This was an interesting perspective...I'll be curious to see if we have the same experience. Our Gretchen is 4 months into a 6 month chemo protocol. She has done very well with the exception of one treatment (two or three days of not herself, vomit, nauseous, diarrhea). We decided at that point that if she got sick from any other doses that we would discontinue the treatments. She's on a rotation of vinblastine, CCNU and an every other day of predisone (5 mg). This is after 15 radiation treatments and surgical removal of a Stage II, dirty margined mast cell tumor in her bottom lip. She has done fine with all subsequent treatments and continues to do all the normal things....she'll be 5 next week. Peggy Dixon Methuen, MA Gretchen and Buster
It wasn't until > _months_ after we finished the chemo, that I realized how badly he had felt > for those 6 months. It took him about 6 months to be back to his old self. > The change was subtle, so I think people often do not recognize it. I also > think that chemo is usually done to "buy time" and the dog is basically > getting chemo for the remainder of their life, so the owner never has the > chance to see how the dog is feeling after _not_ having chemo for 6 months > or so. Rarely is chemo given to dogs for a "cure", but that was the only > reason I considered it. I know of a couple of other dogs whose owners say > the same thing. These were dogs who underwent chemo "just in case" after > having an aggressive tumor removed. At the time the dog was undergoing > treatment, the owners didn't think they felt bad. Not until months later did > they realize in contrast how badly the dog really was feeling. Just because > a dog is eating doesn't mean they are feeling great, in my opinion. I still > eat when I'm sick, unfortunately! > > > > Jennifer Zaayer > Cardiff by the Sea, CA > Dash, Ti, Moritz, Dunford and Rocchi > >
