Post by Die Fledermaus on Apr 25, 2004 22:00:18 GMT -4
CANINE CHEMO
By JULIA SZABO
>> April 25, 2004 -- It's been five months since the skilled surgeons at the Animal Medical Center removed five cancerous mast cell tumors from my handsome dog Sam.
Few would call him handsome these days, with Frankenstein-esque, 8-inch-long scars on his neck, back and hind leg.
And his coat is slow to grow back in the patches where he was shaved for surgery, because he's been undergoing chemotherapy.
It's no easy procedure. Once a month, Sam visits Animal Medical for an injection of the powerful drug Vinblastin. After his first time, he got sick all over the bathroom floor in the middle of the night; he tolerates it better now.
Once a month, a week after his shot, Sam takes a pill at home for three days straight. It's a different drug called Cytoxin, and it's aptly named, because this tablet is so toxic it must be handled with thick latex gloves so it doesn't come in contact with anyone's skin.
On Cytoxin, Sam mopes around looking generally miserable. And so do I, because I have the choice to stop his pain. I feel like I'm performing horrible chemical experiments on my dog.
So I tell myself that chemo is a necessary evil: If we can get through this routine - just two more months to go! - my sweetheart has a fine chance of keeping cancer at bay.
When his chemo is done, I plan to join Sam in taking Essiac, an immune-system-boosting herbal tea formulated by a Canadian nurse in 1922 (it's available at health food sores, or go to http://www.theoriginalessiac.com).
In the meantime, I'm inspired by the brave cancer survivors out there who walk on two and four legs. Some have three legs, like Teddy, a Dalmatian whose right foreleg was amputated five years ago.
Teddy will appear May 2 at the DogsWalk Against Cancer, the annual event sponsored by the American Cancer Society (for information, go to http://www.dogswalk.com).
It starts at 9 a.m. in Riverside Park, Riverside Drive at 89th Street. Hope to see you there. <<
LINK
By JULIA SZABO
>> April 25, 2004 -- It's been five months since the skilled surgeons at the Animal Medical Center removed five cancerous mast cell tumors from my handsome dog Sam.
Few would call him handsome these days, with Frankenstein-esque, 8-inch-long scars on his neck, back and hind leg.
And his coat is slow to grow back in the patches where he was shaved for surgery, because he's been undergoing chemotherapy.
It's no easy procedure. Once a month, Sam visits Animal Medical for an injection of the powerful drug Vinblastin. After his first time, he got sick all over the bathroom floor in the middle of the night; he tolerates it better now.
Once a month, a week after his shot, Sam takes a pill at home for three days straight. It's a different drug called Cytoxin, and it's aptly named, because this tablet is so toxic it must be handled with thick latex gloves so it doesn't come in contact with anyone's skin.
On Cytoxin, Sam mopes around looking generally miserable. And so do I, because I have the choice to stop his pain. I feel like I'm performing horrible chemical experiments on my dog.
So I tell myself that chemo is a necessary evil: If we can get through this routine - just two more months to go! - my sweetheart has a fine chance of keeping cancer at bay.
When his chemo is done, I plan to join Sam in taking Essiac, an immune-system-boosting herbal tea formulated by a Canadian nurse in 1922 (it's available at health food sores, or go to http://www.theoriginalessiac.com).
In the meantime, I'm inspired by the brave cancer survivors out there who walk on two and four legs. Some have three legs, like Teddy, a Dalmatian whose right foreleg was amputated five years ago.
Teddy will appear May 2 at the DogsWalk Against Cancer, the annual event sponsored by the American Cancer Society (for information, go to http://www.dogswalk.com).
It starts at 9 a.m. in Riverside Park, Riverside Drive at 89th Street. Hope to see you there. <<
LINK
