Bison The Rottweiler And His Lymphoma Battle

[persephone]

What a handsome boy Bison is!! :)

re: his food ..I'd be inclined to do veg raw ... and in the vitamiser/food processor , and served immediately .. so he gets all teh enzymes & vitamins etc .

[ari.g]

Thanks for all the comments/support. :).

01/04/2012.

He is still doing fine, it has been roughly 48 hours since his first chemo treatment. He still has plenty of energy, is eating well and hasn't had any side effects.

I can't wait to get him started on some natural support to help him through the chemo.

I'll be consulting with Dr Robert McDowell: http://www.herbal-treatments.com/contact-us/robert-mcdowell-s-herbal-treatments.html

Also, a few members here have used the following with great success:

http://www.dogcancer.net/k9-immunity-plus.html

http://www.dogcancer.net/tf.html

Further opinions on the above products are appreciated. Also, if someone knows a local Australian supplier, that would be great.

I have dealt with this site before by phone and the guy was great. I bought Synflex from them but looks like they cell the K9 Immunity plus and transfer factor. http://www.dogcancer.net.au/dog-cancer-transfer-factor.php They are in WA but I received the stuff quickly.

All the best for Bisons treatment :)

[DerRottweiler]

Thank you! I'll give them a call tomorrow. I need to speak to the oncologist first to make sure that the supps are compatible with his chemo treatment plan.

02/04/2012: Bison is still doing fine, full of energy, appears generally happy, swelling has gone down further and is almost completely gone. No side effects still.

[Kajtek]

Way to go. Well done Bison!

Thank you for the update.

Thinking of you

[grumpette]

We put all the vegies in a food processor and made a pulp that was added to the fresh meat. The other supplements were then added and mixed in. This was done every day to ensure that the maximum amount of vitamins and antioxidants were available.

So glad that Bison is still travelling well.

[DerRottweiler]

Thanks Grumpette.

Last night I chopped up some Silverbeet very finely and mixed it in with his chicken mince. He ate it without a problem.

03/04/2012: Still all good, no side effects. Energy levels...very high. I had to play his favourite game with him this morning to calm him down a bit: wrestling. I don't know how much I should be exercising him, I keep thinking that I should try and get him to rest as much as possible and conserve energy, but being a working breed, he'll go mental.

[grumpette]

Exercise ensures that they maintain muscle and body strength as well as a positive mental attitude, all of which are vitally important in the fight against cancer. Just how much exercise is up to your dog. Be directed by Bison. If he wants to play, play. If he wants to rest, let him rest.

You can add eggs, with shells, sardines, mackrels, broccoli, spinach, brussel sprouts, bok choy, etc to his meat to add more nutrients. Does the chicken mince include frames so that he is getting the calcium?

[grumpette]

Another link for you

http://www.dogcancer.net.au/dog-cancer-canine-lymphoma.php

[wantsapuppy]

Fastastc news that the swelling has gone own so fast . What a shock that old of been. To come home and find it

[bianca.a]

Bison's small cheerleading GSD team here are still keeping all paws crossed for him. Great news he is feeling playful :)

[DerRottweiler]

Thanks for all the comments/info everyone. :)

04/04/2012: Things are still as they were yesterday. His next treament is on Friday, which will be adminstered at home. I spoke to the Oncologist today, he said, it is normal for the lymph nodes to go up/down in the first few weeks, so I shouldn't gauge success by the absence of the lymph node growth or failure on it coming back. Fair enough. Still early days.

[Kajtek]

... it is normal for the lymph nodes to go up/down in the first few weeks, so I shouldn't gauge success by the absence of the lymph node growth or failure on it coming back.

Fair enough but you can still be happy that they went down. It's a good sign and great work by Mr Bison.

[Pugmum]

Hi DR,

Bison is a beautiful boy and I wish you both the very best. Any illness of a pet leaves you feeling very vulnerable, but the word cancer hits you like a brick to the head. It looks as though Bison is responding very well to treatment though so hpefully his prognosis is now on the most positive side

I dont know much about Chemotherapy treatments apart from those that my girl had for bladder cancer. The instructions from her specialist stressed taking her temp twice a day for a week after each treatment, then going for a white cell count - depending on that result we may have continued (if her white cell count was very low she was still prone to infections). A spike of more than 1 degree meant a trip back to the specialist. If you dont need to have a white cell count, maybe the temp thing is not needed - but it certainly wont hurt to know how he is travelling.

