Moving right along!
As you can see from the picture above, Carly is doing well. She is insistent to let mom and dad know she is okay, and proceeds to climb the hill out back and just watch like she always has. There is no picture of it, but mom joined her after this picture, and we just hung out. Weather is nice, and she loves being outside. Carly is now sleeping on her bed (meaning mom and dad’s bed), which we lowered for her. She has been less restless at night, which is good for her and I! I know getting back in the routine of things is going to help. And although I am scared to death, she reassures me every hour of every day that she is okay. We start out first chemo treatment tomorrow. I spoke to the vet, and they use Carboplatin for osteosarcoma in dogs. Anyone have any experience with this medication for chemo? I’ve done my research of course, and it seems to be one of the best. Needless to say the word chemo scares me as much as the word cancer. I wish I had the gift that Carly does and not have to worry about what’s going to happen. But I’m learning to control my emotions and reactions because she is fully alert to how mom feels, and it affects her too. I’ve heard a happy dog fights cancer, and a sad dog doesn’t. So, we are all about fighting here in our home! Well, I will update after our treatment tomorrow. Everyone say prayers for Carly that she is one of the lucky ones to not have many side effects!
4 comments so far
4:07 pm - 11-3-2015
She is SO cute! I’m with you on the journey
xoxo
Debbie
1:30 am - 11-2-2015
And we have a picture of CARLY!!! YAAAAAAAAAY!! She’s beautiful!!!
So glad she’s doing so well…and it’s still early !
And you’ll become more dog! It’s jist a natural evolution on this journey. We all learn pretty quickly not to let worrying rob us of our sacred time together with our pups. We learn to stay in the moment, in the present.
My Happy Hannah had four rounds of Carboplatin and sailed through it! She never missed a meal and was never nauseous or lethargic. As you’ve seen from the other posts there can be some minor hurdles…or not.
Will look forward to your next update AND more pictures of gorgeous Carly!
Smooch the mug for me!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle too!
9:31 pm - 11-1-2015
Ollie’s amputation was in mid-May and we then did four round rounds of carboplatin chemo June through August. He definitely seemed nauseated/glassy-eyed the day of his first treatment; after that we asked that they give him a Cerenia (anti-nausea) injection in conjunction with his infusion and he was fine from there on out (most vets give Cerenia tablets to use at home, but we had much better luck getting it in him the same time as chemo, rather than after).
He also had a dip in white blood cell count after his third treatment, and we extended the time between doses three and four by one week (so there were four weeks before his final infusion rather than three).
He is now six months past diagnosis and five-and-a-half months post-amp and continues to do well. As of the end of September, no visible lung mets yet. Best of luck to you and beautiful Carly!
9:05 pm - 11-1-2015
Nitro had 6 doses of carboplatin, with hardly any side effects. About the 3rd dose, his white count didn’t bounce back in time for the 4th dose, so we just extended the time between doses by a week, and all was good. Towards the end of treatment he got a little nauseous, so they gave him cerenia to combat this. Good luck, keep us posted.
Paula and Nitro