On Friday March 15th, Jabba-bear went for a short drive across town to Reynolda Gardens, where he frolicked freely in the fields.
Jabba briefly explored the trails surrounding the Reynolda house, but he was more interested in meeting new friends (Reynolda Village is a popular dog-walking attraction). We laid down in the grass for a while and basked in the sunlight, enjoying every moment of the bright, beautiful weather. It was clear that Spring had finally arrived!
The following pictures highlight Jabba-bear at his finest:
Jabba-bear resting in the field in front of the Reynolda House.Look at that Big Goofy Smile!
Did someone say the word “Treat“?What a handsome profile.
That afternoon, when we got home, Beyonce welcomed Jabba-bear by licking his ears profusely (until they “stood up” on their own). We have to recognize that Beyonce has been extremely tolerant of all the extra attention Jabba-bear has been receiving over the past few weeks. She genuinely seems to understand what is happening to her beloved brother and best friend.
Later that evening, Jabba’s breathing pattern became noticeably irregular. He seemed to be wheezing more than normal, gasping for air. But, we rationalized it as a side-effect from the lobectomy, telling ourselves that Jabba-bear was still adjusting to his smaller lung capacity. He still seemed eager to go for walks and to protect the neighborhood from the “evil” man in uniform who approaches the house each day with stacks of oddly shaped paper in his hands, leaving them in a box on the front porch. Disclaimer: the mailman is not evil by any means, but Jabba-bear has never taken a liking to him. As a result, the mailman probably thinks that Jabba is the Godzilla of dogs (a 180 pound guard dog that would rip his throat out if given the opportunity). I wonder what he would do if he realized that the source of the now familiar earth-shattering growl was really a 50 pound fur ball with 3 legs. . .
Three weeks after Jabba’s lobectomy to remove a large portion of his metastatic osteosarcoma, he was given a “bill of good health”, at least a temporary one. At this point, we decided to put Jabba back on metronomic therapy (i.e., frequent, low doses of chemotherapy) since he had tolerated it well for such a long time (almost 2 years!).
We started giving him cyclophosphamide (9 mg), the primary chemotherapy drug, first, since we still had a full bottle of it leftover from January. Note: Jabba’s doctors told us to withhold chemotherapy until he had sufficiently recovered from his surgery because these potent drugs that attack rapidly dividing cancer cells may prevent or limit wound healing (at the cellular level, the active ingredients in the pill cannot distinguish between a growing tumor and healthy tissue regeneration-it kills them both).
We debated putting Jabba-bear back on Palladia (50 mg) because of the sheer expense ($323.85 for 30 pills), but we eventually gave in and ordered the pills. Note: Jabba had previously been taking 70 mg of Palladia, but, since he lost a significant amount of weight prior to the lobectomy, we adjusted his dose accordingly. Although it should have been slightly higher (closer to 60 mg), we decided that we would start with the 50 mg capsule.
Because indigestion is one side effect of the metronomic therapy, Jabba-bear also receives 10 mg Pepcid or a generic anti-acid 2x daily. We still catch him eating grass occasionally though, which suggests that his stomach is not entirely settled.
In summary, Jabba-bear currently receives cyclophosphamaide and Palladia after breakfast on alternating days. He also takes 10-20 mg of Pepcid per day depending on his symptoms. In addition, Jabba-bear is still taking Prednisone (20 mg), which serves two purposes: (1) to help reduce any residual swelling in his joints from the lobectomy and/or systemic inflammatory reaction to the metastatic osteosarcoma, and (2) to keep his temperature in the normal range (it is currently hovering in the high 102 degrees Fahrenheit).
As you can probably imagine, Jabba-bear has accumulated quite the extensive collection of drugs in his “medicine cabinet”. In addition to his metronomic therapy, he also has a stash of pain medicine (Tramadol), various antibiotics, metronidazole (for diarrhea), heartworm medicine, flea medicine, etc.
Jabba-bear’s medicine cabinet. Also shown in the above image is his thermometer which we used frequently to monitor his persistent fever and his jar of Royal Treats.
