Just a picture of Gess

Playing tug with Beauty :)

Beauty

(Beauty first thing in the morning...she is such a lazy girl!)

So, we saw the oncologist a couple weeks ago to talk about Beauty and our options. The week before the radiologist told us that the mass was likely a swollen lymph node and that it was the size of a lime (yikes!). Our regular vet anticipated that the oncologist would recommend surgery as that is the "normal" course of treatment for this type of thing. We knew that we didn't want Beauty to have to do through surgery again.

The oncologist, however, did not recommend surgery (presumably because we tried it once already). Instead she gave us two medication options. The first was IV chemotherapy. They could do a total of 5 treatments, 3 week apart. Chances of success are 50-60% with possible side effects being vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy. There is also a chance of heart damage, which is more of a concern with Beauty because of her murmur and enlarged heart. The goal of the chemo would be to reduce the tumor size.

The second option was a new drug that is supposed to reduce cell growth, which could indirectly cause the tumor to shrink. There is no data on using this drug for Beauty's type of cancer (anal sac carcinoma) and not a whole lot in general. They estimate that it would have similar success rates and the traditional chemo. This would be a pill that she could take at home, but has a higher incidence of side effects. She said that it was nearly certain that Beauty would need supportive medications like anti-nausea and anti-diarrhea medications and that she would be lethargic.

The estimated benefits if either of these treatments worked is an additional 6-12 months. Without treatment, the oncologist estimates 5-9 months until Beauty will be too sick. She still is not showing any symptoms.

So...those are our choices. Beauty is 9 and seems happy and healthy. I keep vacillating between the chemo and nothing options. The pills seem out for me because of the near guaranteed side effects and the less than stellar chances of it making a difference. If she really only has 5-9 months left, I don't want to "waste" those by giving her pills to make her feel sick. That seems to apply to the chemo thing too. So...for now at least....our decision is to do nothing. We will watch and see if symptoms present themselves and deal with them at that time. For now, she is getting extra love. It breaks my heart and I am so afraid that we will make the "wrong" decision, but how do you know what is right? All I can think to do is do what I think is best for Beauty. And give her lots of kisses!

Update on Beauty

Yesterday was a rough day. Gess had a seizure (details here ) and the vet confirmed that Beauty's cancer is back.

From the ultrasound it looks like the mass might be an enlarged lymph node, but the cytology report did not show any lymph cells. Not that I suppose it matters. It's cancer and it's back. We are scheduled to see the oncologist on Friday. The decisions that follow are going to be rough.

We also found out that she likely has Cushings, which occurs when the adrenal glands overproduce. Treatment is generally for the symptoms, but right now the only one that Beaut is exhibiting is increased water consumption. Given the cancer, this is of secondary concern right now.

Again, the good news is that Beauty doesn't act sick at all. She was running around and wrestling with her friend Pomps this morning and then has spent the rest of the day cuddled up with us.

Happy Birthday Beauty!

Beauty turns 9 today! And I am so sad because I haven't seen her :( With Gess's latest hospitalization, she is staying with our friends. When she gets home I am going to give her the biggest kiss and give her something fun for her birthday :)

In other Beauty news, she had her ultrasound on Thursday and was such a trooper! She didn't have to be sedated, which made me feel better. The radiologist said that her lymphnode is the size of a lime and it likely cancer. They were able to take a sample of the fluid in the node and sent that to the lab. We will get the results soon and we have an appointment with the oncologist this week. I think that the appointment is on Monday, but considering Gess is in the hospital I may reschedule (as long as I don't have to pay for a late cancellation).

In honor of her birthday, here's a baby picture of Beauty.

Beauty

As everyone knows, my dog Beauty is my "girl."  I love her so much!  A week or so ago we saw what looked like urine on the kitchen floor with what looked like blood in it.  She wasn't showing any other signs that something was wrong, so we decided to just keep an eye on her.  We had to run to Yakima to deal with a family medical emergency (my father was/is hospitalized and being diagnosed with cancer) and Beauty went to her "second home" (our friends' house).  They noticed a bloody spot after Beauty jumped on the couch, so they let me know.  I figured that those two events were sufficient to warrant a trip to the vet, figuring that she had a UTI.

So, yesterday I took her to Bellevue to see the vet.  During the exam, the vet thought that she felt a mass (in Beauty's bum...the site of her previous cancer).  She ordered more blood work and did some x-rays.  She suspected that the mass was a return of the cancer.

