Week 4: Remission (!), WBCs & great friends

Today was the beginning of Trapper's 4th week of chemo. This treatment will be the 3rd drug (Adriamycin) and will mark the end of the first round of chemo. There will be 3 more rounds of 4 treatments after this.

But back to today--the vet did an echocardiogram to make sure Trapper's heart is strong enough for this new medicine, which can "weaken an already weak heart." The good news is that he has a heart--ha ha ha ha!! Seriously, though, everything was normal in the echo, which is great, considering my pup is only 4 months away from 12 years old. Unfortunately, his white blood cell count was too low for him to have a treatment today.

The vet wasn't concerned or surprised. Obviously, the chemo will suppress the WBC, plus Trapper has an autoimmune disease, so he usually has a borderline WBC count. No need for antibiotics at this point, and the vet is optimistic that by Thursday his count may be high enough for treatment. If not, I assume we'll wait until next Tuesday. I hate to admit it, but I can tell Trapper isn't quite himself. He's just a little bit too subdued. But, after this next treatment he'll get a week off before round 2, so that will be good. I'm disappointed his WBC count is down, but I will take my cue from the vet and assume this isn't a big deal. Our agility planned for Saturday will depend on what we find out Thursday.

There were two awesome highlights of my day--first, in the morning, the vet's written summary included these words "The peripheral lymph nodes are normal by palpation" and "Trapper...remains in remission." What great words to read!!!!

Second, this afternoon, my dear friend Kim gave me this wonderful necklace:

Isn't it beautiful? It's just perfect!! Thanks, KIM!!

As always, I am thankful to have my buddy still here with me--each day IS a gift!!

Fun at class and test results

Trapper had fun in class today!! He's jumping 16" just to take it easy, but he's showing no signs of slowing down :) Such a joy to run with my rock-solid partner on the agility course!

Also we got the results of the drug sensitivity test--long story short, he's not genetically predisposed to being sensitive to Vincristine, one of his chemo drugs, so they were able to increase the dosage in yesterday's (and future) injections. Get that cancer!!

'Nite, Trapper boy!

Week three--good news!!

Trapper started his 3rd week of treatment today. He's back on the Vincristine, same medicine as the 1st week. Next week he takes the final drug and after that starts the entire cycle over for 3 more rounds. The drug next week can "weaken a weakened heart". All indications are that Trapper's heart is doing great, but as a precaution he will have an echocardiogram before he is given the meds.

Good news on the vet's evaluation today: "Lymph nodes are slightly prominent, which is improved from before." YIPPEE!!

I'm TIRED!!

A little homeopathy...

We are very fortunate to have a holistic veterinarian in town. He actually saw Trapper many years ago, and when I called to explain Trapper's newest "adventure" he knew just what to do. He said no herbs, as those can actually counteract the positive effects of the chemo, but homeopathic remedies should make him feel "a whole lot better." So, we started those over the weekend. The top of Trapper's kennel looks like a pharmacy these days!!

Tomorrow is the 3rd of 13 treatments. So far, Trapper is handling them like the champ that he is :)

More after the next treatment.....

YAY! Trapper is a little grumpy!

OK, I admit, it's a weird blog post title for those who don't know Trap like we do.

Here's the simple explanation:

Sweet, lovely-dovey Trapper  =  very sick Trapper
Mostly nice, a little grumpy Trapper  =  normal Trapper
Extremely irritable & crabby Trapper = very sick Trapper

So, we're happy with this attitude :) He didn't even bat an eye when Cooper crawled completely underneath him (as Trapper had his eyes glued to what I was cooking on the stove) ;-).

I noticed Trapper's lymph nodes feel even smaller tonight :) Yay, shrink nodes, shrink!! (And yes, Trapper that's a good thing, not an insult--LOL!)

Hug those pups, kids, cats, spouse, whomever you care for tonight :)

Trapper's lucky mom

"In partial remission"

Woo hoo!! Today Trapper started Week 2 (of 13) of treatment and at his appointment his CBC looked good and the vet noted that "I  am pleased with how Trapper looks today. He is currently in partial remission...he seems to be responding well to treatment."

His lymph nodes are shrinking which is fantastic!! He's been such a champ this last week. Let's hope it continues!

Remember to hug your pups--every day is a gift!

"Get around"

No big news here, other than Trapper being spoiled on a whole new level these days. He asked me to pass along a benefit of the "get around" command that he learned in agility. On the agility course, he knows it means to run around me at the start line, but tonight he heard it and knew he had to "get around" the TV trays to make a smooth entry onto the couch ;-) What a spoiled boy!

Trap chillin' on the couch while the family watches the Broncos.

Fun day at agility

Yesterday Trapper and I played agility. He was awesome!! I made a couple of mistakes (have to admit I didn't bring my A-game...it was a lot more difficult to be there than I expected), so we didn't Q, but our runs were great! We were in sync and enjoyed running together.

