Chemotherapy: Cycle 1

Lulu has just finished her first full cycle of chemotherapy and is taking a break this week. The skin around her muzzle is healing fast so we took this as an opportunity to give her a bath -- her first one in months! We had always been hesitant to give her a bath even though Dr. Lyons gave us the go ahead after she was done with radiotherapy. Lulu likes to rub her face all over the carpet after a bath and we didn't want to encourage too much irritation around her scabs.










So fresh and so clean!

Hungry Bear

Lulu is getting FAT. She has gained almost 3 pounds since she started her treatments. Apparently prednisone makes dogs unusually thirsty and persistently hungry which means that Lulu is always hungry, even after she eats.

She is always waiting for food. Here she is leading the pack in eying my mom's birthday cake.

Out and About

Now that Lulu's nose has dried up considerably, we're starting to take her out on outings. After being in the house for a couple of months straight she was excited to be outside.

We headed to The Camp in Costa Mesa for brunch. She barked a little more than usual and was very alert the entire time. (Mostly searching for birds) But she was happy! We're going to have to do a lot of retraining to get her to calm down in public areas, especially since her medicine makes her super anxious.





This week Lulu will be going back to see Dr. Turner for a quick CBC Test (Complete Blood Count) and her first dose of oral chemotherapy if all looks good.

Lulu's Medical Oncologist: Dr. Turner

Avenelle Turner, DVM, DACVIM (Oncology)

Veterinary Cancer Group's latest addition to the team of dedicated veterinary professionals is Board-Certified Oncologist Dr. Avenelle Turner. Dr. Turner received her DVM Degree from Colorado State University and completed her internship at Garden State Veterinary Specialists in Tinton Falls, New Jersey. She completed a three-year residency in Medical Oncology at Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists in Houston, Texas. She was most recently practicing at a progressive multi-specialty practice in New York City for the past few years. Dr. Turner has extensive training in oncologic emergencies, clinical pathology, exotic animal oncology, and grief counseling. The focus of her approach to the practice of oncology is compassionate care and strengthening the human-animal bond. She has many personal interests including traveling abroad, reading, baking, and personal fitness. She is the proud parent of two tortoiseshell cats and a very long Dachshund named Sookie.

Starting Chemotherapy Treatments

Today we met Dr. Turner for the first time, Lulu's medical oncologist. Dr. Turner will be monitoring and administering Lulu's chemotherapy over the next couple of months. She's found the trick to befriending Lulu: feeding her constant treats as she conducts her physical exams.

She explained to us that Lulu will be doing three cycles of three weeks each to administer two different drugs. The first drug will be given by injection the first week, the second one orally the second week and on the third week Lulu will rest. At the end of the nine weeks, Lulu should be cancer free.




The scabbing around Lulu's nose has completely dried up and is starting to fall off. You can see that the new skin underneath the scabs is a very light pink color and very smooth. Her nose is also a very soft pink color but that should be darkening over the next couple of weeks. It seems very sensitive (like baby skin!) so I'm guessing it will toughen up over time too.

Still in the Cone

Poor Lulu. She keeps trying to scratch off the scabs but they are not ready so it makes her bleed even more. She has no more radiation treatments so hopefully it doesn't get any worse than this. I can't wait for everything to dry up -- makes me so sad to look at her!

Done with Radiation Therapy!

We had our last discharge appointment with Dr. Lyons today. She is done with radiation therapy! The worst is over. Dr. Lyons is confident that they got rid of all of the cancer cells in the muzzle and lymph node, though he did just a visual assessment. Apparently at this stage a cat scan won't do much to see what is leftover at the molecular level, so that's what chemotherapy is for.

Lulu already had a couple of milder doses of chemotherapy during her radiation therapy but now that she's done, the medical oncologist will step it up and give her the full doses. We meet with her next week!

The fur on the right side of her nose is getting dry and crusty. There are chunks that peel off at a time and I try to remind myself that it's normal. It just seems so much more harsh when it falls off with a huge chunk of fur attached to it. :P

Dry is Good

So I *think* Lulu is getting a little better today and starting to heal. The wetness is gone and her nose has started scabbing around the affected areas. The top of her nose is peeling and still very dry but I'm hoping all of this will heal and her skin (and fur!) will regenerate. She's been a little less persistent about rubbing her nose (maybe because it's much harder with this plastic cone) but was all sniffles through the night and morning.

I wish there was something topical I could put on her skin to help it heal faster but she just licks anything right off. Tomorrow we have a follow-up appointment with Dr. Lyons where we'll assess her progress as well as start the next dose of chemotherapy.

And yes, that is her prednisone pot belly. :)

A cone upgrade!

Lulu is building quite the collection of cones. She's upgraded to an extra-large... we needed one as long as we could find so that the tip of her nose can't reach anything she's trying to rub it against. This one is a little better for her to walk around in too, since she will have slightly better peripheral vision. Hopefully it doesn't bother her when she's sleeping.

And.... it got worse.

These pictures make me so sad but in the spirit of documentation, the posts shall go on!

Lulu was able to get a good scratch on the nose twice, and both times it ripped chunks of her fur off her muzzle. The growing raw and bloody areas plus these two open wounds are driving Lulu crazy and she is trying to rub her head on the wall, ground, anywhere she can, cone or not!

The soft cone is good for comfort but not great for preventing rubbing or scratching. Max is out shopping for a plastic cone. We need to do what we can to stop her from making the area worse. I keep reminding myself to be patient and that by this weekend she will start healing. *crosses fingers*