The end of chemo and other news

Guess who’s finished with chemo!

After last week’s debacle, we repeated his blood work locally, and he was good to go. So, back up to Purdue for his fourth and last round of chemo! And, once again, he did GREAT! Better than great, actually, because he didn’t flip out in the lobby despite it being crammed full of dogs, and the doctors all said he was a total gem in the back. His discharge papers say things like: “Lucas did wonderful as usual for us!” and “We look forward to seeing Lucas back at Purdue in just a few weeks!”

Emmett’s never gotten glowing notes like that… #justsaying.

I’m sure you can see my pride glowing through the computer screen. I mean, this is the dog who, when we still lived in DC, the vet staff would see us coming and ask all the clients waiting in the lobby to move to the other side of the room! They’d rush him back to a separate area to wait because he literally couldn’t keep his wits in the lobby. Now? A cool customer in the lobby and a big cheese for all the staff! Tears. of. joy. I’m just bursting.

Anyway, he goes back in three weeks for a repeat of the radiology to check for metastasis. Emmett’s due the following week for his quarterly radiology, so we’re going to try to get him shifted a week earlier so they can go together again. For Lucas, they sort of said the same thing: keep him on the NSAID for life (same one Em’s on) and repeat radiology every three months for life (same protocol as Em). It’ll be much more convenient–though much more expensive all at once–if they can go together for their radiology, and from now on, both of them can have their blood work done entirely at our local vet. Since they’re staying on the extra drug, and since both of them have lost a bit of weight, the blood work is important to make sure they’re not experiencing any serious side effects and to determine what dose they need for maintenance.

Whew.

So, Lucas got a big celebratory dinner last night because, coincidentally, we got some food in the mail to try for a review post next week, so I just had to stage a little fancy dinner for him. 🙂 You’ll see next week!

And, lastly, so no one’s left out: The Apoquel is, in fact, a miracle drug for Cooper. He’s been on it consistently (paired with Zyrtec twice/day), and his ears are clearing up. He’s far less itchy. He’s not chewing on his feet or shaking his head or pawing at his face. We are decreasing the dose starting today, so I’ll report back on how it’s going. A big huge THANKS to everyone who shared their allergy experiences–so helpful.

Thank you for all the kind words of support. It’s been a crazy few months, huh? Hopefully all will be clear in three weeks and we can settle into a “normal” routine of radiology every three months!

Happy Friday Eve, everyone!