Cancer and Chemotherapy
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I don't have any experience with this, but wanted to welcome you to the forum, and offer best wishes for her recovery  |
| I also have no experience in this area, but just wanted to wish you and Daisy the best of luck.
Laurie and Oscar |
| Welcome, and I'm sorry your dog is sick. We would love to hear more about her - your picture of her is adorable.
I would plan on her needing something warm. It may start coming out in chunks soon. |
| Welcome to the forum to you and Daisy! She's a beautiful girl. I'll keep her in my prayers so that she gets through her chemo treatments safely. |
| My mothers maltese went through chemo for two years. Yes she lost a lot if not most of her hair but it did come back. she went into remission and lived for another 2 years and passed when she was 10.
She went through a lot of the same things a person would . Home made chicken broth did well when she didn't want to eat mixed with some rice. The vet did put her on a vitamin supplement to keep her weight on but that could have been because she was such a tiny dog only 8 pounds. The treatment went weekly for one month then every other week for a month then monthly. They would change they type of chemo also. |
| Welcome to the forum, I am sorry it is under such stressful circumstances. I have not experience in Ca treatment.
But we are here for you for emotional support!!!! |
| Unfortunately it will fall out, so if it is winter over there maybe look at a coat or sweater to put on her. Sorry to hear that, what sort of mammory tumours was it?
Just wondering as I had a girl at age 7 have one removed from her mammary and it took 3 operations to get it all for a clear tissue sample finally on the 3rd op and treatment both conventional and alternative at the time. She went on to live another 7 years after. Fortunately it did not end up mastitsising through her whole system. How many treatments with the chemo to go? Iwould also be looking at some sort of vitamin supplement to help her keep weight on after each treatment as they do get sick there for a few days after each treatment. I've known 2 oes go through chemo, one successful and went on to live another 3 years after tumour removal, went with old age, the other was not and that one was for lymphatic cancer. Both went bald after the chemo treatment, coats grew back after the chemo course was finished. Wish you all the best with your girl and stay positive for her too. Sending sheepie hugs & good wishes over for you both.  |
| sorry to hear of Daisys ill health and hope all goes well |
| Hi,
So sorry to hear about your girl Daisy. My Shaggy who passed at 15 a few years ago, had chemo at age 8. Just a thought concerning the wooly thing is: I had purchased Shaggy a wonderful wooly sweater for her with thoughts that she was cold. While her hair didn't fall out it was sparse in some areas. The wool gave her a rash as her skin couldn't "breathe". So keep that in mind when looking for something...I think looking back I would have chosen a different material as you would have thought wool with all those little holes wouldn't have caused a problem. Perhaps it's like some people whom just can't wear sweaters and itch as a result. I think a loose fitting type t-shirt may work just as well. Welcome to you and Daisy and please keep us posted as to how she is doing. This forum is full of valuable information and very friendly people. Marianne and the boys (Blue, Merlin and Panda) |
| Welcome to the forum. Our warm wishes for a good recovery for Daisy. I would guess she would need something warm to wear for now, but down the road I'm sure her coat will grow back in more beautiful than ever.
Good luck with all you are going through. Daisy is lucky to have a Mom willing to go the extra mile for her. |
| I have experience with cancer but not with chemo. As I have a Daisy also I have a soft spot for the name Good luck to you both, it's a difficult thing to go through but not impossible.
(((from my Daisy to yours))) |
| Thank you all for your kind words and advice. It is all very much appreciated. Daisy's first op was last October and the vet was sure she had removed all of the cancer cells as she said it was quite clear where the tumours had been. However just after Christmas we found more 'lumps' which we hoped were just scar tissue. Unfortunately this was not the case and further tumours had appeared in almost the same place as before. After the second op the vet decided that the chemo would be a good idea even though the X-rays didn't show any spread at this stage, especially as the new tumours had appeared so quickly before. The tests on the tumours proved them to be a 'high grade carcinoma' which was not the news we wanted.
