Greetings everyone. So the doctor told us we would be buying an additional 30% remission rate if we decided to go with chemo. Without chemo the chances for her staying in remission is 50% and with the chemo 80%. With lots of dicussion and tears we opted to do the chemo. It's a six month course. The first month is an IV medication called Vimblastin that she's been getting once a week for four weeks. Tomorrow will actaully be her fourth week. After the first month, she will alternate every two weeks between the IV vimblastin and an oral Lomustine. Every week she gets blood drawn to monitor her blood counts. When we start the oral chemo she will also have her liver enzymes checked weekly too. SIDE EFFECTS??? WHAT SIDE EFFECTS? The most common side effects are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, and weight loss. So far we have yet to have a single side effect and she has been maintaining a healthy weight. All of her labwork has been practically without change from baseline with normal variation. In fact, with the docs permission, she gets to go to the dog park every time she goes to the vet and often times in between. Whenever it's come up that she's on chemo people are skeptical because she just runs and chases and jumps for the ball just like a healthy pup would. I'm a bit nervous when we start the oral chemo because there is a higher tendency for side effects, but until then.... we're doing great!
