dogs | 2012 The Big Picture

February 17, 2013

I’m happy to report that Morgan got his last dose of Doxorubicin on Feb. 8th and remains in full remission. He is now finished with his cancer protocol and he’s feeling great; like a new dog!

We’re very glad we trusted in the Veterinary Oncologist to treat him with an integrative protocol and return his high quality of life. No one would have ever known he was having medical treatment of any kind except for the occasional shaved patch on one of his legs where the IV was.

We continue to feed him a mixture of homemade beef and turkey stew with Blue Buffalo kibble, Oregano oil, Organic green powder, Curcumin capsules, hemp oil and the vet sent home a Chinese concentrated Qi-boosting powder to sprinkle on each meal, as well.

I’m confident that Morgan will remain healthy and cancer-free. He’ll be 11 on April 2nd.

This is a photo my other half took while testing a camera. He didn’t change any of the settings, so it’s 8 F-stops above where it should be and really blown out, but the more I look at it, the more I like it, and I’m going to frame it. He looks very ethereal… like he’s already ascended or something. At any rate, he’s my angel and I’m so happy he’s well and happy again.

October 13, 2012

I’m happy to report that Morgan continues to revert to his old self more and more. Endearing little quirks that I hadn’t seen or heard for awhile, like his throaty “talking” have come back, and he had the zooms again the other night for the first time in a couple of months.

I had forgotten all about this video we took of Morgan “rescuing” a  “baby” at the bottom of the 8′ deep pool until a friend mentioned it the other day, so I’m posting here for your entertainment.

The good news continues, and rather than visiting the oncologist every Friday, we now go on alternate weeks, so last Friday we went to the lake, instead.

Yesterday it was time for the second round of Doxorubicin, the really nasty chemo infusion, but when I told them he had such a terrible reaction to it the first time, they offered a “pre-treatment” that should mitigate the unpleasant side-effects like nausea. For an extra $ 52.50, it had better do the trick.

We also have some Cerenia for nausea. Thank goodness for strawberries, cheese and hard boiled eggs that I can easily hide a pill in.

In addition, we began the Metronidazole (anti-diarrheal) pills last night so with any luck, Morgan won’t have to deal with anything out of the ordinary this time. (another $ 37.50, and the Doxorubicin itself is only $ 172.50!) What’s a $ 627.00 bill for a cherished family member? When the health report comes back reading, “Diagnosis: Lymphoma – complete remission, CBC normal” you pay and grin while you’re doing it.

Morgan is also now ramping up on the hemp oil. I read and posted the other day how studies are indicating that hemp oil prevents the spread of cancer, so I’m very glad we’re using that remedy.

The initial treatment (and hemp is of course recommended for humans, too) is to start with a drop of oil, half the size of a grain of rice, 4 times a day, eventually working up to a dose of 60 grams. Those with damage from extensive chemo and radiation would possibly require more to completely cure most cancers—and the protocol did say “cure”.

He has a lot of rumbling in the bowels and some gas, so we’re going to add some probiotics.

In the vet’s waiting room we met an absolutely stunning Great Pyrenees (rescue) named Angelique. She had a recurring shoulder injury, but you’d never know it, and I was enthralled by the number of ways she reminded me of Morgan.

Looking at her face was uncannily like looking at Morgan, except of course she was a platinum blonde, rather than Morgan’s light golden colour. She was statuesque and dwarfed Morgan, but she kept giving me her paw, as Morgan does, and stuck her head between my knees so I could scratch her head—just as Morgan does—and the more her owner and I talked, the more the two had in common. We decided they must share some common genes and I hope to run into them again.

Sept 21, 2012

It’s been a good week. Morgan is feeling well AND, his blood work came back PERFECT today! The white count wasn’t “a little low” as it has been since the beginning.

I noticed a mild eye infection coming on yesterday and we have that under control with saline and castor oil.

