Good News For Nacho

Nacho (left) napping with his brother Artie (right)

Nacho had his first check up ultrasound to see the progress after his first round of the CHOP chemotherapy protocol. It was a rough morning for him since he had to fast, but we were thrilled to learn that the ultrasound revealed that Nacho's stomach and lining appeared almost normal! We knew that he had improvement in the fact that he wasn't vomiting anymore, but we had no idea that the masses would shrink that much in the first round of chemo.

We are so grateful that he has responded so well to his chemo protocol. After the ultrasound and some bloodwork which showed his white cells were at a good level as well, Nacho received another dose of Vincristine to start off the second round of the CHOP treatment. He was sent home with some bags of IV fluid just in case. I really hope I don't need to use them, although our family vet was very helpful in showing us how to administer the fluids if we need to.

 Here's to another round with remission on the horizon!

Hanging In There

It's been a tough past two weeks for our family. Last week, our oldest pet passed away. She was a female Shiba Inu named Kaasama and had been an integral part of our family for over 10 years. Losing her while Nacho has been going through his journey with cancer was a very painful blow.

Nacho (center), napping with Kaasama (left) & Kobe (right)

A few days after Kaasama's passing, Nacho had his injection of Hydroxydaunorubicin (Adriamycin) to finish his first round of the CHOP chemotherapy protocol. He took this one a bit rougher. We increased his Zofran (so grateful we can get this topical!) to three times a day and have kept an eye on him. Yesterday he went in for weekly blood tests and had an extra Cerenia injection as well as some subcutaneous fluids to help him along.

Nacho is scheduled to have an ultrasound early next week to see the results of the chemotherapy. We are so nervous as we wait. Depending on his progress, we may be changing his protocol. Whatever the results are, it's always so hard to leave him for the day as he gets treatments and tests. I know it is a very long day for him!

On a final note, since it is Lymphoma Awareness Month, we'd like to take a moment and think about all those affected by this disease, man and beast. Please share awareness of this cancer!

How Low Can You Go

Nacho resting after yesterday's chemo treatment

Nacho had his second dose of Vincristine yesterday after an unexpected week off. He was scheduled to be given the Vincristine a week ago, but his neutrophil count was too low. After the break, his neotrophils were still low, but high enough to be safely given chemotherapy.  We also opted for a Cerenia injection on the days he has chemo to help combat his nausea. I was hoping his topical Zofran would have been delivered by now, but Nacho and I are still waiting for FedEx to arrive.

A day after chemo, Nacho seems to be resting fairly comfortably. He still has his appetite and has been asking for his favorite treats all day. Feline Greenies are his favorite, by the way. Nacho can be picky about his food and treat options, but he never turns down his Greenies unless his nausea is really getting the best of him.

We are bracing for next week as he receives what may be the toughest drug in the CHOP chemo protocol - Hydroxydaunorubicin (Adriamycin). The vet mentioned it may cause kidney damage, so we're very anxious about how Nacho will respond. It's also a possibility that his neutrophil levels may again be too low for chemotherapy, so we will have to wait and see.

The interesting thing is that even though we have had low leukocyte levels these last few weeks, Nacho has been probably the most active during this time since he became ill. He's all about going for a walk in his backyard (supervised, of course!) and playing with feather toys. We've even caught him wrestling with his brothers Blaze and Artie again.

We truly feel blessed that in any case, we've had a beautiful past few weeks with our loving boy and have enjoyed seeing him playing painfree again!

Nausea, Sniffles and Steam

Nacho's on the mend after a rough bout of an upper respiratory infection, likely brought on by the Vincristine as well as Prednisolone. We spent a Saturday in the animal ER to get him checked out just to make sure his lungs were clear. They were, so after some fluids and Lysine supplements, he is much less congested and was able to do this week's chemo treatment. We also spent a few days patting his chest in a steamy bathroom (coupage) to get him cleared up.

Nacho hanging out with his girls

This week's chemo treatment was Cytoxan, and he seemed a bit nauseous afterward. His appetite wasn't as fierce, and it was difficult to get him to take the Cerenia tablets for nausea. We ended up taking him in for an injection to help him through the rest of the weekend.

Otherwise, Nacho's blood work looked better this time around! His anemia is improving and the white blood cell count is now within normal limits. He also managed to gain 1/2 pound over the last week. We are excited to see the improvement and are enjoying every moment with our brave boy!

Home after Chemo

Nacho loves an open window and a cool breeze!

Nacho is home after his first round of chemotherapy. Today he was given Vincristine (Oncovin). So far, he is doing well. He was voraciously hungry when he arrived home, and after dinner found a quiet couch to nap on.

He has since enjoyed a short walk in the back yard, and is now enjoying the cooler evening air and the last of the sun. We are again cautiously optimistic after having a rough day worrying about him!

What do you do when your pet has cancer?

So what do you do when you are told your beloved pet has cancer?

We happened to receive the news on our 15-year-old daughter's birthday, which made it even tougher to deal with. We knew we were not ready to say goodbye to our friend, so we made an appointment the next day with an oncologist at Purdue Small Animal Hospital. We needed to know what all of our options were before we made a decision.

Nacho enjoying his backyard

Nacho was in poor condition the next day, and in addition to a few more diagnostic tests (including an ultrasound), he spent the day at Purdue getting fluids as well as an anti-nausea shot. I also opted for a single dose of the chemotherapy drug Elspar to see how he would handle it. After his day of initial exams, the oncologist recommended the CHOP chemotherapy treatment since his lymphoma was very aggressive. We decided to wait over the weekend to see how he handled Elspar before we committed to chemo, as in his current condition, we did not know if he could sustain the rigorous chemotherapy protocol.

Our weekend was blessed with an energetic Nacho who ate heartily for the first time in weeks! He played and enjoyed his very favorite pastime - grazing and walking through the backyard grass. His joy for life again gave us new hope that we could give him a quality life for a few months yet. We decided to schedule the CHOP protocol and give him the best chance we could for as long as he could tolerate it

Meet Nacho!

Nacho lounging in the sun

Welcome to our blog outlining Nacho's journey through Feline Lymphoma. We hope to inspire and support others caring for pets dealing with this terrible disease, as well as capture our memories of our sweet boy.

We adopted our Nacho from the humane society about a month after our dear Tally cat passed from bone cancer. We were actually looking for a kitten, but one-year-old Nacho stuck his paw out and grabbed my pant leg. I opened the cage to see him, and I knew he was coming home with us. Our NachoMan is now 5-1/2 years young.

Nacho was diagnosed with Large Cell GI Lymphoma on July 15, 2014. Before his diagnosis, he had been ill for several weeks. He would vomit foamy bile throughout the day, sometimes stained with blood. He cried more than usual, and he was more tired than we remembered him being previously. We went though x-rays, a barium study and blood work, but none of these tests were able to detect the reason behind his symptoms.

We brought Nacho to a specialty vet for an endoscope, thinking we would find out perhaps he had some string in his tummy or perhaps colitis. Yes, we were aware that cancer was a possibility, but with his otherwise good vitals, we really thought we were overreacting. Unfortunately, the vet told us after the procedure that nearly 90% of Nacho's stomach was destroyed by tumors, and his clinical diagnosis would be cancer, though we had to wait for the biopsies to confirm. They did.