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!