I\u2019d like to tell you what has been going on with Rosy since I wrote about her emergency \u00a0surgery.<\/p>\n
I got the biopsy back from when they took out her spleen and she does have cancer. It\u2019s visceral hemangiosarcoma \u2013 the kind that affects the internal organs.\u00a0 There is no cure for it.\u00a0 Standard of care is chemotherapy but it’s not known to be very effective on this type of canine cancer.<\/p>\n
Basically this is an aggressive cancer of the endothelial cells that line the blood vessels. Not good news at all to use a major understatement. …….I didn\u2019t tell you\u00a0 about this before, because I really did not know what to say nor if I should share the bad\/sad news with you and I\u2019ve been in emotional turmoil and quite distressed. \u00a0My liaison, Adam, at NutriSource pet foods, encouraged me to let you know – after all, you have been hearing all about Rosy throughout the podcast.<\/p>\n
So, I got a recommendation from my regular vet for an oncologist and off we went. I was sad that because of the blasted pandemic, I was not going to be able see him in person as he interacted with my dog. It had to be over the phone. Sigh\u2026\u2026\u2026.But he was great \u2013 spent a lot of time talking to me. Explained exactly why chemotherapy is not very effective in fighting this particular type of cancer. The cells that line the blood vessels are VERY resistant to any medicine and attempts to kill them. It makes sense when you think about it. Blood is our life line and the vessels are the pipeline. Gotta be tough little cells. But when they become cancerous – hard to treat. You may recall, she had a mass in her spleen which had bled into her abdomen.\u00a0 As this type of hemangiosarcoma is essentially a cancer that is in the blood, microscopic spread of the cancer cells into other parts of the body or other organs is a real possibility.<\/p>\n
On Oct. 14, the oncologist did recommend doing the heavy duty intravenous chemo therapy but \u00a0acknowledged that the first thing I needed to do was to decide if I wanted to use chemo or not.\u00a0 On average, it may offer a few more months of survival to a dog. But it may not.\u00a0 And there could be some negative side effects that Rosy would experience from the chemo\u00a0 – or not. No way to know in advance.<\/p>\n
You can imagine, I left there needing to do a lot of thinking. I made an appointment for the following week with this doctor to do some further diagnostics like an ultrasound of her abdomen and x-rays of her chest to see if the cancer had spread and give my decision about if I wanted to start chemotherapy.\u00a0 Many people do and many people don\u2019t with this type of cancer.<\/p>\n
So two things I found out in the week in between the appointments. One, a dog can have episodes of internal bleeding \u2013and become anemic. They are very tired, and don\u2019t feel like eating. It is upsetting to see a dog go through this, but if they are not really bad bleeds, the body absorbs the blood over time and the dog can recover from the episode. This happened to Rosy. She got VERY lethargic , her gums became a pale pink color (not the usual bubble gum pink that is normal)\u00a0 and all she could really do iwas lie down and sleep. Very thirsty. I brought small bowls of water over to her bed where she could lap up the water easily without getting up and I hand fed her food when she could eat.<\/p>\n
Two, there is a Chinese herb called Yunnan Baiyao that is recommended by most veterinarians that helps stop bleeding in dogs with this cancer. When she had the surgery I was sent home with capsules of this.\u00a0 Besides the regular capsules that Rosy gets on a \u00a0daily basis there is a concentrated dose of the herbs in the form of a small red coated pill that comes in the center of the package of capsules. This controls bleeding in emergency situations. Rosy was given this red pill by my vet the first time she had an internal bleed. It works to stop the hemorrhaging. It seems like a miracle pill.\u00a0 I am so grateful to be able to give these to Rosy because I feel like I am doing something to help her.\u00a0 \u00a0You can only give the red pill on a limited basis in any \u00a024 hours, so if you ever find yourself fighting hemangiosarcoma, make sure you consult with your vet about how many red pills to give your dog. And you need to source the herb from either your vet or a reliable, trusted place the vet recommends. In the past there have been issues with counterfeit Yunnan baiyao being sold. Please be careful with this.<\/p>\n
In two days, Rosy had recovered from the event and was her energetic waggy-tailed self in time for the next appointment with the oncologist.<\/p>\n
It’s hard for me to write this,\u00a0 but after her ultrasound and talking to Dr. H, (as I call him) the news got worse. The ultrasound showed that there was more blood in her abdomen and an ill-defined mass had grown in the belly.\u00a0 Wasn\u2019t causing any pain to Rosy but this indicated that the cancer was rapidly advancing and Dr. H, told me he did not recommend doing any chemotherapy at this point. No oral, no intravenous.\u00a0 The cancer was so far ahead of us, that nothing we could do would catch up.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet Rosy be Rosy\u201d and consider palliative care as it progresses,\u00a0 was his compassionate suggestion. No way to know how long she would be with me.<\/p>\n
I am taking good care of her. She is taking supplements Dr. Royal is giving her to build up her immune system, getting exercise which makes her feel good, seeing her dog and human friends, and enjoying her life. When she feels well, I take her to some of her favorite places.\u00a0 She sleeps hard and heavy more often now, but I know this is what she needs.<\/p>\n
We are having some great adventures. We went to a very large dog park she loves, recently, where she can sniff and explore off leash in wide open spaces. She is interested in greeting the other dogs at the park, and socializing but is very wise about not roughhousing with them. \u00a0She is not running madly along with them anymore, or outracing them in games of chase, as she used to do – \u00a0which is painful to see but she is pacing and taking care of herself, which I\u2019m proud to see.<\/p>\n