We found that the MMS natural treatment wasn’t going to be “our” wellness protocol. The MMS #1 was fine, but when we added part 2, the Calcium Hypochlorite—even the smallest amount in a gel cap—he couldn’t keep it down.

A synchronistic email from the MMS folks arrived yesterday saying that a veterinarian who has tried the MMS in his practice found the same intolerance in animals, so they have come up with a ‘Jim Humble-approved’ new formula that is not only better tasting, but easier on the tummy.

The other drawback to the MMS is that Part 1 must be taken hourly, for 10 consecutive hours, and Part 2 every other hour for 10 consecutive hours, so you have to be on the ball and present to administer this for a pet.

Since any treatment I “inflict” (I feel like I’m inflicting it) on my dog has to be about quality of life, I’m going to adopt a different alternative—or two.

Lightworker 29501 kindly suggested two things I hadn’t yet learned about in my cancer research, namely Hemp Oil and Coloidal Silver.

I know the miraculous benefits of raw cannabis and now, the oil, and I have a bottle on the way.

The Coloidal Silver may be something I try in addition. We’ll see. If it’s safe, natural, effective, cost-effective and has no negative side-effects when used as directed, I’m willing to try it, and it certainly sounds like it purges the body of impurities, heavy metals, and other things that render our chemistry acidic. It just requires the gizmo to extract the silver and infuse the water, but Morgan’s a heavy drinker so that would be an easy way to get him to take his medicine.

We’re keeping exercize in the protocol and Morgan and I enjoyed another hour or so at the lake one gorgeous morning this week fetching sticks.

I have to say though, the big, black helicopter that buzzed in from the west, very low over the water, and disappeared behind the cliff of the main canyon and into the canyon that leads to the next lake in the chain and the dam was a little out of place.

Sept 7, 2012

This week we experienced our first speed bump in Morgan’s treatment. They hit him for the first time with the big gun of chemo—doxorubicin, an antineoplastic antibiotic that can have severe negative side effects—and it did.

We’ve worked our way through those with the support of the oncology team and Morgan is feeling much better. A week later we have the situation under control.

Unfortunately, we had to resort to adding a prescription to the mix to control severe diarrhea, and you know what prescriptions are like—the side effects listed usually include the precise condition you’re trying to treat, among others, but it seems to have worked well.

I want to cease administering the Metronidisole as soon as possible though, so as not to add any more severe health risks.

Onward!

Sept 1, 2012

Subject of a fish-eye lens test

Morgan continues to be a model patient for canine integrative oncology. Lymphoma is cancer of the lymphocytes or lymphoblasts but the protocol is so successful and Morgan is so strong, that he isn’t even anemic—which is very common.

It’s painful to see the other dogs that come into the oncology clinic with severe cases of cancer of all kinds. No one would know Morgan is sick, so it almost seems ridiculous to be there at all.

The other pet owners at the clinic are friendly and it’s encouraging to hear their positive stories of their “kids’” full remission and going on to live many more years in good health.

I have added a natural treatment to the protocol that I’ve known about for several years. It’s called MMS, or Master Mineral Solution, previously known as Miracle Mineral Supplement.

The creator, Jim Humble, used this formula to cure malaria patients in Africa and countless other diseases. Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, however, the FDA didn’t want him marketing anything safe that would cure disease in the U.S. so he was forced to change the name, even though it actually does completely “cure” diseases.

The first time I ordered it for a friend several years ago, it was shipped from Edmonton, Alberta Canada. This time it had to come from Australia. What nonsense.

At any rate, it’s not as easy to administer this solution to a pet as it is to a human, so I’ve decided to just encourage Morgan to drink the MMS1 with vegetable broth as he will, and I hide a capsule of MMS2 in half a boiled egg and it’s all good. It may take a little longer to treat the condition, but it’s better than having him on chemo for the full course. Anything I can’t even touch with my hands and requires containers of the pills to be safely disposed of by the vet is too volatile for my liking.

It’s moot anyway, since everything is going to change this year and all diseases will disappear. It’s just part of the journey right now and we welcome the challenge.

