Breeze
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Breeze
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BREEZE HAS CANCER!!
It will be a long time before the memory of the evening of March 10, 2008 is erased from our memory. That evening, Breeze was sick to her stomach at 7:30 p. m., something she never is. As Linda was comforting Breeze, she felt a large mass on one of Breeze’s mammary glands. It was the size of a tennis ball!
We made an appointment with our Veterinarian for early Tuesday afternoon. Our Vet suggested we go to the Alta Vista Clinic where they could provide 24 hour care to Breeze. We did that and Breeze entered the care of the Alta Vista Animal Hospital’s Emergency Department. The next morning a Veterinarian called and informed us that Breeze had been sick to her stomach during the night and he wanted to perform an ultra-sound on her in the hope that they could discover what was going on. We agreed. The Ultra-sound could not be done until the Thursday. When the Ultra-sound was done, we were advised that Breeze had a ruptured gall bladder and that would have to be removed and at the same time they would remove four tumours from her mammary glands (two on the left side and two on the right side).
The surgery was performed on the Thursday afternoon and Breeze came through it like the stalwart warrior she is. She had staples along her abdomen from one end to the other.
The histology results would not be available until the following week. The Oncology Surgeon from Alta Vista called the following Tuesday to inform us that two of the tumours were benign, one was a carcinoma and one was a sarcoma. When we heard sarcoma, we stopped listening and had to call the surgeon the next day to get answers to all of our questions which we had neglected to ask the previous day. That was March 19, 2008. An appointment with the oncologist and surgeon was set up for March 26, 2008.
We met with the oncologist first and she discussed our options for Breeze. She was recommending a six session treatment program of chemo-therapy for Breeze. Each session would be three weeks apart. Dogs do not loose their hair and are rarely sick to their stomachs.
We made the decision to start the chemo-therapy program that day. The first step in the treatment is to x-ray Breeze’s lungs to ensure that the cancer had not metastasized to her lungs. It was here we learned that if the cancer had spread, no treatment would begin and we would take her home and make her as comfortable as possible. We went for coffee nearby and waited for the x-ray results. We were much relieved when the call came in telling us her lungs were clear.
When we picked Breeze up after session one, we were given two new sets of pills to go with all the medicine she was taking as a result of her surgery. Metronadazole was in case she had diarrhea and metoclopramide was in case she was nauseas. We were also asked to purchase some pepcid ac to help calm her stomach.
Every time Breeze ate -- there we were with more pills to ram down her throat. It got to the point when she saw food coming; she went the other way. Eventually, we took the approach of putting her food down and saying “puppy, you will eat when you want to”! It is not unusual for Breeze to eat her breakfast sometime between 11:00 a. m. and 1:15 p. m. Then at 5:00 p. m. she is eager to have her dinner and needs no encouragement.
May 22, 2008, Breeze has completed three sessions of chemo-therapy and has three more to go. To look at her, you would not know that she is sick. She is eager to play with Falcon and when he plays too rough, she is quick to tell him off. She drags a little on our walks until the ball comes out and then she gets vociferous about having us throw it to her. If she sees a squirrel she is ready for the chase.
June 12, 2008, I had to drop Breeze off at Alta Vista for her fourth Chemo-Therapy Session. Linda is in New Brunswick planting her garden so I have to drop her off and pick her up by myself. For the first time, I did not want to leave Breeze and when the technician started to walk Breeze to the back, she balked and wanted to come with me. I guess I was worried because with this session, they will take x-rays of her lungs again and that concerns me. What if the cancer has spread?
It is 5:00 p. m. on June 12, 2008, and I am picking Breeze up! She is happy to see me and wants to get out the door “come on, let’s blow this pop stand”!! The good news is her lungs are clear and Breeze is in remission. What a relief!
She has only two more sessions. The next session is similar to week one and week six and they are always hard on her. On her final session, July 23, 2008, we will give her a little rest period and then we’ll head for New Brunswick. We are two months late leaving for our summer in NB, but we had to delay for Breeze.
It is July 2, 2008, and Breeze is in for her fifth session of Chemo-Therapy. It has been a rough couple of days. Breeze does not like fireworks and when they are going off, we can almost count on her having diarrhea in the next day or so. We do so know our dog. She had diarrhea on our walk on July 1, 2008. Breeze is getting more resistant to being left when we take her to the hospital. She wants to come with us and the Vet Technician has to be firm with her to make her go.
This session was the doxorubicin and that will make her stomach upset. She will not want to eat. Perhaps she will break her record for not eating. The record is 40.5 hours. Donna, the Vet Technician at Alta Vista, told us that Breeze managed to get out of her cage and open the door that permitted her to roam around the Oncology Department. We never said she wasn’t smart. All of the staff at Alta Vista Animal Hospital seems to know Breeze.
Breeze is not eating again! She eats reasonably well the night of her treatment and perhaps the next day, but the second day she starts to refuse her food. She is still happy and enjoys rough-housing with Falcon. She can be the instigator of the play.
Her final treatment will be in sixteen days (July 18, 2008). The Oncologist will be away the following week, so she will receive the final treatment early. It will allow us to leave for New Brunswick a week early. Great!!!
It is July 17, 2008, and Breeze has completed her sixth and final Chemo-Therapy treatment. When we picked her up at Alta Vista Animal Hospital, the entire crew of Vet Technicians, the Oncology Vet and some of the front office staff came out with Breeze. She had Hawaiian lei around her neck and balloons attached to her collar and they were singing congratulations Breeze! She was happy to see us as always and this time we had Falcon with us as well and he and Breeze exchanged kisses. He misses her when she is away.
We know it will take a few days for her to settle down to eating regularly. Breakfast is always a chore and dinner not so much of one. We will be off to New Brunswick next Wednesday for three months. Breeze will be re-checked when we return in early November by having two ultra-sounds and a chest x-ray and we are thinking positively that her remission will continue. She will then be monitored on a regular basis for the next year.
Linda Graham and Murray Hill - parents of Breeze and Falcon
UPDATE:
It is November 11, Remembrance Day 2008. Breeze is in for her re-check. We are just back from three months in New Brunswick where Breeze regained her appetite and became the Breeze of old. She even wondered where Falcon went the evening he took off on the scent of three deer.
When we arrive at the Alta Vista Animal Hospital to pick Breeze up, we have to see Dr. Bravo, the Oncologist. They have detected a nodule on Breeze’s breast and it has been aspirated with a needle and sent out for examination.
It is now Friday, November 14, 2008, and the results are back. It is a carcinoma. The good news, if having cancer is good news; is that this tumor is new and not a recurrence of the previous cancer. It is decision time again for Linda and me.
November 18, 2008, we meet with the Surgical Oncologist and inform him we have decided to have the operation and the removal of the nodule but will not subject Breeze to another round of chemo-therapy treatments. It is just too hard on her.
The nodule is removed on the 20th of November and sent out for examination. On November 26, 2008, we receive the histology results and it is a carcinoma, but they removed all of it and there is no necessity for chemo-therapy. Breeze was supposed to be hospitalized overnight on the 20th, but they called at 4:00 p. m. to ask us to come and get her because she was acting like she had not had surgery and was very restless. When we picked her up and took her outside, she focused on our car and would not go anywhere else except to that car and “Take me home”!
Breeze will continue to be checked regularly for the next 10 months. We are hopeful that no more tumors will appear.
Linda Graham and Murray Hill