Hi everyone.  There have been a lot of sad postings on Tripawds.com lately (Wrigley, Buster, Cooper, Blue, Matey Girl, Rocco, Dasha, Cody; too many!!! ).  I have a bit of good news, and maybe eventually some hopeful news a bit down the line.  Max finished his traditional chemotherapy treatments (6 rounds of carboplatin) on 3/21/09.  He had lung x-rays on 3/21/09 and 4/18/09, and they both came up clear.  Since his chemo was finished, we consulted with Max's oncologist as to any other options available to us.  We had two:  chemo is done, so hang out and see what happens; or start the Metronomic Protocol (low-dose chemo in a pill that can be given at home).  I already knew about the Metronomic Protocol from reading about Jerry's experience with it.  I had read in other places that basically it was a kind of “last resort” treatment, as lung mets had already developed in those that went on it. 

After much thought, we decided to go ahead and do it. Since Max has no lung mets at this time, this is purely a preventative treatment.  We don't know if it will help extend his life, or keep mets at bay any longer than if we hadn't tried it.  (Has anyone else here tried the Protocol without lungs mets having been discovered???)  But we figure it's worth a chance.  Max is also taking K-9 Immunity and Transfer Factor; he will continue with those along with the Protocol.  So, we'll see what happens with this.  We don't know what it will bring, or how long we will keep Max on it (we've decided that if any of the medicines adversely affect him, we will discontinue the treatment), but we hope it will do something good.  Here are Max's medicines:

Actos (generic for Pioglitazone): 30 mg tablet, one tablet every 24 hours

Piroxicam (generic for Feldene): 10mg capsule, one capsule every 24 hours; this is an NSAID

Cytoxan:  don't have this dosage yet b/c we have to get it from a different pharmacy

So, I'll keep this forum updated on his treatment and future blood tests/x-rays.  If I have my way , I will have nothing but good news to post here for others that are looking for additional treatment options.

Thanks,

 Di & Max