Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi there. Would be grateful of any advice or experience from members who have had issues with low white cell counts and platelet count following chemo. Mischa had six sessions, three weeks appart of Mitroxantone and had no obvious side affects. She was then put onto 6 weekly maintenance sessions as she had responded so well. 7 days following the first of the maintenance sessions she hit the wall with a high fever - 40.9 and her white blood cells were very low. She has spent the past two days on IV antibiotics and her temp is now normal. I was expecting her home today but when they ran her bloods they were happy with white cell count but platelets were down to 29 which my vet said could cause spontaneous bleeding. I'm so worried about her. She has done so well through her amputation and treatment so far I now don't know if I can put her through further chemo treatment. The vet hopes she'll be home in a couple of days.
Her original cancer was CTT which metastasized to the bone. This pain from the bone tumor was how she was originally diagnosed and amputation followed. The primary CTT was not found until follow up ultrasounds. Bladder tumor has responded well to chemo and she is also on piroxycam.
Should I carry on with 6 weekly chemo? Will this hit to her immune system happen again.
Any shared experiences would be very helpful. It has been six months since diagnosis.
Thanks
Rebecca - Mischa's worried mom
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Hi Rebecca. So sorry Mischa is having a hard time right now. Our situation is a bit different (amp on 12/1/11 due to OSA and we are on six rounds of Carboplatin - one every three weeks), so I don't know if this will help. After Zeus' second and third treatment, his WBC count dropped and was too low to proceed with the chemo at the next scheduled three-week appt. Each time we had to postpone the next treatment by one week. Fortunately he has not been sick enough to require hospitalization (only one episode of vomiting and a couple of very lethargic days each time).
Dr. R told us that it is very unusual to make it through an entire course of chemo without having at least one instance of low counts. I have read that some vets will lower the chemo dosage when a dog is not tolerating it well. Apparently, since Zeus' counts have not bottomed enough to require actual treatment, Dr. R believes it is better for our situation to keep him at a full dose but have the week delay if the counts are lower than comfortable. In your case your vet may decide to lower the dosage for the next treatment, try a different chemo drug, or even discontinue treatment. Make them talk to you in detail about your options.
Good luck and how Mischa is better soon!
Lisa
Zeus was a Husky mix diagnosed with Osteosarcoma at age 11. A visible lung met and suspicious spot on his liver meant a poor prognosis-six weeks was our vet's best guess. We decided to fight for our boy and his right front leg was amputated on 12/1/11. We did six rounds of chemo, changed his diet and spoiled him completely rotten. We were blessed with 10 great months after diagnosis. Against the odds, the lung met remained a single met and grew very little over those months. A wonderful furbaby with the most gentle spirit, he fought with a strength that we never imagined he possessed. We have no regrets...
http://zeuspod......pawds.com/
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