Sunday, May 31, 2015

Day by Day

We are still fighting and Cali continues to fight with us.  As an update, the chemotherapy mentioned in my previous post did not work and she crashed this past week.  She stopped eating completely and her attitude plummeted.  We took her in on Tuesday for the 'rescue drug' that helps bring them back for a short time while other options are pursued.  We met with our oncologist and discussed a new therapy that has JUST been approved for use.  Monoclonal Antibody therapy is a new treatment that has revolutionized treated human lymphoma.  It has recently become available for canine lymphoma..specifically T Cell Lymphoma.  It is expensive and time consuming..BUT...(big BUT)..if it works...it can CURE Lymphoma with NO side effects.  It essentially trains your immune system to kill cancer cells so cancer becomes just like any other virus/bacteria in your system.  it can be eradicated and never come back.
The kicker is...it takes time to work.  We are on our last chemotherapy drug that she isn't resistant to..so it has to keep the cancer at bay long enough for her immune system to work.  And so far this has been the hard part with making the new therapy as effective for canines as humans. 
So on Friday..after getting her back to stable..we started a new chemo and gave her the first dose of this new therapy. 
She now just has to hold on long enough...and her immune system has to be strong enough..for this to all work.  We should know if we will continue the biweekly treatments after this coming week. 
She isn't eating great..but she is eating some. She has moments of feeling good but isn't feeling like herself. So..we are taking it day by day. 
For now..she is still holding down her "Sunday morning blog posting' spot
We are trying to keep the other dogs happy and not be too sad for them.  Roxi celebrated her 2nd birthday and 1st gotcha day a few weeks ago.  She keeps us smiling.

2 comments:

Two Greyhound Town said...

We are pulling for you Cali!

Sue said...

You hang in there Cali. I am keeping everything crossed she picks up and the drug works.

We are sending truck loads of positive healing thoughts and gentle hugs.

Happy Birthday and Gotcha Day Roxi. You are doing a grand job of cheering everyone up.

Hugs
Sue, Polly & Honey