The end of 2nd remission and a new treatment protocol

On Tueday, Nov 4, I felt Trapper's lymph nodes, and they felt enlarged. Unfortunately, Trapper's cancer vet agreed the next day, so we chose to start him on a new chemotherapy drug, Lomustine. Though we could have re-started the Wisconsin-Madison protocol, he would have had the same reaction as last time, and been so very sick. We just couldn't do that to him. I don't want to keep him alive for ME, and let the chemo slowly kill him. Lomustine is in a different class of drugs, so we're hopeful that it will put the lymphoma into remission, but not make Trapper sick. He will have a CBC run next week, Nov 11, to see how his liver, white blood cell and other counts look. Lomustine treatment results in an average remission time of 4-6 months, but we are hopefully that Trapper will double that number as he did for his first Wisconsin-Madison protocol in 2012-13. Lomustine is the last "reliable" chemo drug we have for lymphoma treatment.

Unfortunately, we still haven't resolved the GI upset issues. The treatment of the protozoa hasn't helped his symptoms. We don't know what's causing his symptoms for sure, though we suspect either Inflammatory Bowel Disease or an atypical form of lymphoma that's "hiding" in his intestines.

The final challenge facing Trapper is hind end weakness. His back legs have become very weak and they slide out from under him without him realizing it and/or being able to control it. It's worse in the evenings when he's tired, and we're going to start adding some rugs and towels to the smooth surface floors to help him out :)

So, that's a lot of bad news, isn't it? Now the good news! The good news is that before starting the chemo, Trapper's CBC numbers were good and his activity level, appetite and general demeanor are great! An abdominal ultrasound showed no masses or free fluid, and he's up to 49.8 pounds!! No more skinny puppy ;) These are all fabulous signs that point to Trapper's fierce desire to live, not to mention his stubbornness (like mother, like son, I guess...)

Assuming this chemo drug works well, we will try to wean Trapper off the Prednisone, which is very likely contributing to muscle wasting and weakness in his back end. My hope is that he can regain enough strength to return to agility to play in class :) Low jumps, of course, but I'd love to be able to run with my boy, again, and I know he would love it, too..... We may also be able to add or increase some immunosuppressant drugs to address the possibility of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. I'd be so thrilled if Trapper could get back to normal in his GI system, and I think he would feel a ton better, too.

Trapper says the best news is that the fecal transplant option is off the table, at least for now. ;D We would have had to of delayed chemo to do the fecal transplant. The reason is that if we did the transplant, then chemo and Trapper developed a bacterial infection due to his the suppression of his immune system from the Lomustine, we'd have to start antibiotics. The antibiotics would erase any benefit that may have been gained from a fecal transplant. So, just add it to the list of possibilities not utilized at this time :)

Waiting for the vet. You can see a bit of his back leg weakness in this photo.

Trapper feels great! He even got toys out of the basket and wanted to tug, which is a
really good sign--he's not usually big on toys.

Keeping his toys close and waiting for his wonderful vet to return.

Hi, Mom. I love you, even though I pretend not to....

We are getting in as much snuggle time on the sofa as possible...

So, that's the update for now. Please send healing thoughts, prayers and anything else that might help for my buddy to get yet another lease on life. We're making the best of every day, while trying not to think too much about the potential negative alternatives. Thankfully, when I get a little too weepy or clingy, Trapper growls and lets me know that I shouldn't count him out. He is such a rockstar :)

Hug your loved ones and thanks for all your support....
Kirsta & Trapper Wrapper, little Snipper Snapper (he's going to kill me for telling you that nickname!)