We have a plan to KILL Jack’s cancer

It has been a very busy few weeks, and not in a good way!   In case you did not read my first post about how I found out that I have the dreaded “C” word, you can catch up on all of that HERE.

Lets see, where did we leave off.  Mommy spoke to the neurologist on Monday after my MRI when she got the dreaded news that I had a mass in my meninges in the brain.  While she was on the phone with my doctor, Nutty’s mom, was trying to call my mommy.   Nutty is my brother.   Mommy texted her to tell her she would call her later and that is when mommy found out Nutty was at the doctor’s office too!  He had collapsed at home so they took him in.

It turns out, he has a mass in his spleen! Can you believe that? They were found at the exact same time by two different doctors!  Nutty’s mom was very upset.  Mommy told her that she would help with Nutty so that he would not have to stay home alone in case he got sick again.

So we got to spend Wednesday together.  It was fun, we went to the park and played.  You can check out the VIDEO to see how much fun we were having. Stupid cancer didn’t stop us!

Mommy finally spoke to my neurologist, Dr. Levitsky,  on Wednesday after we left the park.  She told her some facts that mommy was confused about.  She noticed that the doctors never used the word “cancer” the reports say “mass” or “tumor”.

1. Whenever they see a “mass” in us dogs, they assume it is cancer.  I have a “mass” in my brain so they assume it is cancer, they are not going to do a biopsy to find out.  My brother has a “mass” in his spleen and until they remove the spleen, they will not know if it is malignant or not.
2. They do not “stage” certain cancers.  So when people ask us what “stage” it is, I have a  benign one because it will not spread like a malignant tumor may.
3. Brain tumors are a little different because they are encased in the brain which does not have anywhere to stretch.  They will continue to grow until the dog dies because of the pressure on the brain.

In my case, the Spinal Tap ruled out meningitis so we know it is a mass.  As soon as mommy found out, she scheduled an appointment for me at the oncologist at California Veterinary Specialists (CVS) in Carlsbad, CA.   We are very lucky here in San Diego.  We have many options when it comes to specialists.  We decided on CVS because of their reputation for patient care and their world renown doctors.

We met with Dr. Ogilivie on Thursday afternoon.  He was a really nice doctor even though he did not give me any treats.  He sat on the floor in his nice suit and rubbed my belly.  He explained to mommy and daddy so much information.  That guy really knows his stuff! He even works at the same hospital mommy does, UCSD. He is a professor there in Radiation Oncology and does a lot of research!

He told mommy that meningiomas are slow growing tumors and very common.  My tumor was very large and that it had been there a long time.  He said the placement of it was not causing any symptoms because it was not in an area that affects fine motor skills.  He did say that the area was one that affects decision making but I think he is crazy.  Mommy hides my toys from me and I find them every time!

The only symptom that I had was those darn seizures. Mommy & Daddy remembered that I was shaking my head a few weeks back and mommy took me into the doctor to make sure that I did not have a foxtail in my ear.  I did not and the doctor but this gooey stuff in my ear and I felt a little better.  Mommy does not know if I felt the tumor and it was giving me a headache or if that was a sign and since I can’t tell her, she will never know!

Ok, enough about those.  On to getting rid of this thing in my head!  The nice doctor said that the main thing he wants to treat for is  quality of life. I have a pretty good quality of life so I want to be around a long time!

We had two options for treatment.  Surgery was not an option for me because my tumor was too spread out.  If it was a shaped like a ball, that may be an option but it isn’t so this is what I can do……

1. Drugs to help prevent any more seizures but the tumor will continue to grow: Prednisone is a steroid that decreases the inflammation in the mass that is pressing on the brain.  I have to take 5 mg. 2x a day.   Phenobarbital is another medication that I am taking 2x a day.  It works on the neuron activity so that I do not have any more of those scary seizures.
2. Radiation Therapy:  The radiation kills the DNA in the cancer cells.  They can not replicate if they are dead.  They also can not repair so eventually they will all be gone and the tumor will stop growing!  Eventually there will be a reduction in the tumor size because the body wants it gone so it will absorb it or something like that.

He gave mommy three options for radiation for me.

• Palliative therapy.  $2,522. plus CT scan to scan area that needed treatment $1,210.    This would require 5 radiation treatments.  Basically this type would give me a good quality of life and make me feel better. The doctor says it is like putting a “band-aid” on the cancer.    It is usually used with a patient that long term care is not possible.  It would not prolong my life but it would stop the seizures for a short time.  This was NOT an option for me because mommy wants this sucker DEAD & me to be around a long time!

• Definitive Radiation.  $6,438.26 plus CT scan to scan area that needed treatment $1,210.  This would require 16 – 19 doses of radiation via a linear accelerator.  The reason that so many treatments are needed is because they “zap” the tumor and all of the immediate surrounding area to make sure that they got it all.  They don’t want it to be too aggressive on the “good tissue” so they use a lower dose each time.  Each treatment requires  general anesthesia, prep, scan time, and recovery.  It would be an approximate 2 hour commitment every day Monday through Friday for 16 – 19 sessions.  There are some side effects to killing the “good tissue” that include hair loss and redness but nothing serious.  Unlike people radiation;  nausea, vomiting and  diarrhea are not common.    Mommy was all ready to camp out in Spirit in the parking lot and make it an adventure!  She thought that this is what we were going to have to do until we heard about….

