Okay, I confess. I tried to bail out of the final chemo treatment. I called the oncologist Monday afternoon and left a message saying I was thinking about calling it quits. He called back on Tuesday and talked me into finishing the protocol. I told him that I was concerned that the marginal benefit of this final treatment (of the harsh Adriamycin) would not be greater than the marginal cost. He’s already had 15 treatments. Could this 16th be all that important? He assured me that it was definitely worthwhile. He recommended that I keep the appointment, and he would determine if Sarge needed another week to recover or if he would go ahead with the treatment but at a reduced dosage.
As it turned out, Sarge got his treatment at a reduced dose. Instead of 15.5 units, he got 14, which does not sound like a big reduction but it dropped the price by over $100. So I don’t know how this dosing calculation works.
The oncologist also sent us home with lots of meds: 5 days of Cerenia (anti-vomiting, anti-nausea), 14 days of Prednisone (anti-inflammatory steriod), as needed Mirtazapine (anti-depressant, appetite stimulant), and 14 days of Pepcid (acid reducer). We’ve finished the Cerenia, and I stopped the Mirtazapine a week after the treatment. We are still taking the Prednisone (which unfortunately I forgot to give him this AM) and the Pepcid. I was concerned about stopping the Mirtazapine cold turkey, but he seems to have done fine with it.
Sarge was feeling a little low and his appetite was depressed for the first few days after the treatment, especially in the mornings. I cooked a lot for him, e.g., ground beef meatballs with chopped spinach and grated carrots, macaroni and cheese, and chopped up mixed vegetables for one meal. I also would get up every day and lay out this buffet of foods and see what he would eat. What about this? What about this? We managed to find something he would eat at all meals (e.g., cottage cheese and a hot dog for breakfast), which was a big relief. We hit bottom in terms of his appetite this past Saturday, but it got better every day after that, and we are pretty much back to normal now. 🙂
He has been shortening our walks a bit but he has been quite feisty in the house. Lots of barking and spinning around in circles. I’m assuming that his energy level will only get better too.
That's my boy!
On the phone before the treatment, the oncologist said Sarge may very well surprise me by how long he lives. I tried to pin him down with a prediction when I went in to pickup Sarge, but the oncologist would not give me a time frame. We will just be taking it one day at a time.
You have no idea how glad I am that this is over and that he is doing well. Yippee!
Greyt Matters 