Well, its been a couple weeks since our last post, which at the time I asked for suggetions about treating lung met and was given some great advice. Right about that same time dasha was offering some K-9 immunity she had for Finn and we graciously took advantage of that. Gus has been doing pretty good but last night he was very slow to come to the house, not his usual. I willl say the last couple days he has been quite the roamer in the fields, and usually when he does that much walking, he is a little slow for a day , but not this slow. The lump on his neck seems to be growing a little faster. I had asked our vet about metronomic therapy and he has just now gotten the information for for some of the drugs I inquired about. We were going to start him on cytoxin and one drug that starts with D today, but I am concerned it might be to late, and I am not sure if he has a reaction such as vomiting or diahrea I want to put him through that since he isn't feeling quite as good. One thing I might have messed up on, I forgot about the calendar the vet gave me for his prednisone, I have been giving him 3 twice a day and I should have been down to 2 a day, so I just gave him one yesterday morning, and a doctor friend told me last night you shouldn't drop it down that quick. I had given him 2 last night, so when we got home I gave him another, so maybe that was doing more than I thought it was, but I think I am going to stay where we were at for now. I'll talk to the vet this morning. This morning he seems to have a  little more energy, he ate his pills and food, but I'm not sure if the lump is starting to bother him more, I was rubbing him last night and just felt it and he winced as if it was sore. I hope this isn't the beginning of having to make that decision, I wasn't sure I wanted to get out of bed this morning, he likes to sleep on the porch on cool nights, didn't know what I would wake up to, but  every night I tell him what a great looking guy he is, what a good boy he is and that I love him, so I know if he doesn't wake those were the last words he heard. We are  suppose to go down to Tennessee in 2 weeks for a wedding, that last thing I want is to have to be in a position of making a decision at the time we go down, don't know if I could go if he isn't doing well. Can anybody give me help on their experience when they started cytoxin. Thanks for your help, Paws up, Gus and Dan

Hi Dan and Gus,

I don't have any experience with Cytoxin either.  But wanted to chime in that we will keep fingers and paws crossed for Gus.  We're keeping you in our hearts.  And Fortis' Dad is right – roaming the fields sounds pawsome.  We'll hope for the best for your boy.

Sending hugs,

Holly, Zuzu and Susan

Hi Dan & Gus.  When our Max was on metronomics, cytoxan was part of the protocol, along with Piroxicam and Actos.  Max never had any reaction to the meds, as far as we ever knew.  The only directive we had for cytoxan was to give it in the morning.  Apparently cytoxan can cause crystals to build up in the bladder (I think?), which can cause pain when urinating.  We were supposed to watch for signs of pain, or possible blood in the uring.  Max never had either.  Again, we never saw a problem with him with any of the metronomic meds. 

I hope you and Gus have a better day today.  Don't worry about the wedding right now.  Just take each day with your boy, and give him lots of love (which it sounds like you're already doing!).  Good luck, and keep everyone updated.

Diane

PS:  You're right:  he is a very good-looking boy!

Dan,

We started Mackenzie on the metronomic about 2 months ago.  Includes Cytoxan (15mg capsule),  a diuretic called Lasix (about 40mg)and Metacam – anti-steroidal) She takes this in the morning only. She has had no side effects and she was a tripawd who had major side effects on regular chemo (carboplatin.) They want the diuretic to flush through her system throughout the day to prevent irritation to the bladder and bladder infections (that's why they take it in the morning.)  From what my vet told me, Cytoxan can cause an irritation to the bladder lining which in turn causes bladder infections and possible other complications.  So that's something you just need to watch for.  In fact, I thought maybe she had a bladder infection a couple of weeks ago and the vet had me take her off the Cytoxan for a week. Then we did a culture and it came back clear.  So now she's back on it without any trouble.  I too was concerned about giving her this but now I'm not at all – it hasn't changed her energy level whatsoever or caused any other side effects.  Our oncologist said that she would like to see Mackenzie on this for 6 months pending any issues, and then we'd evaluate.  She also said that she is recommending this course of treatment more and more now because it's much easier on dogs and it has shown to be pretty effective in many cases. 

I can totally relate to your concerns about Gus. Sometimes if Mackenzie has done too much I notice her energy level is pretty low the next day.  I worry about it but then she seems to come out of it…so maybe Gus is going through something similar.  Being a tripawd pawrent always comes with a lot of worries unfortunately.  I think our "worry" sensory is on overload for most of the time.  So try not to worry too much just yet.  The fact that he's eating his food and pills says a lot.  Maybe once you talk to your vet you'll get a better sense of how Gus is feeling.  We're thinking of you and Gus and hope everything is ok!  

Kami (Mackenzie's Mom)

Well, it's about 6:20 in the afternoon and I will say that Gus seems a little better. I notice he is wincing once in a while when he moves, not sure what it is that is making him do that, but I will say thank you all for your suggestions and support. I didn't get the medicine yet basically because I wanted to see how today went. I did find out that this guy was roaming the fields way farther than I thought, which might explain a little of the soreness and low energy. So if the pharmacy is open tomorrow, depending on how Gus does the next 12 hours, I might get him started tomorrow. I must say he has been real good up until last night, I couldn't believe how tired and sore he seemed. I am hoping the cancer hasn't went to his other front leg, he seems to be moving somewhat better, and it is REALLY humid here today, and I think the prednisone is making him pant more also, so I know that will effect his energy level. Right now he's sprawled out in front of the fan, but when I go back out, he'll probably follow me, what a guy. We just take it one day at a time, I have no regrets whatsoever of any of my decisions, after all, he loves to go out in the fields, he likes to lay in the same area I am working in,  and if he didn't wake up tomorrow, he's been in his glory right until the end, but we'll assume he is just having a bump in the road for now, might have to keep him a little closer to home for his own good. So, we'll see what tomorrow brings, Paws up, Gus and Dan

kbryant said:

I think our "worry" sensory is on overload for most of the time.  So try not to worry too much just yet.  The fact that he's eating his food and pills says a lot.  Maybe once you talk to your vet you'll get a better sense of how Gus is feeling. 

Oh, isn't this cancer journey a tumultuous one.

It sounds like Gus overall is doing ok though; roaming the fields (lucky dude), eating, lying at your feet. You know, throughout our experience with Catie I've had to work real, real hard (and it's been work) to learn to minimize my five decades worth of worrying about tomorrow – I swear I was born scrunchy-faced with anxiety :) and I have baby pictures o prove it. Man, it's been a tough to let go of a very defeating lifetime habit. 

I'm so happy Gus had a better day, after all. Got our fingers and paws crossed the good days keep coming.

Carmen, Catie and Riley

Augh … evidently I got the math question wrong, so now I have to try to retype what I had … frustrating!!!

Anyway … 

While we don’t have experience with metronomics, we are in the process of withdrawing Harley off of Prednisone.  I have noticed when I step the dosage down to the next lower level that Harley definitely seems more tired … I assume this is him adjusting to the new level of Prednisone?  What you described with Gus sounds similar to our experience with Harley when lowering the Prednisone.  We’ve also experience a lot of panting on Prednisone, although it has lessened with each lower dosage.

I did read this online about Prednisone withdrawal & possible side effects:

• joint pain
• muscle pain
• fatigue
• headache
• fever
• low blood pressure
• nausea and vomiting

Hope Gus is feeling better … our paws are crossed for him!!