Our dog
Ozzie
had passed away from cancer in July of 2007, and by winter it was time
for a new dog.
Bell was adopted on December 4, 2007 from the Humane Society of the Palouse.
In October she had been found abandoned in a Moscow (Idaho) city park.
Because of the large bell on her collar, she was named Bell.
Bell, a spayed female dog around 5-6 years old, arrived at our home with a mast cell tumor (MCT) on her left foreleg,
so it was surgically
removed on December 19, 2007 along with two other (likely fatty tissue) lumps.
The MCT turned out to be Grade II, which requires surgery; the other two lumps were nothing to worry about.
On January 14 Bell had an ultrasound on her belly and a chest x-ray at the WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital (WSU-VTH) to see if the MCT had spread. Nope.
On January 15 Bell began 18 daily (M-F) radiation treatments to zap the MCT, radiation should end on Feb 8.
Radiation actually ended on Feb 12; Bell got a bandana that says, "I'm a cancer survivor!"
Here's a great web site with
information on canine mast cell tumors.
On November 19, 2009 a new lump was found on Bell's left foreleg, where her earlier mast cell tumor was found.
Much of it was removed (could not get to "clean" margins, not "enough dog") on Nov 23
and the tissue was sent to the WSU-VTH for tests, and it was again a mast cell tumor.
After the left foreleg healed from the surgery, we met with Bell's oncologist at the WSU-VTH.
An ultrasound showed the cancer had not spread, and we chose the chemo drug
masitinib made by
AB Science to use to treat her cancer.
In March of 2010, we did find a Grade II MCT on Bell's neck; I think we just missed finding it a few months ago.
That neck MCT was removed with "clean margins," and Bell continued to take the Masitinib.
After being on masitinib (200 mg once each day) for six months, Bell had a full check-up on June 23, 2010 and was found to be a "healthy dog,"
so she no longer gets any chemo. She still gets checked for new lumps and has check-ups every three months. Update: 21-SEP-2010: Bell's three-month checkup had excellent test results
Bell's experience with masitinib was excellent (targeted the MCT with no bad side effects).
Hooray for the WSU-VTH to be such a close and excellent resource.
Update: 27-NOV-2010: Three Mast Cell Tumors (MCT) were found on Bell--her neck, her throat, and her upper left leg.
Update: 01-DEC-2010: Bell had many tests today at the WSU-VTH--
"buffy coat" (blood test), chest x-ray, abdominal ultrasound, fine needle aspirations of her spleen and liver, and body check.
Results are that the mast cells are present throughout her body, can't do surgeries, her condition is incurable and terminal.
The task at hand now is to find a course of action to allow Bell to have as many good days as possible, be as comfortable as she can be, and keep her from getting too sick.
Bell doesn't know yet she is sick; she caught a squirrel in the backyard on Monday (Nov 29), she went for a walk today and traipsed through the snow. Time will tell how long before the cancer overtakes her body and it's time for her to go to
Rainbow Bridge.
Update: 02-DEC-2010: We met with the oncologist to choose together a protocol to try to limit the
growth of the MCT and limit Bell's discomfort (GI issues, mostly).
We are continuing to give her an antihistamine (12 mg Chlorpheniramine, it's "extended release")
twice daily, adding Pepcid (10 mg tablet) once a day, prednisone (20 mg) once a day for a week,
then after a week alternating the prednisone with the Masitinib (200 mg).
The hope is that this regimen will reduce the size of the tumors, limit the mast cell activity,
and keep Bell happy, at least for some time (weeks, months?).
Update: 05-JAN-2011: We met with the oncologist who did tests to see how the mast cells were doing.
Tests showed only one mast cell per slide, so we are continuing the same drug regimen as started in December.
Bell still has very good days, she's bright and alert, active (caught a squirrel in the backyard).
Note: Shortly after these test results, our local veterinarian encouraged us to add Ursodiol (300mg) to help
Bells liver; I give Bell a half capsule twice a day.
Update: 02-FEB-2011: We met with Bell's oncologist at WSU-VTH who did blood tests, including a "buffy coat" again.
News was not good, now 5-9 mast cells per slide; Bell has new tumors and her old ones are larger.
But with the Ursodiol, her liver counts are great! We are increasing the Prednisone to 30 mg every other day (was 20mg).
But Bell still looks good, is active, enjoys walks, checking "pee-mail," chasing squirrels and tennis balls.
She seems to be an exception, other dogs with her condition have lived for only 24 hours; Bell is following her own medical book.
Update: 16-FEB-2011: We met with Bell's oncologist at WSU-VTH who did a "buffy coat" test to see how many mast cells there were. This time there were 59 mast cells counted across four slides (average of 15 per slide). News was not good. Her lumps are slightly larger. We upped Bell's prednisone from 20 mg every other day to 30 mg every other day.
Update: 02-MAR-2011: We met with Bell's oncologist at WSU-VTH who did a "buffy coat" test to see how many mast cells are running around Bell's body. The number is much larger--across six slides there were 40-50 mast cells per slide, three times more than two weeks ago. And her lumps are slightly larger. Now Bell will get 200 mg of Masitinib every day, staying with the 30 mg of Pred every other day.
The oncologist says that with these numbers of mast cells, we should expect to start seeing changes in Bell.
(And yes, Bell seems to tire more easily, but she still has an appetite and is happy.)
Update: 18-MAR-2011: Today is Bell's 65th birthday! Now that her lifespan is limited, her birthdays will be in "dog years."
Yesterday we met with Bell's oncologist at WSU-VTH who did a "buffy coat" test to see how many mast cells are running around Bell's body.
The number is much larger--across two slides there were 95-100 mast cells per slide, twice as many as two weeks ago.
And, Bell's chest and abdomen are more swollen, she's gained 1.9 kg (a little more than four pounds) in two weeks.
We'll keep her on the same pill regimen and monitor her for changes, which we expect, but don't know what they are.
Bell does tire easily, so her birthday gift of a new rawhide bone will have limited chewing time.
Her appetite is still good (duh!), but the cancer is progressing more rapidly. Yet Bell is happy.
Update: 02-APR-2011: We stopped the appointments with the oncologist at the WSU-VTH; we are in "supportive care" mode now.
Bell's belly is huge, her internal organs are full of mast cells, she looks very pregnant,
I wish she were developing puppies instead of mast cells and tumors.
Bell's days are still good, though she uses up a lot of strength to move her big body around.
But she has a good appetite, no diarrhea or vomiting, and she enjoys her rawhide bone and her backyard.
Her trip to Rainbow Bridge is in her future, but today is not the day.
She continues to take Masitinib daily and Prednisone every other day, along with Chlorpheniramine, Ursodiol, Sucralfate, and Lixotinic.
Update: 07-APR-2011: Bell went to
Rainbow Bridge today in the early afternoon.
Though she had a good day yesterday, a healthy appetite, played with her toys, during the night it became obvious that her body had finally given in to the mast cells.
(She was nauseous, then diarrhea, then vomiting, not interested in eating.)
Bell spent her morning in the sunny backyard, enjoying the warmmth of the spring sun and
the noise of chattering birds.
She went to her next level of life surrounded by her two-footed friends; there will be an autopsy since she far outlived any predictions.
Honoring her life by donating to the humane society of your choice would be welcomed.
Bell's owners can be reached via e-mail: BelliGirl@gmail.com