Tough Choices for a Beloved Best Friend
By Ken Morris, March 2010
Linda and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary on Tuesday, February 23, 2010 − a significant milestone we are very grateful to have achieved! It is going to be one of those anniversaries that we will never forget, but unfortunately, not for the reasons we would like.
On Sunday, February 21, we went to our house in Arizona, where we had decided to spend our anniversary week. That morning, Linda noticed a small lump at the back of our dog D'ogi's jaw. Then we noticed that there was one on the other side, too, but we just thought they were bones we hadn't focused on before. We had already scheduled him for his annual physical exam at the vet that morning, and when we took him in, the vet said it was an enlargement of his lymph nodes that could be caused by a number of things. She checked his teeth and did not see any sign of an infection, but put him on antibiotics just in case. She then extracted some fluid from the lymph nodes for further testing. She would call us back with the test results in 24-36 hours.
The next afternoon on our anniversary day, we got the devastating news that D'ogi has lymphosarcoma, a particularly aggressive form of cancer that is quite common in middle-aged dogs. The prognosis without treatment is only 30-50 days, and with the most aggressive chemotherapy treatment, this is extended to about a year. During this year, however, D'ogi would have to endure six months of regular chemo treatments. The only comfort is that although the disease is quite aggressive and the demise comes relatively quickly, there is little to no pain involved.
Our vet referred us to a doggie oncologist in the nearby town of Gilbert. We were able to get an appointment for a consultation visit on Thursday and were quite pleased with both the facility and the doctor. He spoke to us very clearly and directly about various treatment options, the risks of associated possible side-effects and how his staff controls and deals with them, but confirmed that the treatments only can delay the inevitable − the disease is systemic and incurable.
After many tears and a lot of agonizing, we decided on treating the cancer, but only with the least aggressive treatment option of Prednisone, which might extend the 30-50 days by up to 90 or maybe 120 days. We were to start the treatment the next day, Friday.
During our Internet research about canine cancer, Linda remembered an old friend of ours. Micki, an artist, is an interesting person (aren't all artists?). Among other things, she was with Flying Tigers during the Vietnam War. Flying Tigers flew personnel back and forth to Vietnam from the US. During this time, she was exposed to Agent Orange and was diagnosed with stage 3b metastasized ovarian cancer. She had a 12 pound tumor removed, then was told that she would need to have chemotherapy and that she only had about a year to live. Micki, not one to follow the pack, walked out of the doctor's office, rejecting the chemotherapy route so strongly recommended. Instead she chose an alternative path, and now 16 years later, is a cancer "thriver," as she likes to say − much more than simply "surviving." She has written a book on her experience entitled "Cancer Then Healing."
Micki also likes animals and has written another book entitled "Becoming the Chef Your Dog Thinks You Are." Based on her own experience, it focuses on food and nutrition for dogs (as well as cats), allowing their bodies to perform and heal. We sent Micki an email. She followed up with a phone call on Thursday afternoon, after we had visited the oncologist but before Friday, when we were to start D'ogi on the Prednisone. After a long phone conversation with her, we decided that we would NOT put D'ogi on the Prednisone after all, but instead, radically change his diet based upon Micki's experience and guidance. What did we really have to lose? Hers was the only option that offered anything other than simply extending his dying.
Micki came in person to direct us through the transition. That Sunday morning was the last "chicken food" meal that D'ogi got (Micki says that by using commercial dog food like we were doing, we were feeding our dogs like chickens, not dogs). In place of the same old, dry dog food, D'ogi has now been introduced to such delicacies as beef liver, chicken thighs, beef hearts, canned salmon, and tripe − he really likes them all! As Micki said, "Even if this doesn't save his life, he will still think he has already died and gone to heaven!"
The day after Micki arrived, we received another emotional shock − D'ogi had the T-cell form of the disease, a much more aggressive type of lymphosarcoma. After some additional tears, we again refocused on the path we had chosen, one which just might give his body the ability to survive, or at least enjoy the fight.
After three days of shopping and cooking for D'ogi (and stocking our freezer with the results), we took Micki back to Tubac and are now flying solo. D'ogi is enjoying his new diet, and other than the lumps from his lymph nodes, you would never know anything was wrong with him. We are thankful that he is in generally good condition, and hope that he will be able to thrive on the new program and live many additional years.
Today is day number 9 since our most memorable 30th wedding anniversary, and although we are most certainly quite concerned, we are filled with excitement and hope for this new chapter in all of our lives. Please keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.
