"Never, ever, give up" - Jessica Joy Reeves -Exploring alternative treatments

The days started to whiz by and it seemed as though our ticking clock had explode and begun to spiral out of control.  I took Abby for her next treatment and got devastating news.  She had shown no response to the first treatment and in fact her tumor had grown.  We were told that sometimes dogs show no response to the first treatment, so we decided to give it another go and pray she would respond and we would have more time with her.  As a side effect of the treatment, her left eye had started to bulge out and her third eyelid was becoming more and more pronounced.

She was still our beautiful girl but the evidence of spread was undeniable.  She remained happy and full of life and didn't seem to know anything was wrong, other than she was having to frequently visit vets to get poked and prodded.  Each week she had to have her blood count checked and that 15 minute wait for results was so hard because she would pace back and forth, while I anxiously waited for results. 

One day, I was reading the facebook profile of a young girl, Jessica Joy Reeves who was so bravely battling cancer and had come up with her own inspirational saying which acronyms were NEGU- Never, Ever, Give up.  I started think about how I shouldn't be giving up while there was still a possibility that something more could be done for Abby.  I threw myself into more research and begin searching for anything possible to save my girl.  I started looking into other treatments and cures around the world.  There is a drug EBC-46 made by a Qbiotics in Australia that shows much promise in the advancement of cancer cures.  We contacted the company but the drug is still under clinical trials and not available to consumers.  We only ever found one clinical trial in the US, but it had been shut down for reasons unknown to us.  I think if we could've figured out a way to get her to Australia, we would've done it, had the chance to participate in a clinical trial there arisen.

I also learned of a drug called Neoplasene which is a botanical medicine which can be used both topically and orally from my understanding.  I went to their Buck Mountain Botanical's website and downloaded their clinical guide and skimmed through it.  I wasn't certain it would work for Abby but I forwarded the information on to our vet who further investigated it.  She decided that due to the location of Abby's tumor and the nature of the medicine, it could cause more harm, possibly killing her, and wasn't an option.  I have read other people's testimonies on the internet though and think it might be worth investigating for other dogs.

I also started to read up on some different types of radiation that were more cutting edge.  After seeing a segment on the news a good friend sent me a link to this video about radiofrequency ablation. I couldn't find a place locally that offered this but did find the Animal Medical Center in NY that had seemed to offer it.

Meanwhile I was also searching for clinical trials across the country.  I found a comprehensive clinical trial search at the National Cancer Institute's website and at the Land of Pure Gold Foundation's site.  Due to my obsessive nature, I also went to different universities sites and searched their clinical trial database just in case one slipped through the cracks.  I didn't have much luck finding one for Abby though.  However, these clinical trials soon provided a crucial lead.

I had contacted a doctor at Colorado State University about a trial and she emailed me back and told me that the clinical trial I was interested in was closed.  However she did tell me that Colorado State offered a special form of radiation therapy called stereotactic radiation, she asked for my number and told me she would have a doctor call me with more information.  Later that day I received a call from Dr. Michael Nolan that would completely redirect our entire journey.

Developing a good diet plan

In between visits we met with a holistic vet and a nutritionist from NC State.  The holistic vet recommended with start Abby on a round of supplements including Thorne Research Super EPA fish oil, and Power Mushrooms as well as Green Tea Phosphate and another anti-oxidant.  At the time we could only afford two so after much research we decided on the fish oil and the Power Mushrooms.  My research indicated that both were very important to help build her immune system up and help provide good fatty acids.  Of course with the antioxidants there is a lot of debate as to whether or not they can impede the process of radiation as the goal of radiation is to cause cellular damage to the bad cells while antioxidants are supposed to rescue cells from damage.  There is much controversy about this and no definitive answer.  We elected to take Abby off of Power Mushrooms two weeks before radiation and chemo and resume it right after until her next round.  It is also good to note that we later found a much cheaper fish oil at our local Rite Aid that had a higher concentration of EPA/DHA and cost half as much and have since been using that since.

In addition to this we started following the Budwig Protocol and giving both the girls flaxseed oil and cottage cheese twice daily.  A quick search on the internet will provide you with information about this and how much to give your dog for their weight.

In addition to this we completely took the girls off of commercial dog food.  We did read that there are some good holistic pet foods out there such as Taste of the Wild and Blue Buffalo, but after talking with a nutritionist we decided it was best to start our girls on a home cooked meal.  She provided us with recipes tailored to our girls specific nutritional needs and exact portion sizes.  However, without having an academic background in nutrition I cannot give advice as to how much to you give your dog.  Our dogs have two main recipes we make.  The first consists of a mix of sweet potatoes, cauliflower and squash as well as chicken, and the second consists of chicken, green beans, squash, and brown rice.  In addition to this we give them multivitamins Canine Plus three times a day and also add a small amount of salt and calcium.   I was also given scanned copies of other recipes from the holistic vet.  We have yet to use them because our girls LOVE the recipes we've been making and until they appear to tire of them we will continue with these.  However, if you would like copies of the recipes please feel free to contact me using the link on my page.

