the end

Perhaps that's a misleading title. This won't be my last blog post, but Dave had his last treatment today, which leaves me fairly emotional. He had a really good two weeks, with no GI issues and just a little bit of lethargy. Mike was off last week, so it could have been a side effect to having him around instead of away at work.

The news from the visit is that Dave lost more weight, and he's down to 27 pounds. The doctor wasn't overly concerned, telling me that he's just worrying about bathing suit season. He said that the heat and the chemo are probably to blame, and said that Dave's weight should start to go up now that he's done. His physical exam was otherwise normal.

Dave was discharged with the same instructions as last time; due to the length, I won't repeat it here. Next week, we'll take him for bloodwork - the nice part is that it coincides with his yearly check up. On the 24th, we'll bring him in for restaging. It's a lengthy appointment, but I'll most likely take the day off so I can hear all of the information for myself. Assuming he's in clinical remission, and there's no signs of cancer anywhere, he'll be able to get his vaccine. They're not sure exactly when that will be. The explanation we received today was that they notify the researcher now that he's completed chemo. They'll finish up the vaccine to get it ready for him. Most likely, the first vaccine will be a week or two after staging. We had more good news, too: they are definitely going to cover the cost of the restaging. When Dave was picked up today, he tried to get to another dog, but didn't go out with a bang, thank goodness. The nurse remarked that he's so energetic when he's in his run or they're walking him, but he slept through almost every treatment. She said they almost took a picture to show people how unaffected the dogs are by chemo.

I'm really happy that the four and a half months are behind us, but now I feel like it's a waiting game. They gave us information about a program the social worker there is running, and we probably will attend. I have so many emotions regarding this, from the happiness, to the worry, to guilt that I'm feeling this way about a dog. Upon reflection, this time has been exactly what I wanted - many more good days than bad ones, and very little change in Dave being Dave. I hope we're able to have a lot more good days in the months (years?) ahead...