My agility buddies were super supportive--thanks to all of you :)

Looking forward to our next trial with my buddy--I'll do my best to have my head on straight ;)

Trapper's fan club ;)

Trapper's buddies Sulley and Belle dedicated their AWESOME runs  today to the Trap dog.
How lucky he is to have such sweet (and talented!) supporters :)

Today's post is all about Trapper's fan club (and Kirsta's awesome friends)! See the great photo above, plus some of the messages below that we received after learning of Trapper's diagnosis:

"Thoughts & prayers for Trapper"
"I'm so sorry to hear this. I will hope all I can that it can go to remission. I'm thinking of you & your family."
"So sorry to hear about the news of our buddy. Like you say, hope that it's caught early so as to help him fight it. Don't feel like you are going this alone. We are here!"
"Stay positive!"
"Awe I am so sorry. I will send prayers his way. He is a tough old dog! I'll also send prayers up for you."
"Oh Kirsta, I am so sorry to read this! And so sorry that you & Trap have to go through it. My girls and I  are sending lots of positive energy your way...You'll definitely be in my thoughts. Take care of yourself! And lots of belly rubs to Trap!"
"We are absolutely sending positive thoughts to Trapper and you all too!!"
"Both of you are in my thoughts. If there is anything you need please let me know!"
"He's a mighty dog that Trapper, a champion and a fighters spirit...I send all of you my very best :)xo"
"The "C" word is always scary. We will be sending good energy to you both."
"I am so sorry but toughie Trap will get through this with his usual tenacity."
"Sending love your way."
"Sorry to hear about Trapper! He is a tough guy."
"Another chapter in the life a great friend."

How awesome are our friends??

Tummy troubles

I went to bed last night all packed to leave for the agility trial bright and early today. Unfortunately, at 3am and 4am Trapper was up with a very upset tummy. The vet gave us meds in case this should happen so he started them at 4am. Hopefully the meds will settle everything down and we can go play tomorrow. He acts completely normal, but I don't want to push him too hard.....

Day 3: All quiet on the Western Front

Trapper is having another good day! You'd never know there's anything going on to look at him :)

So, tomorrow we head to an agility trial. Boy will I ever appreciate those 2 runs!!

Day 2

It's been over 24 hours since his first treatment and Trapper is doing great! He is a little stiff and moves a bit slow, but no bad side effects. His tummy is handling everything well. (Of course, this IS the dog who ate rocks as a puppy and whose stomach was fine after eating an entire stick of butter or a pound of raw shrimp...)

As for me, I'm just waiting for the shock of it all to go away. I'm so very sad, but realize how truly fortunate I am at the same time. At the end of Scout's life, we had less than 12 hours from when we found out he was sick until we had to let him go. I am thankful that I have time, hopefully many good months left with Trapper. But still, it's so hard. A friend pointed out that Trapper doesn't know he has cancer. For that I am grateful.  Cancer is such a scary thing, it carries such emotional baggage with it.

Trapper just jumped a jump and a did a couple of sets of weave poles in the yard. He looked great!! I will see how he is by tomorrow night and decide if he's up for the agility trial Friday and/or Saturday. If not, we'll just chill together :)

Week 1 pictures

Week 1 Post-Treatment. Trapper wants everyone to know that he did NOT have to be sedated,
 contrary to his mom's prediction :)

That's a LOT of meds!

"Average, happy lymphoma"

"Average, happy lymphoma" was the description from the specialist this morning. She said it's a great place to start. It means we did catch it early and have good treatment options. Interestinglly, statistics show that dogs who are older when they develop lymphoma have a better response to treatment than dogs diagnosed at a younger age. Also, this lymphoma is the most common form of cancer in dogs and cats, which is good because the vets have a lot of experience treating it.

We have decided to start Trapper on the "Wisconsin/Madison protocol" which is a chemotheraphy regime of 4 drugs. Treatment will last 13-25 weeks. If Trapper takes it all in stride, we will push ahead with a treatment every week, meaning we'll be finished the first week of January (13 weeks). If the treatment really wipes him out, we'll stretch out to every other week after the first month and be finished at the end of March 2013.

Each treatment lasts about 25 minutes, plus time for sedation (at least it's my predication that Trap won't lay still while the nurses touch him (!) for 25 minutes, therefore the need for sedation). His first month will also include prednisone, not Trapper's favorite med, but a necessary evil. The specialist said we hope for Trapper's cancer to be "slow and stupid", so that's our mantra.

There will be no surgery or radiation, as they're simply not effective at treating lymphoma. On that note, we are only pushing the lymphoma into remission, not curing it. However, if all goes well, we'll have a year or hopefully more of happy, healthy Trapper. This is opposed to likely losing him before Christmas if we didn't treat. Not an option--I want a Trapper dog under my Christmas tree!! :)

Trapper will also be on probiotics and supplements to neutralize the toxins created by the dying "normal bacteria" in his gut.

So long as he feels good, Trapper can continue playing agility. I will have to keep him away from other dogs since he will be in an immune-compromised state. Luckily, Trapper's not a dog who goes around giving kisses to strange dogs ;-)

The last several weeks I've been saying "every run is a gift" when Trap & I step onto the agility field. Now I'm reminded that "every day is a gift" no matter what we're doing together.

That's all for now. Headed out soon to pick Trapper up.

Let the spoiling begin

Since Trapper's diagnosis, we have worried less about ensuring he's a canine good citizen and more about spoiling him ;-)

Here's his new dragon toy:

Trapper's very own blog!

Trapper was diagnosed with lymphoma on October 4, 2012. I started this blog to keep all his fans up-to-date on his journey to health.

Here's what we know so far:
Trapper has lymphoma, but based on physical examination it appears to be limited to the lymph nodes in his neck. None of the other lymph nodes were swollen, so we are hopeful that we caught it early. Luckily, Trapper lets me know when he doesn't feel well (I'll spare you the details of HOW he tells me!)

Tuesday Oct 9 Trapper goes to see the specialist. We'll find out what our treatment options are then.

Other than being very irritated with Blaze & Joker and having swollen lymph nodes, Trapper is acting totally normal. Well, I should say normal for Trapper.... ;-D

Give your pups a hug and send healing thoughts Trapper's way......