After doing much research on the commercial dog food industry we will NEVER go back to regular commerical brands.  We might would consider a holistic dog food brand mixed with our own recipe in the future but for now we are happy to give our girls their homemade delicacies. If you are interested in reading up on what is really in commerical dog food two great resources for this are What's Really in Pet Food  and The horrors of pet food revealed.  There are tons of other links and even some that provide recommendations for the safest dog food brands out there.

Again, let me repeat I am not a nutritionist so I cannot give advice for your specific vet.  I would recommend consulting with a nutritionist or holistic vet if you are considering switching your dog to a home cooked regime.  It is quite expensive and VERY time consuming but so worth it when you watch your babies gobble dog food they love.  The bowls are always completely cleaned which never happened before with the old dog food.  Our friends have also commented how much shinier and softer their coats are which is definitely an added benefit. :)

Chowing down!

The green gook is the best stuff! :)

Decisions, Decisions

When I got home I expected the worse. My husband has always been a very practical man.  I figured since it seemed the best we could do would be to extend her life by a few months and possibly ease her suffering, he would say he wasn't worth it.  But when I got home with her, after crying non-stop, he took me in his arms and just held me.  When I looked up I saw a few silent tears fall across his cheeks.  He asked me what I wanted to do, and I told him I thought we owed it to her to make her as comfortable as possible, and to my surprise he said okay.

We set up her appointment for the next week and in the meantime I continued to research.  My drive to find a cure was momentarily lost and I started to resign myself to the fact that I would lose my baby girl.  I cried constantly, even though I tried so hard to put on a brave face for Abby.  Every time I looked at her I was reminded of how fleeting our time together was.

When I wasn't crying I was laying in the floor holding her.  Sometimes I would bury my nose in her fur and breathe in deeply, hoping to memorize her musky dog scent forever.  Since this all happened during the summer and I have summers off, I rarely left the house, feeling as though, I'd miss crucial time with her.

However, somehow I knew that before her next treatment there were still questions to ask so I gathered yet another list and contacted our oncologist. I first decided I needed to get a full idea of the cost and make sure there weren't any additional costs for overnight stays, extra medications, etc.  We were also concerned because Abby suffers from pretty severe separation anxiety and we wanted to make sure that would be addressed.  It turned out that we had to drop her off and then leave her for two nights, upon which she would receive 4 rounds of radiation and 2 rounds of chemo.  We were to pick her up on the third day and take her home.  I also found a list of questions online that proved to be helpful. Including:

How many dogs with this type of cancer have responded to these treatments?
What was the median added life expectancy for dogs with this type of cancer, assuming they responded for treatments?
What are the side effects these dogs experienced both most common and less common?
What type of chemo would be used? Would it be intralesional (injected right into tumor)?
What exactly was the goal of chemo?

I called my oncologist and got the answers to these questions and we decided to still go forward with the treatment.  A week later I drove back down to Raleigh and dropped her off.  By this point she had realized that she didn't like what went on at this place and I had to practically drag her in.  And of course the doctors were running behind so I spent twenty minutes in the waiting room with her pacing back and forth.  My heart broke the entire time and I fought back tears.  While we were waiting I met a nice older lady there waiting to pick up her dog.  She told me about her dog's journey and how he was in remission and there for a check up.  Of course this only made me choke back tears harder.  When she asked what Abby was there for I told her honestly, but I left out the part about treatments only buying her time.  When they finally came for Abby, they had to literally drag her back and the whole time she looked at me, her big brown eyes frantic, begging me to take her home and I fell to pieces.  Knowing that in the process we were losing two more precious days with her broke my heart.
The worst part of that day had come before we even got there.  Since I was staying a few days, I decided to stay with a friend.  Pat was working odd hours and so I decided to take Lucky as well.  Before going to the cancer center, I had to drop Lucky off and so I let Abby come in and say hello too.  My friend's have a Labrador named Blue, who Abby LOVES to play with and she bounded through the house soooo happy to see him.  I hadn't seen her that excited in weeks.  And I had to take her off and torture her with treatments.

Those few days went by slowly, especially since the doctors requested I didn't come visit because of her separation anxiety.  During this time I also received the call about Lucky.  I was so excited to go pick Abby up until I got there.  Again a storm was brewing, dark clouds swirling through the air.  It started pouring rain on the way there, and it was just starting to clear when I picked her up.  Just like before it felt like a dark omen of what was to come. When they brought her out she was still groggy from the drugs and I wasn't prepared for what I saw.  Half her face had been shaved and was covered in blue lines to show where they had aimed the radiation.  She was missing patches of fur on her legs as well where IVs had keep drugs coursing through her system.  Seeing her like this broke my heart all over again.  The tears I thought were all dried up continued to flow.  I felt lost, and hopeless, and literally like I was watching my child die slowly, though at the rate we were going, as slow as it seemed, it would all be over before we knew it.

Abby after her first treatments

Lucky after surgery on her foot