Booked in for surgery

I sent Davide Berlato, Dylan's oncologist, an update regarding the supplements that Birgit has prescribed. He replied very quickly and pointed out that if we wanted Dylan's radiotherapy to be completed before Christmas, the surgery would need to happen very soon. So I booked Dylan in for his surgery (and chest x-ray) appointment on Monday (to be operated on Tuesday). This seems to make it all the more real now...

I am really impressed how quickly Davide replied. He also said he would look into the supplements that Dylan is taking. This is his profile:  Davide Berlato's Profile.

With it being Halloween, here is Dylan's Halloween picture. :-)

The remedies from Birgit have arrived

Today, I got the parcel from Birgit, Dylan's holistic vet. There are quite a few remedies that Dylan is getting:

Iscador (mistletoe extract): to stimulate the immune system and may have some effect on the cancer cells.

Corpet (mushrooms): to support the immune system

CV247: to improve the quality of life and may prevent or delay tumour growth

Transfer Factor Plus: to support the immune system

Nutramed: supporting the natural systems that control inflammation

And two homeopathic remedies, one of which his Cacinosin.

So I started giving Dylan the remedies/food supplements today and we'll see how it goes. And then within 2 - 4 weeks, I shall contact the oncologist to start the process for radiotherapy.

Phone consultation with Birgit Ahlemeyer

On Tuesday, Birgit and I had a 1-hour conversation about Dylan. She has also requested Dylan's medical history from my primary vet and I will forward her the oncologist's report as soon as I have it. We went through everything in great detail and she will send me the remedies that I need for Dylan. I will give this a couple of weeks to work and then will go ahead with the radiotherapy for Dylan. I think that will be the best way forward for him.

And today I knitted Dylan a stocking to stop him from licking the lump. It needs a bit of tweaking, but it works lovely!

Oncologist at the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket

Dylan and I went off to Newmarket today to see our oncologist at the Animal Health Trust. His name is Davide Berlato.

He explained to me that Dylan's soft tissue sarcoma is of intermediate grade and therefore has a 20% risk of spreading. I can't remember all the details (he is sending me a report with all that we have discussed), but the main option of treatment that he suggested was palliative radiotherapy (4 weekly treatments), and another option would be metronomic chemo therapy (daily chemo tablets).

I will have a phone conversation tomorrow with Birgit Ahlemeyer, a holistic vet, to discuss all our options and how to best help Dylan in a holistic way. My absolute main concern is Dylan's quality of life and I am not sacrificing that for the sake of extra time. At the moment Dylan is feeling well, though the tumour is bothering him a little as he does lick it at times.

I am looking forward to discussing things with Birgit tomorrow and then decide on the best way forward for my beautiful boy!

Final confirmation: Spindel Cell (soft tissue) Sarcoma

Well, the bad news is confirmed now. We have finally got the lab result for Dylan's tumour and it is a soft tissue spindle cell sarcoma. It has already grown back to almost the size it was before... Rachel said that the oncologist will call me tomorrow to arrange an appointment. And I will chase up the holistic vet too. The good thing is that Dylan is still very well in himself and "luckily" this is a type of cancer that metastases slowly, so hopefully there are things that can be done.

Tomorrow I am picking up my new car: a berlingo! Dylan will be over the moon with being able to travel in a crate that doesn't wobble around. He hated travelling in my Fiat Punto...

Dylan's first "old dog walk"...

Today, I took Dylan out separately for the first time so we could go at his pace. Dylan loved it and I adjusted my pace completely to his speed... but he trotted fast for about half the walk - just to prove me wrong I suspect! LOL It was great to see him enjoy himself and not having to try to keep up with the others and me having to try to slow the others down.

When I got back from the walk with the other three (which I did straight after), Dylan was fast asleep on the sofa, so I don't think he was stressing much when I was out with the others, which is a great relief.

Here is Dylan this afternoon:

 

I haven't heard from the vet or oncologist yet, so will chase them up tomorrow!

Updates - and not very good ones.

Well, it's three months since my last post and Dylan's birthday in June.

11th July was my last day at work with Sunrider, so since then I have been working from home with obviously visiting clients during the day. So although the dogs are on their own at times, they have my company much more now, which is lovely. I work in the animal room, so they are not around me all the time, but I am there, I spend lunch with them and I have no commute. Bliss!

We also went to the beach once when Karen and David and Chucky came to visit us for a couple of days. The dogs enjoyed the beach, though none of them really went into the sea... none of them like the moving water. LOL

We are doing lots of lovely walks of course. Here are some pictures.

In Thelnetham Fen and across the field in Blo' Norton

In Hinderclay Fen

I am so glad that I am at home with the dogs now... I have been visiting the vets quite a bit over the last few weeks and here is what's happened with Dylan.

Dylan hadn't been doing bad and still joined into all the walks with the other three. As time went on, he did sometimes get a bit tired on the way back from our long walk into Hinderclay Fen, so I arranged it that we only did this one two or three times a week whilst the rest of the days we went across the field on the one-hour walk.

Dylan (and Flash) had another chiro treatment with Louise at the end of July.

I have to add here that Dylan's hearing has notably got worse over the last few months and unless I talk very loudly to him now (a bit like you would with a hard-of hearing elderly person) he can't understand or even hear me. Bless him!

At the weekend of 21st September I noticed a lump appearing on Dylan's right front leg. It felt strange and not like a fatty lump. I took him (and Flash, who had a lipoma) to the vets and got it checked out. The vet (Rachel) took a needle aspiration and although Flash's lump was pure fat, Dylan's wasn't... so it was sent off to the lab.
On Friday, 26th September, Rachel called with the lab result - they found spindle cells and there was a chance that the tumour was malignant. So we went ahead with removing the tumour, but as it had infiltrated the leg tissue so much and there was no way a margin could be removed, a debulking biopsy was done; in other words as much as possible of the tumour was removed knowing that it wasn't a complete removal. That happened on Thursday, 2nd October (last week).

 Dylan got through the surgery well and from Friday was fine again (though very whingy and clingy on the Thursday evening). Rachel called me after the surgery with pretty bad news. The tumour definitely looked malignant and she wanted to contact an oncologist straight away, to which I of course agreed. The tumour was of course sent off to the lab too for further confirmation.

So here we are now, a week later waiting for the lab results to confirm what exactly we are dealing with; what we do know though is that it is cancer.

On Monday, the bandage came off and Dylan has been wearing a buster collar since. He doesn't like it, but as soon as I take it off he goes straight to the wound... I think it is painful or itchy, or both! I feel so helpless and stressed, whilst trying to be happy and upbeat with the dogs, especially Dylan. He doesn't know anything of course, bless him!

(He also had a warty type growth removed from his head, hence why he is looking a bit like Frankenstein's monster LOL).

So here I am, worried sick... and there is a swelling where the wound is. Only I don't think it is a swelling, I think the tumour is already growing back again! What am I going to do? Amputation isn't an option. Dylan already visibly struggled more on his hind legs when his leg was bandaged and he moved his weight away from that leg. So his hind legs wouldn't take the extra weight for long...

Over the last few walks, Dylan really struggled when I took him with the other ones. Even already on the way out to the field he slows down. I am quite sure also that his leg hurts him when walking. So I have decided with a very heavy heart that from tomorrow I will take him out separately! He won't like being left behind on his own, but I haven't really got a choice. I will give him a stuffed kong to keep him occupied, though I am not sure that will help. And depending on how he is doing, perhaps a couple of times a week he can come with the other ones. But I just don't think he can cope with normal daily walks anymore now. Whether that's just his age in general, or whether the cancer is starting to actually affect him... I don't know! :-(