat was some buttered toast - a desperation meal to get something in he stomach so she could take some medications. but it worked! Today is better though and she is feeling pretty good.
She's back in for another treatment next Monday...
Cheers, Al