Daisy's hair is still falling out but I am ready to provide a coat/t-shirt/hat? of some kind when she needs it. The English winter still has a way to go yet! Thanks again and I'll keep you informed of her progress. You're all very thoughtful and I hope we can provide help to others if we can. Daisy (and Daisy's Mum, Karen) |
| Karen & Daisy,
Welcome to the forum. I also have no experience with Chemo, but wish you the best of luck! |
| Best wishes again Karen for Daisy, my girl at the time was the same a "High Grade Carcinoma" no chemo for her but treatment for a 6 month period after with some pretty powerful drugs to stop it spreading & removal of the lower two mammaries.
Do you have the supplement "Missing Link" available in the UK, it is a wonderful supplement if you can get it for her to help especially after each chemo session, it has all the vitamins and minerals as well as probiotics in it as well, I started using that then with my girl when she was under treatment, just to help keep weight on her and to make sure if she did not eat she was getting all goodness to help keep her strength up. Especially on sickie days that I had with her. 
So wishing you all the best for Daisy, I know too well the situation you are under at the moment, very stressful, and we are all keeping fingers and paws crossed for your girl. Keep us posted with how she is going and how you are doing also, this is a wonderful forum here for support and understanding words to help you both get through this. Your picture of daisy in your avatar is gorgeous, she is one pretty sheepie girl.  |
| Hi,
I agree with you Lisa! Daisy is one pretty sheepie girl and my three boys are sending sloppy sheepy kisses across the miles. 
Hugs to her mom too Marianne, and the boys, Blue, Merlin and Panda |
| Karen , how is Daisy doing? Hope all is well, please let us know. |
| Hi, Just a quick 'Daisy' update. Panic set in yesterday when I noticed a lump on the back of Daisy's neck. After a quick visit to the vets this morning we were reassured it was a reaction to an injection she had when she had to go on a drip to counteract the dehydration after the last Chemo session. The reason it was more obvious now is because she is still losing lots of her hair so we could see it now. Daisy has her next dose of Chemo tomorrow afternoon so we'll see how she is this time. (This is session 2 of 5 sessions 3 weeks apart) I've managed to order some 'Missing Link' thanks lisaoes for the suggestion so we'll see how she gets on with that when it comes. We'll try anything that might make her life easier. Have discovered that Daisy loves to eat fish! Makes the house smell when I cook it but that's a small price to pay for a happy dog! Thanks for all your good wishes, I've given Daisy all the hugs you sent! |
| Keep us posted on how your sweetie is going with each treatment. Once the 5 treatments are finished she should be feeling a lot better, might pay you to trim the hair back a bit if she is in full length coat, it will help there with the patchy loss of hair.
Hugs daisy your doing great and we are all keeping you in our thoughts. Great too you can get the Missing Link in the UK, keep her on it permantly when you get it.
Fish is great, smelly but great they all seem to love it, my girl at the time ate a lot of sardines & rice, about the only thing she would eat when not feeling to well, only a breath a mum could love back then  |
| Good luck and best wishes for Daisy's chemo today. Kisses from Chewie!! He knows how to give a good one. |
| I was looking at your pictures and admiring how pretty Daisy is. Good luck with her procedure. to you both! and one from Copper and one from Hannah! |
| Karen, I'm not sure what chemo protocal Daisy is on as there are two very common ones (FAC or CMF). Before you give any supplements, please check with your vet. One of the possible drugs (M) is inactivated by folinic acid - which occurs naturally in some foods and is also in some supplements. The actual effect is dose-dependent - both of the med and the rescue drug.
You are working so hard to help Daisy, I just want you to have this piece of information. Chemo works by interfering with the ability of cells to reproduce. It will attack normal body cells in the process of reproducing - causing the well-known side effects. Hair, intestional tract lining, and bone marrow are the body cells that reproduce the fastest and therefore have the most side effects. And the F in the protocals causes the skin the sunburn very easily - especially significant as Daisy will lose her coat. Thoughts and prayers. |
| Daisy's Chemo went well yesterday. She just lays on the floor and lets the vet put the cannula in and inject the Chemo drug gradually. In all she has to lie fairly still for about 45 mins which is a long time for a Sheepie! She is very good though and so far, she's doing fine but it was a few days afterwards that the side effects kicked in so I'm forearmed with plenty of cleaning products this time!
