Jasmine's Cancer Story
Life After Chemo
Wednesday, November 3, 2004
This last dose of adria has been harder on Jasmine, but still pretty mild on the spectrum of counter-reactions. She has been vomitting small amounts of orange bile every other morning, but will eat some food by the evening. I swear she's lost weight, which is a good thing, since she has always been shaped like a fireplug. She actually has a bit of a waist now. I gave her a 1/4 of a 10 mg. Reglan pill (1/2 of her dose) and she is still hyper. She should crash soon, but then the arthritis will flare up and she'll have a limp.
Uh oh, the dogs are quiet. I wonder what they are getting into???
Nixie and Jasmine playing November 3, 2004 [Quick Time Movie, 3.64 MB]
Hopped up on Reglan. October 10, 2004
Sunday, November 14, 2004
Jasmine had her last adria treatment two weeks ago. Now I'm noticing that she has lost/is losing spots of hair. Is this to be expected? One section is on the top of her knee, and the other is on her throat, where her collar tags rub (1" wide by 3" long). She just has bare skin on these spots and it shows off her old dog wrinkly skin.
The fur hasn't grown back where she was shaved for her IVs or from her ultrasound (6 weeks ago). The whiskers they shaved for her surgery are coming in, I think, because she scratches at them. She also isn't eating much. Well, she'll eat french fries and sausage from my pizza, but not her dog food. On the other hand, she is perky and will play with the other dogs. She has a follow up with CSU VTH on December 10th.
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Thanksgiving Day. Jasmine behaved herself, and hopefully didn't get too stuffed on the few table scraps she snaked. The "pups" were relegated to the bedroom during the meal, but otherwise behaved themselves. Jasmine has lost more hair, in patches. She has lost the hair round her nose, and many of her whiskers. She has lost hair in spots around her rear end, the top of her knee, around her ears, and lots of other places. I'm not too worried, I'm sure it's just the effects from the adria. She is perky and very feisty, and the thinnest I've ever seen her.
Saturday, December 11, 2004
Jasmine went in for a oncology check yesterday, six weeks after her last chemo dose. Everything is still clear. The chest x-rays were great, and all of her bloodwork is fantastic. She has lost spots of fur here and there after her last chemo treatment, but they told us that it happens with some dogs, especially labs. Jasmine is half lab, so they weren't concerned, and said it would all grow back soon. She's lost all of her whiskers and the hair around her nose. Otherwise, she is very perky and feisty. She loves playing with Nixie and she still rules the roost. She got to go to PetSmart after her oncology visit.
Thursday, February 10, 2005
I haven't updated Jasmine's page in a while, because her status hasn't changed. She will be cancer-free for six months next week (woo hoo!). Her hair started coming back a week after the December oncology visit—go figure! Most of her whiskers haven't come back, but she does have one really long white one on the left side of her face. The spoiled little dog has kept off the weight she lost during chemo (yeah!) and eats a can of wet food supplemented with as much ProPac Large Breed kibble she can chow down when the pups aren't stepping on her. She now picks fights with Levi, as well as Nixie. She is still the Queen Dog. She has a follow-up appointment with CSU VTH on March 25th for x-rays and the usual check up procedures.
Friday, March 25, 2005
Jasmine had her three month oncology check up today. I mentioned to the vet tech about her limping in the evenings, especially when the weather is cold and damp. They did the usual blood work, thoracic x- rays, and a thorough orthopedic exam. They found that she was a bit sore in her right front elbow, but she was either very stoic, or not in pain anywhere else. She has also regained the 10 lbs she lost during her chemo treatment, so she is a bit of a chunk again. That might explain the limping. She is built like a fireplug, with spindly little legs. I'm surprised she hasn't had more arthritis or ortho problems, since she is over 11 years old. We go back in three months.
Getting ready to walk the survivor lap. June 17, 2005
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Jasmine walked her first survivor lap at our local Relay for Life yesterday. She did very well, though she was limping rather badly by the end. She kept pulling to go faster, but she handled the crowd well, and didn't do her usual zig-zag thing. This is the only time during the Relay for Life that they allow dogs in the stadium. She was the only dog I saw during the lap, but there were two other luminarias there for dogs who have lost the battle to cancer. Jasmine wore a "I'm a Survivor" neckerchief, with a "Cancer Sucks" button. Our whole team sported those buttons, in honor of our teammate who is fighting adenocarcinoma. We kicked some royal butt in the fundraising arena, raising over $7200, which puts us as the top money raisers for our Relay event. We placed in several categories, and won the coveted Tailgate Gourmet trophy for best food. We librarians take our food seriously! Our Relay team website is http://wyomingweb.net/relay/ and for more information on Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society, see http://www.cancer.org/docroot/GI/gi_1.asp.
Today is the 10 month anniversary of Jasmine being cancer free!
Tuesday, July 5, 2005
Jasmine had her 3 month oncology check up last Thursday. That chunk gained another four pounds. She is past her pre-chemo weight. She has been limping worse from her right front leg, so I had them check it out again. No cancer, just bad arthritis. Dr. Boston told us she has to lose weight to help out with that leg. She is the first vet who has actually told us Jasmine needs to lose weight. Who would've thought that a dog missing so many teeth and part of her jaw could overeat? We tried a limiting her food few months ago, but obviously not hard enough! She is still active and plays with the "pups", but pays for it afterwards. Dr. Boston suggested swimming for exercise. The "lakes" in town do not allow dogs—not that I'd swim in them (yuck!). There is a hydrotherapy place about 45 miles away called Hydro Hounds in Laramie. I'll see if I can get her in there once a week. They are taking her off Rimadyl, which wasn't doing much, and putting her on Deramaxx, with the occasional Tramadol. She starts the Deramaxx this Thursday, July 7th.
