Trouble's Diagnosis

[blabsforbullies]

[TinaMartin]

Good Luck!

[madremissy]

Was just checking for updates. Still sending good thoughts.....

[CinderDee]

Was just checking for updates. Still sending good thoughts.....

Me too!

[TinaMartin]

Me three!

[hugapitbull]

I know you guys have been waiting all day, and so have we. Trouble went in at 9AM and we just walked in the door with her. She had the chemo about 3:30, and so far so good. She's not had any side effects to this point, and is resting beside the bed.

I gave her food when we came in, but she drank some water and ignored the food. Maybe later.
I'm glad she's home and fingers are crossed she won't develop any side effects over the next couple of days.

If any of you have any knowledge of specific diets for canine cancer/chemo patients, I'd like to hear some feedback.

Thank you all for the many good thoughts. This group of positive energy means so much to all of us.

[pitbullmamaliz]

I'm glad she handled it so well! Give her lots of lovin's from me.

[Jenn]

Good girl Trouble.
The best diet for her would probably be a raw diet? Did they suggest feeding her high levels of protein?

[iluvk9]

GOOD THOUGHTS FOR TROUBLE AS SHE FIGHTS THIS!!!

[madremissy]

Way to go Trouble. You be strong.. Kick this cancer crap in the a$$.

[CinderDee]

I'm going through all the info from Carolann, the woman who treated Kato and would be happy to share it with you. I don't have all of it on this computer though. I would also suggest joining one of the Yahoo cancer groups as they can be a great resource for you.

Here's one group:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/CanineCancer/

The foods I saw being discussed for dogs with cancer were:

BARF
"Bullet's Cancer Diet"
http://www.helpyourdogfightcancer.com/nutrition.html
Evo
Nature's Variety Raw

I gave Kate Arsen Alb & Nux Vomica to help him deal with the effects of chemo. I have no idea if it helped, but I used it throughout his treatment.

I also added a powder mixture to his food 2x per day and he continues to get it to this day. I can send the recipe to you via PM or email if you like.

Please feel free to PM me anytime.

Hugs to all!

[CinderDee]

I forgot to add IP6. Someone suggested getting Transfer Factor for Kato recently and when I asked Carolann about it she suggested just getting IP6 as it is much less expensive and is the important ingredient in Transfer Factor. I haven't gotten it yet, but intend to.

[hugapitbull]

I forgot to add IP6. Someone suggested getting Transfer Factor for Kato recently and when I asked Carolann about it she suggested just getting IP6 as it is much less expensive and is the important ingredient in Transfer Factor. I haven't gotten it yet, but intend to.

Thanks Dee for all the info. Trouble woke up sick at midnight, so now that I've given her meds and she's sleeping, I have time to check out all the info. IP6 looks like something we all should be taking. The MD Anderson website discusses it's use in human cancer fighting.

Jury is still out on what to feed. We're considering the Hills Prescription Diet n/d formulated for cancer, but have not had any luck with her allergies and the Hills Diet z/d for allergies, so I'm a little hesitant. I'll keep reading and will probably ask more questions later. Expect PM's

[CinderDee]

You're welcome. Was she vomiting? I'm glad she's back to sleep and hope she'll feel better tomorrow.

I also saw a tea for nausea on the Canine Lymphoma Yahoo Group...would you like me to go and copy it down for you?

I had a really tough time with Kato and diet. He's always had a bad stomach and nothing agrees with him. I tried raw, Evo, Nature's Variety and a couple of others & he had diarrhea on all of them. I would definitely try to cut out grains & sugars.

Here's an excerpt from an article Carolann wrote:

"You must begin by removing all sugar or sugar producing foods from the diet immediately as sugar feeds cancer and causes the cancer cells to rapidly grow and multiply. Other items to remove from the diet include all grain; dairy, except some cultured dairy; and limit sweet and starchy vegetables. Incorporate raw organic dark green leafy vegetables into the diet, such as dandelion, broccoli and spinach as these vegetables supply nutrients and chlorophyll that are needed for tissue repair. They also cleanse the blood and are very important in aiding immune response. Feed fresh red clover flower heads, mushrooms and/or organic mushroom extracts especially Maitake, Reishi and Shiitake mushrooms to enhance immune response and help fight viral infections. I would also recommend that you start your dog on a good green whole food supplement.



Other beneficial items that could be added to the daily food regime include organic cottage cheese mixed with freshly ground organic brown flax seeds. Fresh garlic is very important as it stimulates the immune system, detoxifies the liver and repairs liver cells. Amino acids such as L-Arginine and L-Ornithine enhance immunity and retard growth of tumors and cancer. These amino acids are best taken in a multiple amino acid formula along with a good B-complex vitamin formula for better absorption.



