Re: Buddha's 14 success story and a Question about Upper Respiratory infectio...

[Lernermichelle]

Chandra,       What you and Buddha are going through is very common, unfortunately, with cancer.  All my babies who had cancer got that way when they did not feel well. Sometimes they even hid.  They went up and down, though.  Simon got so he did not want to be touched at all, would not touch food or water, and could  not even walk.  We did those strong steroid shots and two days later, when I thought he would pass at any moment, he sat up and asked for food and water, then was running around and affectionate the next day. He went back to chemo and had another good month. You just don't know.      yes, I-R needs to be given as a shot, as an IV shot usually, by a vet.  Seriously, given what you are describing, if you do not want to try chemo I would really ask for dexamethasone and depomedrol shots (1/2 cc each, can be combined) to make him feel better.  These steroids are so much stronger and longer-lasting than prednisone, and they both increase appetite and energy and also make them feel happier.  Josephine had lymphoma in her kidneys and intestines, and the tumors in her intestines would bulge out when the shots were wearing off, and within a few hours of giving her a new round the tumors would visibly shrink and she would get up and eat. Dexamethasone works very quickly, is very strong, and wears off within a day or so. Depomedrol takes a few days to kick in, and lasts for a long time (depending on stage of illness from a few days to a few weeks).  The combination gives them a strong fast-acting steroid that shrinks the tumor and gives them energy fast (the dex) and by the time that starts wearing off the depo kicks in.  It really does work well. It brought Simon back from the precipice, to the surprise even of the oncologist who had had to be talked into giving the shots. Ask others on this list-- I was giving hourly reports on how Simon was doing and not a soul on this list, myself included, thought he would last another day, and then all of a sudden he was up and about and hungry and happy and his blood values (liver and red blood cell) were so much better he was okayed for more chemo.   Anyway, that is my suggestion.  The steroids do not have any bad side effects short-term, are not expensive, and sometimes make them feel so much better. If they do not work, then it means they really are very close to the end.   Michelle