One bad note, however, is that they found a spot on one of her lung x- rays. The surgeon didn't catch it, but the radiologist did. It was only on one view, so it may be nothing. They want us to come back in 4 – 6 weeks for more lung x-rays. My husband and I are debating whether or not to do that. It would be another half day of work missed, and about $200. So, if we get the x-rays done and there is no spot—yeah. We do nothing. If there is a more defined spot, we would probably do nothing, and continue to enjoy the time we have with her. Our GP vet thought thoracic surgery would be very hard on her (she'll be 12 next month) and I don't want to put her through chemo again. Despite the limp, she is a happy dog and craves those belly rubs. I'm leaning towards blissful ignorance.
Friday, July 8, 2005
Ah, how do you get an old, arthritic dog to lose weight? We cut back on her food three months ago when we realized she had gained the weight back, but I honestly didn't think that a dog missing so much jaw and so many teeth could overeat. It is probably a combination of eating the same amount, but being less active because of the joint pain. The joint pain causes her to be less active, so she gains weight, which aggravates the joint pain. Vicious cycle. She was on Rimadyl for months, but it didn't seem to help. She took a week off from that, and I realized it probably was helping, because her limp got worse. She started up the Deramaxx yesterday. Her oncologist also gave us Tramadol for occasional use, and it helps, but it also makes her a bit dopey and not active at all.Monday, July 11, 2005
The Deramaxx is definitely helping. She had almost no limp over the weekend. I started her on Beneful since I knew other dogs that had done well and lost a lot of weight on it. Hopefully that, more exercise, and fewer calories will help her out. She still loves those belly rubs.
Erin with Levi, Jasmine and Nixie in the Cache la Poudre River, Poudre Canyon,
Colorado, July 24, 2005
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
I was out of town most of last week, and my husband noticed that Jasmine's allergies had flared up out of control. We started thinking back to what had changed, and we realized that Beneful is a Purina product, and therefore full of corn. Jasmine, like me, is very allergic to corn. So, we are back to square one now. I went to A&C Feed Store where we get the the food the "pups" are on, and I looked at the Iams and Eukanuba dry foods and they start out with corn as well. I finally found Wellness Lite, which has absolutely no corn, and looks like it might do the trick. She seems to like it, and I'm cutting her portions, increasing her supplements, and I'll see if I can take her out for a short walk. Her arthritis flared up bad because of the allergies--she was constantly pacing and rubbing and itching and biting and scratching. I haven't taken her to hydrotherapy yet. Budget-wise, it may come down to hydrotherapy or oncology x-rays.
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Friday, Jasmine's limp was very bad. I had her in to the vet for her nail trim and I asked him if there was anything else I could do for her arthritis. He said there wasn't much else to do, but was curious about how she would handle the hydrotherapy. On my drive back to work after her appointment, I realized that I was taking this harder than I thought I would. I came to the realization that I was prepared to lose her to the cancer, but I was not prepared to lose her to just plain ol' old age. That is something you can't fight.
Jasmine in the pool at HydroHounds with the therapist,
Deb. August 6, 2005
Saturday, Jasmine and I drove the 45 miles over the "hill" to Laramie for her first hydrotherapy session at HydroHounds. Jasmine has never gone swimming, so it took her a bit to get used to the life vest and the idea of floating in warm water. Deb was wonderful with her. She spent most of the time massaging and stretching Jasmine. Jasmine enjoyed that a lot. However, whenever Deb let go of her so she could swim, Jasmine would make a bee-line for the edge. Deb would hold her back and Jasmine would do a little resistance training. It took Jasmine 30 minutes to figure out that she could pant and not drown. She was having a difficult time getting enough air through her crooked nose. Deb spent a lot of time getting Jasmine to relax. However, after a 45 minute session, Jasmine didn't want to get out of the water! She was one tired pooch the rest of the afternoon, but by evening, she had her second wind and was bright- eyed and bushy-tailed again. She still has her limp, but she is also full of life.
I'm taking all three of them next weekend. It could be very interesting, and hopefully in a good way. Levi, the brindled GSD mix, is 4 years old, and healthy. Nixie, my orthodog Dane, is almost 4 but the right weight. I worry about her back and hips because of the TPLO she had two years ago. Levi is scared of anything new, and Nixie can be intimidated and shy, but peer pressure usually wins out when it comes to her experiencing new things.
Monday, August 8, 2005
We took the whole pack last Saturday–Jasmine got a full 45 minute session, and Levi and Nixie got about 30 minutes each. Nixie, our Dane orthodog, is a horrible swimmer–she's all legs, and she flayed around wildly. She did like floating and getting massaged and stretched. Levi, our brindled GSD mix, loved the water and was a great swimmer. Jasmine, our cancer survivor with the bad foreleg arthritis, swims straight, though she sure doesn't walk straight these days.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Today is Jasmine's one year anniversary of being cancer free. "The median survival times reported for osteosarcoma of the head are poor with most less than 12 months." (from the AVCS web site http://www.acvs.org/AnimalOwners/HealthConditions/BoneTumorsinCatsandDog s/) It makes me very happy she beat that and is still chugging along.
She goes into for more x-rays on the 31st, her 12th birthday, to see if that spot on her last x-ray was indeed a lung met. Her limp is still bad, despite the supplements and Deramaxx, but she is full of vim and vigor. She enjoys her brief "limps" around the block, with her head bobbing up and down trying to get her old, still overweight, body moving foward. However, she runs without a limp. She also plays with little plush toys, and she picks on the Great Dane, who loves to knock Jasmine around.
