Zuko started his first chemotherapy treatment with carboplatin on May 15th – about 2.5 weeks after his amputation. There was a little delay starting his treatment since he tore one of his stitches and serum started dripping out. My vet said that was fine and just to let it heal before we start chemo since carboplatin is an immunosuppressant.
Once healed, I ok’d it with my vet and we scheduled his treatment. That monday I dropped him off in the morning and picked him up that afternoon. He was given some ace since he’s such a high energy dog so, he was a little calmer than usual when I picked him up.
The first few days were great he seemed to be handling it well but I read that some side effects don’t typically occur until 3-5 days later so I continued to stay cautious. Right now hes 10 days post-chemo treatment and no side effects at all! no nausea, vomiting, or loss of appetite. I’ve noticed he’s been shedding a little more but I’m not sure if it’s just me over thinking things and being a lot more attentive since his treatment.
Whats funny is that I think his appetite has actually increased! The day of his treatment, when I brought him home, I bought some food from a chinese restaurant and was eating it on the floor as I watched TV. I could tell he was getting hungry so I went and got his food ready to only back to him munching on all my food! which was really unlike him haha but at least he was eating!
Since his amputation Zuko has definitely become quite known around my apartment complex and more people have come up to give him some love (which he is TOTALLY eating up – he just loves attention). He’s actually gotten some free treats at the pet store and “get well soon” bags too!
He also finally was able to see his sister Keiko and even got to sleep over! My ex and I thought that his surgery site healed real nice and that he has gotten the hang of walking on 3 legs that it would be great for them to see each other! (Keiko has definitely missed him that everytime someone says Zukos name she would run to the door and cry. AAWWW) The reunion went well! they were totally all lovey dovey and when Zuko stayed over he could not leave her alone! it was hilarious.
It would be another week and a half til his next chemo treatment but I am glad that he’s just handling everything so well! We’re definitely gonna continue to kick cancers butt!!
Here on Guam we don’t have any specialists that I could talk to so if anyone has some homeopathic remedies I could possibly bring up to my vet and do research on to possibly incorporate in his treatment would be so great!
By: Yolanda on May 26, 2017 at 5:02 am
Great to hear Zuko’s handling it well, our Freddie is ready for his second chemo next week, the first one made him lose his appetite in a big way, so he lost a lot of weight, love and hugs to you
By: otisandtess on May 26, 2017 at 11:24 am
What great news! Some dogs sail through chemo without any side effects at all, so maybe Zuko will be one of them. Otis did the poor tripawd thing at the pet store too, and got lots of free stuff. He loved going!
By: Zubear on May 27, 2017 at 10:09 am
Awesome! Golden paste you can make at home with organic turmeric organic black peppercorn that you grind and organic coconut oil – out oncologist also had us work up to 10 fish oil pills a day 5 morning and 5 night for 95 pound dog- you start with like 2 and slowly work up every few days until at 10 or whatever the amount is for your dogs size. Same with the golden paste you start with 1/4 teaspoon 2x day and work up. I had also done Chinese herbs with interactive vet but got very expensive and wasn’t covered by insurance.