• Cyber Knife.   $12,000.  A CT (included in the cost) is done to determine the EXACT margins of the tumor & to calibrate exactly where the beams needs to point.  If the tumor has “clean margins” than the cyber knife can be used.  I am not sure why it is called a “knife” because there is no cutting involved so I am going to suggest that they change the name to a less scary one!  It is actually a robot that delivers lots and lots of radiation beams stereotactically to the EXACT area where the tumor is.  It is a fusion of a robot in a linear accelerator.  The benefit is that it sends hundreds of doses to precise location.  No surrounding tissue is compromised therefore a higher dose can be used.  The treatment protocol is only 3 treatments, 3 days in a row!   Only certain masses are able to be treated with the cyber knife.  This technology has been around for over a decade and he has treated hundreds of dogs with it.   He said that from what he has seen, the dogs that get cyber knife have a better quality of life and have a tendency to live for years and years and years!  There are only 3 centers in the country that offers this technology for veterinary medicine.

Mommy did not even hesitate for a moment!  The tech said she never saw anyone make a decision so fast. Obviously she does not know my mommy!  When she makes her mind up on something, it is a DONE DEAL!  She wants this nasty tumor out of my head NOW!!

We scheduled the CT for the next day, Friday.  The CT was easier than the MRI. I did not have to take the stuff that made me loopy for 2 days. I only got something that made me not remember what they were doing and they gave me this stuff called Mannitol that brings down the swelling &  made me have to pee all day!  (I even had a little accident in the house that night, which I have never done, I felt so bad but I had to go!)

Mommy waited and prayed all morning that my margins were clear and they WERE!   After the CT, it takes up to 12 hours for the team to gather all of the information, merge it with the MRI & calibrate where the beam needs to go.  It involves a lot of people with fancy names.

When mommy picked me up a few hours after she dropped me off, the nice radiation tech named, Leah, got a BIG hug from mommy.  Mommy was so happy.  She had done her research the night before and of all of the people that have had it, they were cancer free!

Mommy scheduled our Cyber Knife for the following Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.   And then it is PAW-ty time!

Not really.  I still have to stay on these darn drugs.  I don’t like them but mommy promises I will get off of them soon.    They are making me a little wobbly and tired.  I don’t feel like myself but I know that it is only temporary and my fun life will return soon.

Mommy is also not going to allow me to have any more yummy treats unless they are GRAIN FREE!  Only meat based or the roasted veggies that I love so much.  Cancer feeds off of grains so no more for me!  We don’t want this nasty stuff coming back! I already eat a raw diet and take a lot of supplements so now she is going to work on my treat stash.  We will continue to update you on what we learn about that too!

We are also going to investigate some supplements and other things that we can do so stay tuned.  We will continue to keep you informed in all that we are learning.  The first thing he said to get was DHA so we will be getting that for sure!  Algae source DHA will help with the headaches and enhances the benefits of the radiation.

The reason we included the prices on everything, is not to feel bad for us, but we want you to be aware of how costly this can be so you can start a saving plan for your pet like mommy did. She is a good saver.

Not every cancer will require all of the tests and treatment.  Nutty had an ultrasound on his spleen and directly into surgery to remove it.  But tests and treatment can add up.  Just the MRI $2,300. and the spinal tap $914. were costly before we even entered treatment options.

Mommy never bought pet insurance for me because I was so healthy.  That probably was not a smart move knowing that cancer is now an epidemic and that it seems that a lot of dogs are getting it in one form or another.  We would recommend that you check into pet insurance for your dog AND start a savings plan. Insurance will not cover 100% of the expenses but it will certainly help.  There is a monthly fee involved but depending on what your dog gets, if anything, it may pay for itself.  It is a very personal decision.  We will do another post on that in the upcoming month so you know what to look for.

Thanks again for all of your love and support, we feel confident that we are on the correct path and feel blessed to have so many options here in San Diego.  Mommy really loves to read all of your messages and it makes her feel good to know that I am so loved.  It is fun to read comments from people that we met on our journey last year.   The girls even did a cheer for me in our Wednesday night class when Miss Naomi was teaching for mommy!

We hope that what we are learning will help you to make informed decisions if this ever happens to your beloved dog.   Mommy takes notes and she recorded the doctor because she knew she would never remember everything. It is a lot of information!

We plan on still having fun while I go though all of this. Mommy even took me swimming and SUPing on Thursday before my appointment.   Never stop moving is our moto!

If you want to read about my Cyber knife treatment, keep on reading HERE!  

Please say a prayer for my brother, Nutty.  He is going to have his spleen removed on Tuesday.  We hope it is a benign mass and he can continue to enjoy digging and digging and digging!

Thanks again!

Love,

PS>  If you have any feedback or advice on pet insurance or any experience in any of this, please share in the comments below, it may help someone that needs it!