week two is great!

Dave went on Tuesday for chemo treatment number two. I took a half day from work so I could take him with Mike, since the vet and a nurse told us it would be two or three hours. We brought him in, updated the person we spoke to (she didn't identify herself as a nurse or doctor), and left him. He happily went with her. Three hours later, the vet called to say that he saw the opthamologist, who said his eye pressure is normal - yay! He also had normal bloodwork - yay again! But, he hadn't started chemo yet, and she said we could pick him up around three. I went to work, Mike was a little pissed and I heard Dave barking in the background the entire time I spoke to the vet. Typical Dave... don't keep him in a cage when there are humans walking around doing interesting things!!

His treatment went well, and Mike picked him up around 3:30 (six hours total for a supposed 2-3 hour appointment). He was unhappy with the nurse he spoke with, as she wasn't well informed and was in an obvious rush to leave. He had some questions regarding Dave's eye that she couldn't answer. They didn't remove his sutures, but said his wound looked good, and they'll do it next week.

Medication Information:
Vincristine injection
He was discharged with two additional medications:
Cytoxan (oral chemo) 25 mg tablets - 1 a day for four days (this is toxic and must be handled with gloves on!)
Metoclopramide 5 mg - give as needed for nausea (a side effect of the Cytoxan)

His vitamin A is done, and his pred dosage is now a quarter of a 50 mg tablet. The dosages of his eye meds also changed - 2 drops a day of the Cosopt and 3 a day of the NeoPolyDex. He is taking the oral meds with peanut butter with no problem! We've also been giving him two capsules of fish oil a day.

He is doing so well on the meds this week. He's still tiring a little more quickly, but has bursts of his "normal" energy. For instance, he'll run around at full speed with a toy, but will take a longer break before doing it again. His appetite is back, and he's been eating without hesitation like last week. He hasn't shown any of the side effects of the Cytoxan (diarrhea, vomiting), and hasn't regurgitated his food like he was doing last week.

My boy is back, at least for now. I am confident in our decision to go ahead with chemo. Several friends had no problem telling me their feelings on it - to just let the cancer take it's course - but if we get more months like this, it's worth the fight.