Thanks for the advice Guest, you are very knowledgeable! The drug Daisy is on is Epirubicin which I have just looked up again on the internet but can't find any references to the protocols you described. Not really sure what I'm looking for but nothing 'jumped out' at me that matched those initials! I've checked the ingredients of the Missing Link suppliment too. I had already checked with the vet that it was OK to give Daisy but as its not something on general availability here (I had to order it on the internet) maybe he wasn't too sure of it anyway but he checked the ingredients and said it couldn't hurt to try it. I'll keep you posted when I'm not giving Daisy extra hugs (and cleaning carpets!) |
| Karen, my best guess is the Epirubicin is similar to the A in the FAC, just made in France. Most of the chemo for pets is actually people chemo.
The nadir or low point for Daisy is going to be 10-15 days after chemo - that's when the blood counts are lowest and fatigue will peak. The gut also goes goes through changes, so nausea, vomiting and diarrhea can be expected. Small, frequent, bland food is tolerated best. Fluids more important, of course, as dehydration is a huge issue. Be aware that the side effects might seem to hit harder this time (not always, but pretty often). Part of it is that you don't get back to 100% before the next chemo. Decades of testing has shown the best timing to give the chemo so the maximum number of cells are killed. The vet will have decided what to give based on the past history of tumors, the fact that there is nothing currently visible on Xray and the physical condition of Daisy. This is being given as a preventative - to prevent any remaining microscopic cancer cells that aren't detectible from growing. I hope this helps. Thoughts and prayers still coming your way. |
| Just to let you know that Daisy has been fine (still got fingers crossed but so far....so good) since her chemo last week. The vet gave her a slightly smaller dose of Chemo and some different anti-sickness medicine which seems to have done the trick! No carpets have suffered this time round! The vet is so pleased with her he has said I can stop her tablets/medicine today as we are on day 8 and any sickness would have shown by now! Yipee! The medicine is fleurescent pink and very difficult to administer without getting a bright pink 'beard'/leg or anything else that gets in the way! She is eating and drinking fine too - maybe all those treats she is getting?? Thanks for all your help. Next dose is April 4th, almost half way there! |
Poor sweet girl. I'm glad she's doing better but it must be awful for you to see her go through a rough time.  |
| Best wishes with the next round and great to hear she took the last lot with not too many problems. She is a sheepie girl with a strong spirit in her.
Your doing great daisy |
| That's Great News! I bet she is "pretty in pink medicine"
She is a real fighter! Give her MORE from the Las Vegas crew! |
| Daisy was due her third dose of Chemo last Wednesday but I took her back to the vets on Tuesday as I had found more 'lumps' in her tummy. This time on the other row of mammories. The vet confirmed my worst fears that the cancer had returned, dispite the chemo, and now Daisy is booked in for more surgery on April 16th. We did not go ahead with the planned chemo as she needs to be at her best ready for the surgery. Poor Daisy, she's been through so much but still keeps 'smiling' through it all. We took her to a farm for a 'holiday' for a few days with the family last weekend and she had great fun walking through the fields with lots of new smells to sniff. We all had a great time and took some lovely pictures which I'll upload to my page for you to see. |
| Just wanted to send some prayers your way and hope that everything turns out well. |
| Sorry to hear that you found some more lumps.
Best wishes to Daisy for her surgery. |
| Hi,
What a fighting spirit Daisy has!! How lucky she is as well to have a mom and dad whom obviously love her and are making sure she has the best care possible. My boys and me are sending well wishes and the boys are sending beautiful Daisy some sloppy sheepie kisses. She's stolen their hearts and they are now part of the Daisy fan club.
I loved your photos - all of you make such a happy looking family and Daisy is just beautiful. Marianne and the boys (Blue, Merlin and Panda) |
| Wishing the best wishes on Daisy's upcoming surgery.
Also saying lots of prayers for her. |
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