Wed., Nov. 10, 2010 - Chemo

Finally, we are home from the oncologist appointment.  We had to wait an hour, and Hardee gets so upset there that we almost left before being seen.  It is so stressful for him.  This place is where Hardee was first diagnosed, had a couple surgeries, spent time in their ICU, etc., and he doesn't like it there.  I felt so badly for him while we waited and he panicked, that I felt physically sick to my stomach.  I wonder how I will take him back there and leave him for chemo treatments.

I sat there getting mad at Jim because he has never had to take Hardee to one appointment, not one CT scan, not one radiation treatment, not one surgery or biopsy....nothing.  It was displaced anger though, when what I was truly upset about was the waiting and what it was doing to Hardee.  It is sad though that Hardee didn't even want to get in the car to go with me today because he knows that I always take him somewhere where people do things to him that hurt and they separate him from his Mom.  It's all so heartbreaking and so hard to do.

Dr. Vaughan thinks we should do chemo now but said we can start it anytime.  He said that he talked to Dr. Proulx about where they were with Hardee's case.  He reminded me that radiation can take awhile to work, and I reminded him that it had been 2.5 months.  He agreed that we were reaching the end of the efficacy phase of the radiation.  I also told him about the biopsy results that showed NO evidence of necrotic tissue, and he agreed that was something to worry about.

Dr V recomended the IV chemo over the pills to try for nasal tumors.  They would use 2 different types of chemo given every 3 weeks, alternating the drugs.  Unlike radiation that can take a long time to work, chemo acts quickly, so we should know whether chemo is actually working fairly quickly.  Hardee would probably lose his hair though.  That concerns me heading into winter.  A friend sent Hardee a very nice jacket that she no longer used, but it is too big for him to wear outside to potty.  He wears it to sleep at night though.

I asked about quality of life for Hardee while on chemo.  As we've all heard, dogs supposedly handle chemo better than humans, but each dog can react differently.  There are limited types of chemo that can possibly work for nasal tumors, but if he doesn't do well on one, we can try another.  Dr V said that Hardee could possibly still run agility while on chemo depending on how his body handled the poison.  We only have outdoor agility trials here in So. Nev., So. Cal., and Arizona, and Hardee can't wear a jacket while running, so I think agility would be out for the winter, as would his other performance sports.

So much to think about and consider.  Jim isn't home from work yet, so we haven't had a chance to discuss this yet.  We are so grateful Jim has a job though. 

Tomorrow starts a 4 day agility trial for us.  If HH feels up to it, we'll try rally and obedience also.  It will be a wonderful 4 days to be able to forget our worries and just have fun with our boy.  We'll worry about decisions later.  As always, it is all about joy and all about Hardee!!  Our fingers and paws are crossed for some more QQs.

Happy Veterans Day, Jim!!