Jabba-bear is very good about taking his medicine. We have a nice system worked out. Every morning after breakfast, Jabba’s mom says, “time for your medicine, sweet prince”, and Jabba runs to the kitchen, drool spilling from his bottom lip, because to him, medicine = a tablespoon of peanut butter.
Jabba-bear’s drug delivery system. Peanut butter, disposable knife, and medicine!
The disposable, plastic knife is a good tool for delivering the chemotherapy drugs because it is not a good idea to touch them with your bare hands (as they are toxic!!!), and the knife is not too sharp, so Jabba can successfully lick off the peanut butter without hurting himself.
Jabba getting his daily dose of medicine after breakfast. He gobbles it up with delight!
Overall, Jabba-bear seems to be doing pretty well on metronomic therapy. However, it is important to acknowledge that we are fighting a losing battle. The metronomic therapy will not cure Jabba-bear. His metastatic disease is serious and quite aggressive. . . At best, this combination of medication will slow the progression of his cancer. Maybe it is working? Today marks 6 weeks since his lobectomy! We are blessed to have had him so long. We are not in denial about the gravity of Jabba-bear’s situation, and we recognize that the choices we made to prolong his life may not be viable options for everyone (we have accumulated a significant amount of debt over the past 3 months). Nevertheless, we hope that some people may find this information useful. Thank you, once again, for your support.
When Jabba-bear was diagnosed with metastatic osteosarcoma, we vowed to do everything we could to ensure that whatever time we had left with him was well-spent. Unfortunately, doctors orders prevented us from doing anything really fun with Jabba for at least two weeks after his surgery (although we bent the rules a bit and took him on some very short walks since he begged for them). Once Jabba-bear was deemed healthy enough to resume normal activity, we promised to take him for daily walks (as long as he had enough energy), to schedule regular play dates with his friends, to give him as much steak and cheese as he wanted, to shower him with new plush toys (which would inevitably end up as a pile of shredded animal parts, loose thread, and stuffing within seconds), and we promised to take him for weekly adventures so that he could live out his Bucket List.
Our first adventure occurred two days after Jabba-bear had the staples from his lobectomy removed (on Saturday, March 9th). Early that morning, we asked Jabba-bear if he wanted to go for a hike. He responded by initiating a very excited happy dance (i.e., rapid fire stomping of his two front legs: pitter patter, pitter patter, pitter patter), which we interpreted as a resounding, “YES!”. So, we decided to take Jabba to Pilot Mountain, where he could run free, off-leash and scale the mountain at his own pace.
Jabba-baar had a wonderful time at Pilot Mountain that day. He definitely exceeded our expectations. He must have hiked close to 2 miles (of his own volition); his endurance was remarkable. We were so happy to see him climbing the mountain, wandering off occasionally, but never straying to far from his pawrents, yet we recognized that this may be his last climb.
The following pictures and videos capture the fun that we shared on our trip to Pilot Mountain:
Jabba-bear smiling on his way to Pilot Mountain. Click on the above image to view a video of Jabba-bear climbing a trail Pilot Mountain.Jabba resting happily on the first “leg” of the hike.Jabba-bear on “Pride Rock”.Jabba and his dad perched on a ledge.Jabba getting a back-rub from his mom during a break from his hike.Jabba at an overlook near the summit. He posed with his best cute smile and begged for some potato chips from a passerby who was enjoying his lunch.
Jabba near the peak, licking his nose.Jabba-bear is all smiles near the end of his hike.Click on the above image to view a short video of Jabba climbing steep stairs at Pilot Mountain.Jabba and his mom taking a break after a long climb.Jabba in the car on the way back home.All tuckered out!
On Monday, February 18th, Jabba-bear was admitted to Carolina Veterinary Specialists (CVS) upon referral from his primary veterinarian (Oldtown Veterinary Hospital). By that point, Jabba’s condition was critical. It was clear that if we didn’t act fast, he would die…soon. That day, the doctors at CVS performed an ultrasound of his abdomen, to try and visualize the mass in his lung for a biopsy.
Jabba-bear at CVS during visiting hours. The small patch of shaved skin on his side shows where the doctors attempted to do a blind biopsy of the mass in his lung (following the ultrasound).Jabba-bear loves to push on our feet as we rub his belly! This was the most energetic he had been in 3 weeks. We felt that he was showing signs of improvement.