With regards to the diet, again only from my experience, I was told to be very carefull about the amount of antioxidant I gave my girl while she was having the Chemo - spcialist told me it would actually work to negate the treatment

I fed only cooked food, meat, steamed vitamised veg, quark (a form of cottage cheese) with fesh ground flax seeds etc. The reason for the cooked food was becase raw food had more bacteria - fine for healthy dogs, not those with a compromised immune system from the chemo.

My girls cancer was very aggressive, but with a good diet etc she was in good conditon till the end.

best wishes and a hug for Bison.

[silentchild]

Just popping in here to give Bison some pats and well wishes and hoping that everything is going well with the treatment. :)

[DerRottweiler]

Hi DR,

Bison is a beautiful boy and I wish you both the very best. Any illness of a pet leaves you feeling very vulnerable, but the word cancer hits you like a brick to the head. It looks as though Bison is responding very well to treatment though so hpefully his prognosis is now on the most positive side

I dont know much about Chemotherapy treatments apart from those that my girl had for bladder cancer. The instructions from her specialist stressed taking her temp twice a day for a week after each treatment, then going for a white cell count - depending on that result we may have continued (if her white cell count was very low she was still prone to infections). A spike of more than 1 degree meant a trip back to the specialist. If you dont need to have a white cell count, maybe the temp thing is not needed - but it certainly wont hurt to know how he is travelling.

With regards to the diet, again only from my experience, I was told to be very carefull about the amount of antioxidant I gave my girl while she was having the Chemo - spcialist told me it would actually work to negate the treatment

I fed only cooked food, meat, steamed vitamised veg, quark (a form of cottage cheese) with fesh ground flax seeds etc. The reason for the cooked food was becase raw food had more bacteria - fine for healthy dogs, not those with a compromised immune system from the chemo.

My girls cancer was very aggressive, but with a good diet etc she was in good conditon till the end.

best wishes and a hug for Bison.

Thanks for the advice.

I was giving him raw mince, because that's what he's used to. I guess I'll start cooking his mince, once I meet with the Oncologist to discuss particulars regarding, diet, supps etc.

I still haven't purchased any supps just in case they prove to be detrimental.

Just popping in here to give Bison some pats and well wishes and hoping that everything is going well with the treatment. :)

Thank you! All support is appreciated.

05/04/2012: Bison is still doing very well. He seems fine in all aspects. Diet, exercise, you name it. Although, it seems that he has officially forgotten the meaning of the word 'no', because everyone is letting him do whatever he wants pretty much lol. Tomorrow he will have chemo administered at home, I'll post up pics/details tomorrow. :).

Edited April 5, 2012 by DerRottweiler

[HazyWal]

You and Bison are both in my thoughts DR.

[DerRottweiler]

You and Bison are both in my thoughts DR.

Thank you. :)

I got some good news from the oncologist yesterday, Bison's lymphoma is associated with type B cells. Therefore, it is easier to treat and his prognosis is much better. :D

06/04/2012: Well today was Bison's second treatment, which I adminstered at home. I had to give him 5 small tablets (the anti-cancer drug) and 1 other tablet (I think it induces thirst so that the dog drinks more).

Easy done, I put the tablets inside some chicken mince and hand fed it to him. Now...the waiting game begins. I'll be watching him closely to make sure he doesn't throw up the drugs. Will be watching for side effects too, but they're unlikely for at least 48 hours.

Had to use rubber gloves and wash hands thoroughly after....

That's all for now. :)

[HazyWal]

DR that is great news from the oncologist.Hope the big fella keeps the drugs down and the side effects are minimal.Lots of positive thoughts headed your way from me and the hounds :)

[bianca.a]

That is really good news! I hope that he has had no side effects so far.

[DerRottweiler]

Thanks guys. He has what I'd classify as minor sides.

He seemed very lethargic most of today and wasn't interested in food/water. I gave him a few ice cubes which he loved.

He then started drinking and just before, he ate around 75% of what he'd normally eat a night. So not too bad.

He's still happy though, enjoying pats from my relatives and he did go for a bit of a stroll around the block before. Now that some time has passed he seems to be doing a lot better and is a bit more energetic (but not yet his usual self).