Sarge is resting after his chemo today, so I will enter his report for him. He had a complete work up today including chest x-ray, aspiration of a growth on his chest and a complete blood count that ALL revealed he is doing fabulous!!!! His blood work indicated that his liver and renal function looks great, also his Alk phos levels look great (which if elevated can indicate cancer is active), the WBC (white blood cell count) and lymphocyte count all looked normal which is also good news as chemo can affect these as well. Dr. Heintz could not be more pleased with his progress and status.
Dr. Heintz has agreed to let me “shadow” during Sarges next carboplatin treatment, so that I can take a video to show the “behind the scenes” protocol of a canine chemo treatment. As a fur-parent, I think we often worry about what happens during these visits, when we drop them off and pick them up hours later. Seeing the actual steps during a chemotherapy treatment may help us to be more comfortable about the process.
As healthy as Sarge is, it is easy to forget that the cancer is still in his system. Every day that he is with us and feeling happy, hungry and pain-free, is a gift. We try not to let the thoughts of the cancer returning, overshadow our joyful time that we are being blessed with. We have always loved our Sarge to the moon and back, but since his osteosarcoma diagnosis and subsequent amputation, he has received more love and affection than any dog could wish for, and we will continue to shower him with all the affection that a cancer warrior like Sarge deserves!!