This procedure was, in some ways, a gamble because lungs are ill-suited for ultrasonographic examination given that they are typically full of air (and ultrasound doesn’t work well through oxygen). As such, the doctors were unable to get a good look at the mass. The next viable option was lung surgery. As detailed in a previous post, Jabba-bear spent nearly one week at the “hotel” (CVS), receiving ample IV fluids and pain medicine, as he bravely withstood test after test after test. Eventually, it was determined that Jabba was healthy enough to sustain surgery (no organ failure, no noticeable masses in his liver, etc.), although there was still some risk involved as Jabba-bear had been so sick for such a long time, and we were not sure what was causing his illness. On Thursday, Februrary 20th, Jabba-bear had a lobectomy. Specifically, the surgeon removed the caudal lobe of Jabba’s left lung.
We were not allowed to visit Jabba-bear the day of his lobectomy, but we went to check on him Friday morning. This was a very difficult visit for us. As soon as the technician left us alone with Jabba, he starting crying…Loud, wailing, cries. We had never heard him make those sounds before. We didn’t know what those vocalizations meant. Was he in pain? Was he suffering? Was he yelling at us for putting him through yet another major surgery? We felt helpless. We looked at each other and wondered if we had made the wrong decision. The technicians assured us that Jabba was not in pain, that he had spent the whole day resting comfortably (and quietly). However, he was still not very interested in food. We asked if we could try to feed him. The technician brought us quite a selection of wet and dry food. To our surprise, Jabba-bear ate it all! This lifted our spirits. We stayed there petting Jabba-bear as long as possible, until it was time for him to go back on his IV fluids.
The next day, February 23rd, we checked Jabba-bear out of the “hotel” and brought him home!
Jabba on the way home form the vet (after the lobectomy). The blue bandages covered the incision site.
Jabba-bear was happy to see the car. He had never been boarded before, and this was the longest he had ever gone without seeing his pawrents. When we got close home (turning onto our street), Jabba-bear perked up. He lifted his head, looked at the road, and started smiling!
The doctors sent us home with pain medicine (Tramadol) and steroids (Prednisone) and told us to limit Jabba’s physical activity for at least two weeks (no jumping, climbing stairs, running, etc.). We weren’t too worried about this since Jabba-bear is an extraordinarily lazy dog. Even though his sister, Beyonce, was waiting for him, we knew that they would be OK. Honestly, Jabba-bear and Beyonce do not interact much, save for the occasional forced cuddling on Beyonce’s part.
We spent that whole day laying on the floor with Jabba-bear, scratching behind his ears, petting his backside….letting him know how proud of him we were. He is such a brave boy!
Jabba resting on his pillow. Beyonce giving him a concerned look.
By Sunday morning, Jabba-bear seemed to have improved significantly. His appetite had returned, and he seemed more energetic. Jabba kept rolling onto his back, begging for more belly rubs. As a result, he wiggled out of his bandage and exposed the incision site of his lobectomy. Although the below picture might look gruesome, the incision site was neat and clean. We thought the doctors did an excellent job!
Jabba’s incision site exposed! Beyonce stayed close to her brother, making sure he was OK.
We took Jabba-bear back to CVS to replace the bandages, since it was recommended that they remain on for one week.
Jabba’s new threads!
The following Thursday, Februray 28th, we took Jabba’s bandages off to allow the incision site to “breathe”. By this time, Jabba-bear had figured out how to jump on the couch again, and well….we let him.
Kisses from Beyonce.Close look at the incision site.There’s that goofy smile again! (one week after the lobectomy)What a handsome boy! So serious.Brother and sister on the couch. Jabba loves to look out the front door.Jabba’s idea of resting comfortably.Lion-bear?
All things considering, Jabba-bear is doing very well. He started the high protein diet (Hill’s prescription) a few days ago, which we will write more about soon.
He is no longer taking pain medicine, and he is tapering off the steroid treatment. We are still thinking about the next step for Jabba-bear (i.e., whether to put him back on cyclophosphamide and/or palladia).
Thank you so much for all of your support over the past few weeks.
