The start of the treatment

Here I am at RIVER--the clinic named RIVER.

Oh no they are coming to get me.

 Hide me.

They can't see me, right?

From River's mom:

River was taken to another room while I sat in the patient's room. They took blood, x-rays, ultrasound. The oncologist came into the room to speak to me without River so he does not know all this.

He had a grade 2 Mast Cell Tumor. The pathologist said the edges were fairly clean which is good but he couldn't guarantee perfectly clean. The oncologist gave me 3 options for treatment--prednisone/chemo, Palladia, or Kinavet. With River's cancer I could have elected to hope for the 50% non-return but I chose to treat it with a hard punch. Kinavet is the toughest since it is specifically designed for MCT.

It's not cheap and I am working 2 jobs to treat him as long as I can. I am researching holistic lifestyle/diet, supplements, etc.

His first Kinavet pill was yesterday. His energy took a hit and he was sort of unmoving all night. But by this morning he was back to normal. I have already started him on colostrum.

He is happy now and well. I can only pray it will stay that way.

 

A nice weekend

I feel good although the benedryl makes me sleepy. My appetite is good. The weather was fine--almost 60 degrees so my mom was washing quilts and blankets and hanging them outside while we played in the yard.

 This picture looks kind of weird because my mom put a blue towel over my boy bit but it is the picture of my scar--about 3 inches long just above it. My vet is a jolly girl. She said it looks like I was SPAYED!! Wow, that's kind of funny...not! She said I had plenty of skin to close the opening so I didn't become a SIDESHOOTER. Oh, haha. She's a nice lady, very smart.  She sent all my information to a specialist.

I will be going to RIVER next Tuesday for a consultation. Vets come from UTK (Univ. of Knoxville) vet. school to take care of us. RIVER stands for Regional Institute for Veterinary Emergencies and Referrals.

Here is an interesting thing--I am named after this clinic! I was hit by a car and broke my leg 3 years ago. A nice lady took me to RIVER. SOS Beagles took me in and my mom was my foster mom. I am a failed foster. Everyone at the clinic is excited to see me again--not happy because of the big C but because they really liked me.

Out in the yard--all snow is gone. Then back in the house to sit on my mom's lap while she works on the computer. She is working 2 jobs to pay for my treatment. She says she will do all a human can do for me.

Please visit my friend Daisy the pink pitbull. She was also just diagnosed with the big C. She is a sweet and beautiful girl.We are going to fight this together!

Bad news--the Big C

My vet took as much of the lump and the skin and fat around it as she could. She said it's not the worst it could be but it is a mast cell tumor grade 2 -- 3 is the worst. The pathologist said he couldn't say we got all of it but it looked pretty clean around the edges. Any more and she would have had to take the stomach muscle which would cause a hernia, probably.

The treatment is a mild chemo and prednisone. I thought I would let everyone know the steps of the treatment and about mast cells. I will go see a specialist who my vet trusts completely and we will get all the info about the future.

Meanwhile, because mast cells send out histamines I am to take benedryl twice a day. Mast cells also cause ulcers so I am to take 10mg. of pepcid twice a day. My vet said if you squeeze a mast cell tumor it can actually kill a dog by flooding the body with histamines and they go into shock and can't breathe. Grade 1 mast cells can appear to be 'skin tags' and fool you. Where my lump appeared is rare--usually it's on the side and vets will take the muscle part then.

I am young and strong and my mom will treat me like she always has--like I'm precious.

Here are some pictures from this weekend:

 

 

My mom found a lump--UPDATE

Hi everydog, my mom found a lump on my belly last night and took me to the vet's this morning. We will know a little more this afternoon after my operation. Don't know if it is cancer, might not know right away. Thanks for all the prayers. My mom says I am her heartdog so this is really hard for her.

UPDATE 3pm EST
From River's mom:
River is out of surgery and doing well. The vet cut a good margin around and below the lump and will send it off to be looked at. His bloodwork was very good, all mid-normal except for globulen (?) which was a half a point over normal. That could mean infection only. I will pick him up this evening. River is only 5 and beagles are generally extremely healthy. Cancer is rare which is what I'm banking on. Thank you so much for the prayers!!