Some other excellent food choices would be foods containing vitamin B17 [laetrile] such as apple with seeds but use the seeds sparingly; bamboo shoots, beet tops, blackberries, boysenberries, cashews, cherry kernels to be used very sparingly; cranberries, currants, flax seeds, gooseberries, huckleberries, loganberries, pecans, plums, raspberries, mung bean sprouts, alfalfa, lentils, buckwheat, garbanzo beans, strawberries, walnuts, watercress, carrots and yams. All foods and supplements should be organic to avoid adding chemical poisons to an already immune compromised body."

Sending lots of love & hugs!
Dee & Kato

[CinderDee]

I just checked and the tea is for diarrhea & vomiting. I copied it just in case you want to take a look at it. I've never tried it, so have no idea if it works.


This recipe is easy and extremely effective for dogs or puppies with diarrhea or vomiting.

Ingredients:
1 cup pedialyte - unflavored
2 Bigelow mint medley tea bags
2 Chamomile tea bags
2 echinacea capsules (any strength)
1/2 tsp minced garlic

Bring 1 cup of pedialyte almost to a boil.
Add 1/2 tsp minced garlic, 2 open capsules of echinacea, 2 mint medley tea bags and 2 chamomile tea bags.

Steep for 20 -30 minutes. Remove tea bags. I squeeze them out into the tea.

Feed 2 tsp every 2 hours until vomiting and diarrhea stops then 4 x a day for 5 days.

The dosage is what I use for small (under 20) pound dogs. It works pretty effectively on diarrhea. You may want to increase the dosage for a larger dog but I don't have dosage suggestions in that regard. If someone finds something that works, you are free to add that info to this recipe. It could be useful for our members.

[hugapitbull]

You're welcome. Was she vomiting? I'm glad she's back to sleep and hope she'll feel better tomorrow.

She had one small vomit episode, but went right back to sleep after some anti-nausea meds. That was about midnight. She's been asleep ever since. I'm going to try to get another nap in before she wakes up again.

I had a really tough time with Kato and diet. He's always had a bad stomach and nothing agrees with him. I tried raw, Evo, Nature's Variety and a couple of others & he had diarrhea on all of them. I would definitely try to cut out grains & sugars.

What are you feeding Kato since his tummy is so sensitive?

[CinderDee]

What are you feeding Kato since his tummy is so sensitive?

I finally wound up back on Timberwolf Bison as it's the only food he does well on. I really don't want to feed it, but the constant diarrhea was just too much. If he tolerated it at all my choice would be raw or at the very least a grain-free food.

[blabsforbullies]

I often have my chemo clients give the nausea meds the first several times regardless if they seem to be having issues. Then we use it as needed. I only do that because I want the first several trips to be as positive as I can, and the antinausea medications have so little, if any, side effects.

I sure hope Trouble feels better today.
I am thinking about you guys!!

[hugapitbull]

I often have my chemo clients give the nausea meds the first several times regardless if they seem to be having issues. Then we use it as needed. I only do that because I want the first several trips to be as positive as I can, and the antinausea medications have so little, if any, side effects.

I sure hope Trouble feels better today.
I am thinking about you guys!!

Great idea about the nausea meds. I'll certainly do that next time, it makes perfect sense. The nausea seems to be pretty minor, twice in six hours and very small amounts. Mostly she just sleeps
I'm the one who stays awake, just watching to be sure she is ok

[hugapitbull]

This week we share our joy with you

Trouble went in this morning for her first CBC after the chemo. All is well, numbers are right where they want them to be. Heart is strong, lungs are clear, lymph nodes feel normal, nails are trimmed and we have one pooped pup right now. She was up and on the go from 10:30 - 12:30, the most since her surgery! She's stretched out on the bed catching up on her zzzzz's.

Dr F is excited about her progress with the chemo and her ability to adjust and get around so well. With her existing long-term allergies, he recommended we not change her food at this point. He is concerned she will develop symptoms from the food change and we will have a hard time determining if the symptoms are from the allergies or the chemo. Made sense to me, so until she's done with chemo, I'm leaving her diet alone. I almost forgot some of the greatest news - she's down 5lb's. Of course part of that is the missing leg.

We will be dropping back on the tramadol to 50mg/day. The less medication we can get by with, the less her chances of having a reaction to the med.

She is amazing and gets around almost as well as before. My mom is three houses up the street, I'm going to see if Troub is up to walking that far in the next few days

Thank you all for the great support. You don't know how much the posts, notes, PM's, and 'specially the good thoughts have meant to us. Hang in there with us, we have 4 treatments to go.