Jabba starts metronomic therapy

This was back in April, sorry for the delay but at least we still have the pictures. Jabba started his metronimic therapy regimen which involves low does of cyclophosphamide and piroxicam every other day. This dose and frequency is supposed to prevent angiogenesis, thus preventing a metastasized tumor from being able to take hold and grow (presumably in the lungs).  We met some other dogs in the trial that morning, though they were still there for the high dose chemo (Jabba was the first in this study!). One lady, the owned of the Irish Wolfhound made the trip all the way from Washington DC. It is good to see people so committed! Interestingly, we noticed the Wolfhound’s front leg was amputated mid-bone, and apparently is being fit for a prosthesis, something new they are doing at NCSU CVM.

Later that day Jabba stayed at his grandparents house and played this his big sister Xena the Italian Greyhound:

Updates- halfway done with chemo

Jabba has had 2 of his 4 “high dose” chemotherapy treatments at North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine. He has these every 3 weeks for 4 months. He needs a complete blood count every week to make sure he is handling it alright. We had a small scare when in the 2nd week his neutropil level was low, and there was a chance if it got lower he would have to stop. Luckily next week it was back to normal.

Some fur finally starting to regrow after 2 months.
We were a bit worried about a persistant discoloration on his stomach on the side of the amputation (purplish color compared to healthy pink on the other side). But the vet is not concerned.
Jabba at the vet for his weekly cbc.

Hello world!

Jabba-Bear is a 2 year old German Shepard/Border Collie mix. He was recently diagnosed with osteosarcoma in his left rear “ankle” via x-ray and biopsy, and had the leg removed on January 21st, 2011. The next day he was already running and acting like his regular very happy self.

This blog will chronicle his path from amputation to standard chemotherapy and enrollment in a clinical trial using metronomic therapy at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

We (his parents) are Ph.D. students at Wake Forest University in Winston Salem, NC. Luckily his mom’s parents live in Raleigh allowing us easy access to NCSU.

Hopefully many pictures to follow!