I have been so sad lately because of so many dogs on the CBC list (including at least 4-5 rottweilers) that were diagnosed about the same time as Syd that have worsened and have left this earth too soon I have been feeling so extremely guilty that I wasn't doing more for Sydney besides continuing him on the piroxicam clinical trial (where I couldn't give him any supplements like arte or other stuff except for fish oil capsules and glucosamine/chondroitin). I see that Miles has joined other rotten ones Rocket, Jake and Rico and that makes me so terribly sad. Not to mention all the other non-rotten dogs like Sugar and Juno, that have gone on way before their time. I wrote a poem that pretty much sums up how we all feel going through this journey. Click here to read it...it's simply called BELIEVE.
Anyway, I thought I would give you an update on Sydney. Like so many before him, his disease has progressed. :'-( His lungs had been clear since August 2003 (when he was dx) until 1/29/04 when they found a suspicious area on his lungs. They redid xrays 2/26/04 and it hadn't grown. They redid x-rays 3/11/04 along with a CT scan and determined one lone lung met < 1cm, but it hadn't grown since first discovered 1/29/04. They told us to come back in May. Because he's been on a clinical trial for piroxicam, he couldn't take anything like arte, other supplements, etc. Because he was at a point to where I could remove him from the study and find out what he has been on, I didn't want to wait 2 months, so I elected to take him back in today for lung xrays. They said the one lone lung met has doubled in size to about 2 1/2 cm from 1 1/2 cm a month ago. There is a 2nd lung met that is about 1-2 cm and possibly a third small one < 1cm. My oncologist talked to the radiologist and they said doing another CT scan in May would not be beneficial to their study, so he won't be getting another CT scan. The oncologist also told me she would remove him from the study and start him immediately on piroxicam (since she's not sure if he was on it or getting a placebo on the trial). I asked her about the metronomic protocol and arte and she said she finished up her residency about the same time as a well known oncologist from Gulf Coast Vet Specialists, so she said my vet or she could call him to talk to him about the protocol and work with him to get Syd on this. She doesn't know much about arte, but I told her enough dogs on this list were using it, that I could probably figure out dosing properly for a dog Syd's size, if I chose to do arte. I told her about HRH Hannibal, that he was on the metronomic protocol and arte and that his last xrays showed the mets decreased in size. I know that each dog is different and what works for one might not work for another, but I'm willing to try at this point. I am second guessing myself and feeling so guilty thinking that the "P" pills were maybe keeping his lung mets at bay, since it didn't grow at all from 1/29/04 to 3/11/04 (which they said normally would double in size in most cases). It was like anything else. I hated to try something different if something was working to prevent the growth of these mets. That's why I needed to take him in to get x-rays a month early. At least now I know. Syd was 6 months post dx when they discovered the suspicious thing on his lungs 1/29/04 and it only started growing 8 months after dx. Considering they thought he only had a few months to live, I got my 6 months and more. Of course, like anybody else, I now want him to make it to his 9th birthday June 13th and then a year anniversary since dx on 8/1/2004. It may be too little, too late, but I'm going to continue to fight. I want him to be one of the summer dogs that makes it to at least his 1 yr anniversary and still have good quality of life. Right now, he's still playing tug of war with his son, being vocal to get us to wrestle with him and still has that spirit. I just hope it continues over the next few months. A good friend on the CBC list reminded us all that while our beloved dogs have cancer, we are so quick to bury them in our minds. Instead, we should be celebrating their life and understand they are "living" with cancer. She pointed out not to bury them so soon, but to enjoy them and soak in as many memories as you can while they are still with you. That is so true. My sympathies, prayers and thoughts go out to all of you who have recently lost dogs to this horrible disease. We can only hope and pray that what we are doing is helping, but ultimately, it is out of our hands. We just have to believe.
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