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Bevd

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Posts posted by Bevd

    John

    in Remembrance

    Posted

    Oh dear me - I am so very sorry to read this :( I saw the other thread locked and saw one called John which had been moved and I clicked, hoping it was going to take me anywhere but to this section :(

     

    I really am very sorry.

     

    :grouphug

    Roscoe Isnt Feeling Well

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    To be honest, if he won't drink and has had that much big D, I'd have to take him in to the vets. The fact that his gums are not a great colour doesn't sound as good as it could so I'd really consider at least phoning the vets for advice at this point.

     

    I hope he is much better soon :)

    Chemo Prep

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted · Edited by Bevd

    Currently the plan is to use Doxorubicin from OSU. I have been doing a lot of research on the various protocols and there is some anecdotal evidence Carboplatin may do better but not scientific fact. It is easier on their stomachs, costs a lot more but can be toxic to kidneys. This is what I have found:

     

    Cisplatin (given IV every 3 to 4 weeks for 3 treatments)

     

    The median survival time with this therapy is 400 days.

     

    Survival at 1 year: 30% to 60%

     

    Survival at 2 years: 7% to 21%

     

    Giving less than 3 doses does not increase survival time (i.e., if one can only afford one or two treatments, it is not worth the expense of therapy)

     

    Cisplatin can be toxic to the kidneys and should not be used in animals with pre-existing kidney disease.

     

     

     

    Carboplatin (given by IV every 3 to 4 weeks for 4 treatments)

     

    Similar statistics to cisplatin but carboplatin is not toxic to the kidneys and can be used if the patient has pre-existing kidney disease.

     

    Carboplatin is substantially more expensive than cisplatin.

     

     

     

    Doxorubicin (given IV every 2 weeks for 5 treatments)

     

    The median survival time is 365 days.

     

    10% still alive at 2 years.

     

     

    Toxic to the heart. An ultrasound examination is needed prior to using this drug as it should not be given to patients with reduced heart contracting ability.

     

     

    Doxorubicin and Cisplatin in Combination (both given IV together every 3 weeks for four treatments)

     

    48% survival at 1 year

     

    30% survival at 2 years

     

    16% survival at 3 years

     

     

    I have also read that doing up to 6 treatments of Carboplatin has shown to be good for some pups (longer life) but again not a lot of facts behind this.

     

    Kyle

     

    You and your vet will of course decide what is best but just to share our experience, Darcy had Carboplatin and Doxorubacin at three weekly intervals for four treatments so it went Carboplatin, Doxorubacin, Carboplatin, Doxorubacin. That was the original plan. But as she was doing so very well on the treatments, our vet was going to tag on another Carboplatin at the end. However, after her 2nd and last Doxorubacin, Darcy became quite unwell (and spent a week in hospital) so once she'd come through that, we all decided not to tag on the extra Carboplatin. She also has a smallish amount of heart damage from the Doxorubacin but thats a very small price to pay for what it gave her.

     

    Just in case you don't know, Darcy just celebrated 33 months post diagnosis/amp. I know she is one of the extremely lucky few but I hope she can give you and others just a little more hope :grouphug

    Chemo Prep

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    I'm not sure - but no doubt someone will know something useful and will tell you :)

     

    We didn't do any prep for Darcy (other than praying to anyone who might listen and keeping fingers crossed and taking rescue remedy - but that last one was just for me).

     

    We were told of things to do during the chemo though, such as we had to wear surgical gloves to dispose of any toilet solids or other bodily...things for a few days after each round of chemo. And we had to take her temperature every day and if it went above a certain level, she had to be started on antibiotics (which we'd been given in advance) and then phone the vet immediately. Also, I learned that giving foods high in antioxidants (which are good cancer fighters) was not to be done during the chemo.

     

    Some vets don't seem to give the same instructions as above re wearing of gloves etc so you will of course have to be guided by your own vet on stuff like that.

     

    Do you know which drug(s) Charlie will be having?

    Surviving Osteo Past 3 Months

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Maddison (aged 4) had fibrosarcoma, not osteo. He was not a candidate for amputation due to the location of the tumour (top of femur, hip etc). He was on pain meds but sadly we only had about 6 weeks from diagnosis. One night he just turned over and really hurt his leg so the time had arrived to arrange his final journey. Prior to that night though, we'd let him do what he wanted to to, including running and playing. It was a calculated risk. I'm glad he had a lovely final few weeks but I'm still sad that we weren't able to amputate for him because it being fibro, the odds are better than for the other evil thing.

     

    Sending best wishes :grouphug

    Poppy Doyle

    in Remembrance

    Posted

    Last May, Poppy was very poorly and we thought we were going to have to say goodbye to her. But she was just fooling us and she went on to enjoy her 13th birthday and then Christmas and then saw in 2010 and enjoyed the first few months of that too. But as 2010 has worn on, Poppy has got more and more tired. Well, her mind didn't get tired and her eating mechanism never wavered, but her back legs were very tired indeed.

     

    She saw the vet the other day and we all concluded that she was well enough to potter on but today she was struggling and so we took her in this afternoon to be reunited with Tetley who left us yesterday.

     

    We've been here before, with having to say farewell to two dogs within two days (actually this time, it's two dogs within one day) and it sort of makes it harder to do, because it's almost beyond comprehension. But when it's got to be done, it's got to be done, even if the timing is particularly horrendous.

     

    Raise your glasses (and ideally your soft dog treats) to Poppy

     

    poppy260410b.jpg

    16th August 1996 - 10th June 2010

     

     

     

    Back together again

     

    poppy040509a.jpg

    Tetley Doyle

    in Remembrance

    Posted

    Tetley collapsed at home this morning, just before 6.30am.

     

    We rushed him to the vets but he was just too poorly for any intervention to have worked. His heart had failed and we let him dash off to be with his brothers and sisters up at The Bridge.

     

    Tetley had never had one single days illness in his life and had never needed any veterinary treatment so although he was only ten years and 5 months old ( :( ) he'd never known anything other than fun and great times. What more can any dog ask for?

     

    These were the last pics we took of him, taken on Monday, 6th June

     

    tetley060610b.jpg

     

     

     

     

    tetley060610d.jpg

     

     

     

     

     

    tetley060610a.jpg

     

     

    I think he was having a final laugh with us when we got back in the car and this was playing on the radio

     

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlgqn-_SOVs

     

     

     

    Sleep well, Tetley Teabag (Tetters)

     

    15th January 2000 - 9th June 2010

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