I believe a big part of 2012 is lessons that teach us what is truly important in life. Challenges help us to focus on light, love, unity & cooperation, and healing, while the extraneous stuff we may have thought was important, falls away.

We are blessed to have such wonderful veterinary care. Morgan is feeling better than he has in some time and has his old spunk back.

I am noticing that the Doxorubicin they administered by IV yesterday has him pretty knocked out, but no worries. It’s better than nausea, vomiting, and the other possible negative side-effects. He’ll be raring to go by pool time.

August 20, 2012

We were throwing sticks in the lake again and Morgan had plenty of energy but was content to climb back in the truck and go home for a snooze after his workout. It’s a dog’s life.

Morgan is responding really well to the treatment and feeling more like his old self all the time. He lost more weight, too, when off the commercial kibble.

A side-effect of the Prednisone is increased appetite, and we’re dealing with that by giving Morgan a third small meal at 9 p.m. so he’s not starving and restless in the evening, has a good sleep, and doesn’t have to get up so early in the morning.  As we continue to taper the dosage we hope the hunger and other side-effects will lessen and disappear.

When we see the other dogs people bring to the clinic and hear of their travails we feel blessed that we aren’t dealing with anything more than this. Our weekly appointment was delayed significantly but it was due to a sudden euthanasia that had to be taken care of so we were just thankful we don’t have to go through that again.

August 10, 2012

Morgan at 6 weeks

I am not a proponent of chemo at all, however I have to say the results in one week are remarkable. Morgan’s highly swollen lymph glands seem to be back to normal, or at least I can hardly locate them now. He is more his silly old self, sleeping less and more alert.

Golden Retrievers are heavy drinkers, and now he drinks and eliminates even more, but that’s certainly nothing to complain about; it’s just mildly inconvenient for him.

Goldens are also eating machines, and Morgan’s really enjoying the home-cooked beef, lamb and turkey stews that replace his old kibble. His appetite seems to have increased a little, but he’s lost weight- 5 lb. in one week. He was a tad overweight at 90lb  so he’s in good shape now.

We add sardines and liver alternately to his stew each day, as well as a concentrated green powder comprising alfalfa leaf juice powder, wheat grass whole leaf, oat grass whole leaf, barley grass whole leaf,organic chlorella and spirulina, dulse, parsley, spinach, kale dandelion leaf, broccoli and cilantro. He’s still taking his Omega 3 oil capsules from his original regimen as well.

We’ve added a second chemo pill, administered at home hidden in half a boiled egg as well as the Prednisone, which we’ve tapered down to 3 tablets daily from 4.

So far, no nausea or other uh…unpleasant effects from the regimen that we’re told are possible with his treatment. All is well.

August 4, 2012

Thankfully, an integrated protocol for lymphoma with a blend of Eastern and Western healing including chemo, a maximum healthy diet, detox and even Chinese herbs and accupuncture over 25 weeks yields a 75 – 90 per cent remission rate for animals. The chemo is exceptionally well tolerated with few to no negative side-effects.

Swollen lymph glands typically reduce in size in just days.

Morgan has had his first session of IV Chemo and some Prednisone pills as well, and is suffering no negative side-effects.

Since there are only a few months left in 2012, we feel we’ve already got it licked.

Thanks for the love!

August 1, 2012

As the saying goes, “What we most fear and revere will appear,” and herein lies OUR challenge.

Our ten-year-old Golden Retriever, Morgan, was just diagnosed with lymphoma and I’d like to ask you to keep him in your thoughts please, as he takes on HIS latest life challenge.

Morgan  has a huge personality, a great sense of humour and an old soul. He’ll give me the stink-eye if he finds out I put his birthday photo on the Internet.

To make up for all the tests he endured yesterday, this morning we took him to the lake for his favourite activity—fetching sticks.

If it was an Olympic event, he’d take the gold.

Morgan sends his love to all four-legged, furry creatures, and we two-legged creatures, too.