Interesting about the non-interest in going off carbs....more than one of my vets actually advised me against carbs, so Nitro has been grain-free for some time now. He also had no issues with carboplatin, but I don't know anything about turmeric. Like Sally, I do believe in holistic medicine....we have 2 vets, one that practices Eastern medicine and one regular vet. They compliment each other nicely. Good luck, keep up the good work Jack!

paula and nitro

I am so sorry to hear about Jack's diagnosis.  We are just three weeks out from diagnosis and amputation - the margins were not "clean".  When we went to see the Oncologist last week she explained that right now Anjing has the least amount of cancer in his body so right now we need to start treatment.  This really made sense and after going through all of the options we opted for Carboplatin.  We just finished our first dose or Carboplatin and here are a few things that we have experienced:

1. Decreased appetite -- just when Anjing started eating regularly we had the Chemo treatment on Wednesday.  Wednesday was fine, but since then it has been a negotiation to get him to eat.  We finally have him eating his regular food once per day as long as there are 2 scrambled eggs or boiled chicken mixed in.  To combat the decreased appetite the Oncologist prescribed an anti-nausea medication 2-3 times per day and Pepcid AC twice a day.  While I did start the Anti-nausea right away (3x per day) I did not start the Pepcid AC until Saturday, which was a mistake.  The Pepcid AC really seemed to do the trick and perked him up.  I feel guilty giving him carbs - steamed rice or a slice of toast but when that is the only thing he will eat... his regular dog food is grain free .
2. Lethargy -  Thursday and Friday were sleepy days -- however we did take 3 short walks each day.  Saturday when I finally gave him the pepcid, he was acting more like himself.  Sunday we went for a short boat ride and he went with us  -- that is one of his favorite things to do. He is sleeping alot but as long as he does his "normal" stuff barking at the UPS man, getting up when we come home, etc.  I am happy.
3. Elimination --  Pee is fine.  Anjing drinks a normal amount of water, since the amp it seems it has gone up slightly.  Poop is another story.  While he is still on his "schedule" his stool is mostly loose and it seems like he is straining when going #2-- I am going to call Onco tomorrow and see if there is anything we can do for this.
4. Supplements -- Prior to Chemo I had him on Enhansa which is a tumeric based supplement (for humans and fur-kids).  Since then when he eliminates the color is a tumeric yellow which is strange.  This is another question for the Onco.  I did discuss K-9 Immunity with her since that seems to be widely recommended here.  She said anything to boost immunity would be great.  I think the trickiest thing at this point is just getting Anjing to eat and then adding supplements back as that gets more "normal".  One interesting this is that prior to all of this he religiously took one Dasuquin MSM each day.  Since about a week prior to the surgery he started spitting these out and I have been unable to get him to take one - even if I cut it up and hide it in his food.

Please keep in touch and post your progress.  Overall I am extremely impressed with Anjings recovery and I am hoping that the Chemo will give him an extended life.  Anjing is growing stronger every day.  But in the mean time we are enjoying each day. 

Good luck!  I wish you the best with Jack.

Hugs,

Jeannie and Anjing

P.S.  Wednesday was our consult, after talking with the ONCO we decided to do our first treatment that day and I am glad we did.  The only prior that they told us to do was not to give him breakfast but to bring it with us so that the staff could feed him after the blood tests, etc.