(no subject)
We took Zak to the UW Vet Hospital yesterday and today. Yesterday they confirmed that Zak does indeed have lymphoma and has it in several locations throughout his body. They also gave us several possible different treatments.
There was the CHOP treatment (four different chemo drugs, one of which is prednisone), which costs $2500 - $3000 plus a possible $1000 - $2000 in additional hospital costs should there be a bad reaction. This would increase his lifespan by an average of 10-12 months.
Then there was the single drug treatment which adriamycin. This has a cost of $1200 - $1500 and would increase his lifespan by an average of 7-9 months.
Finally, there were two different experimental clinical trials with different drugs. However, we would have to wait 2-3 weeks in order to get into these trials. Keeping in mind that the average lifespan of an untreated dog is 60 days, we decided to forgo the experimental treatments.
Today we went back and started the single drug treatment. We chose the single drug treatment. While the success rate and the average lifespan are lower, the side effects are MUCH lower using this treatment. Right now, this is a quality of life issue. Zak is in good spirits and the staff at the hospital spent a LOT of time with him. To quote one of them, he is an ideal teaching dog with a good nature. Plus, he liked having his neck scritched and all of the students could then pet him and feel the expanded lymph nodes.
We then prepared for his hair falling out and bought him a sweater. This is a sweater that I would actually wear if it was cut for a human. No silly sweaters for him!
Finally, we bought a couple of bones with a lot of meat on them. Strider is aware that something is wrong but doesn't quite know what it is. The bones helped both of them be a little happier.
These dogs are going to be very spoiled over the next few months...
There was the CHOP treatment (four different chemo drugs, one of which is prednisone), which costs $2500 - $3000 plus a possible $1000 - $2000 in additional hospital costs should there be a bad reaction. This would increase his lifespan by an average of 10-12 months.
Then there was the single drug treatment which adriamycin. This has a cost of $1200 - $1500 and would increase his lifespan by an average of 7-9 months.
Finally, there were two different experimental clinical trials with different drugs. However, we would have to wait 2-3 weeks in order to get into these trials. Keeping in mind that the average lifespan of an untreated dog is 60 days, we decided to forgo the experimental treatments.
Today we went back and started the single drug treatment. We chose the single drug treatment. While the success rate and the average lifespan are lower, the side effects are MUCH lower using this treatment. Right now, this is a quality of life issue. Zak is in good spirits and the staff at the hospital spent a LOT of time with him. To quote one of them, he is an ideal teaching dog with a good nature. Plus, he liked having his neck scritched and all of the students could then pet him and feel the expanded lymph nodes.
We then prepared for his hair falling out and bought him a sweater. This is a sweater that I would actually wear if it was cut for a human. No silly sweaters for him!
Finally, we bought a couple of bones with a lot of meat on them. Strider is aware that something is wrong but doesn't quite know what it is. The bones helped both of them be a little happier.
These dogs are going to be very spoiled over the next few months...