Additionally, she noted a heart murmur.  She said that they rate them on a scale of 1 to 6, and that Beauty is a 2.  She explained about murmur and said that it could lead to heart failure, but it could also not progress much. So, it really is anyone's guess about what will happen.

Today the tests came back and the x-rays showed an enlarged heart, enlarged liver, and also a mass near her bowel that is pressing on her colon.  Beauty's liver functions were slightly elevated, but it is unclear what could be causing that.  She also has some crystals in her bladder, but there is no evidence of any stones.  There was blood in the urine sample, but based on the way that they collected the sample, the blood could have come from the collection process.  So, that is not conclusive, but given what we saw at home, she likely does have blood in her urine.  

The vet is recommending that we have an ultrasound done find out more of what is going on.  When I mentioned this to Gess yesterday he was immediately opposed.  He doesn't want to put Beauty through unnecessary tests that won't make a difference in our decision making.  I don't want her to have unnecessary tests either, but I do feel like I want to know more about what is going on so that we can actually make decisions.  

So...we are in a rough position.  Neither of us wants her to have cancer surgery again.  But, we don't want her to die either.  It just breaks my heart to even think about this.  She is my little girl.  

Gess just talked to the vet and says that he has updates for me, but I have to wait until he gets home to hear.  Luckily she is not acting sick and doesn't seem to be suffering.  In fact, she is up looking for her toys right now :)  

Because they make me smile...

My silly husband and dog :)

Cool Boo

Snow Seattle Style

It has been snowing in Seattle and Seattle-ites do not deal well with snow! I know that you "snow people" will laugh at us, but the roads are really icy! Today I finally ventured out and Beauty loves it. Thankfully our favorite French bakery was open so I was able to get some coffee and a pan a chocolat. Yummm!  Here's a video of Beauty playing in the snow.  She was being much cuter before, but as soon as I pull out the camera she gets shy :)

Beauty

Here are a couple of picture of Beauty hanging out with me yesterday. She is so cute :)

Cutie

Calendar Girl

Beauty that is! Beauty is Miss February for the Seattle Beagle Rescue Calendar this year. Isn't she cute!! Order one and the proceeds go to help beagles in need! Go here to order!

Happy Birthday Beauty!!

My baby turns 8 years old today! Here are a couple of pictures of her--one recent and one baby picture :)

Update on Beauty

Some people have asked how Beauty is doing and I am happy to report that she is doing just fine! We still are amazed at how she doesn't appear to have cancer at all! She has a bunch of energy and runs around like a puppy--even though she will turn 8 later this week. She is still doing the chemo and doesn't seem to have any side effects from it. We just give it to her by mouth at home. (And for those of you wondering, no she hasn't lost any hair).

We have an ultrasound scheduled for next month to see if there are any new visible tumors, so I will update when we hear about that.

Thanks for all of the good thoughts about her! She is our baby :) Here are a couple pics of her :)

Waiting for me to come home :)

So cute :)

Happy Friday!

Isn't she the cutest?

Happy Friday!

It's been a LONG week!!

"Old" New Pictures

I realized that I never posted our "original" portraits by Clane (http://www.clanegesselphotography.blogspot.com/). This is actually how we met Clane. We were at the Ballard Farmer's Market one Sunday in March, getting some produce and enjoying the community when we saw Clane's booth set up. He was selling prints of his amazing landscapes and I overheard him talking to someone about doing portraits as well. I had been bugging Gessner for months to get portraits, so I went over to talk to Clane. He said that he did do portraits and that he had an opening the following weekend, but then was booked up for awhile. So, I went home and check out his blog and loved his work and Gess called right away and we set it up. So the next week we met Clane on Alki and he took our photos. He seemed like such a nice guys, so I suggested that we should get coffee sometime...and the rest is as they say "history!" Clane is such a great guy, and we love his girlfriend Skylar too. So...anyway, here are the photos that started the friendship :)

Boo's Boo Boo

We often call Beauty "Boo" (and other embarrassingly sappy things). Today she had to go in to get her monthly blood draw before she starts her next round of chemo. Usually she is fine, but today I heard her crying from the back room at the vet and my heart sank. The tech said that for some reason Beauty got upset when they stuck her (I can think of a reason!). They had to put a bandage on...which was actually pretty darn cute. Here are some pictures of her sporting the purple bandage. If it hadn't hurt her so much, I would say that she was just trying to make a fashion statement!

Beauty as a puppy

Beauty is almost 8 years old, but it seems like she was just a cute little puppy yesterday.  Here are some cute baby pictures!