And now for some bad news…

Last time we checked in, Lucky had just gotten chest x-rays in December where we found out that he was 6 months met free with Palladia. Not a spot to be seen. Well, a few weeks ago Lucky started getting an occasional gagging cough. It had happened a few times before, and we figured that either he had picked up a mild infection or he was having some throat irritation due to his being intubated 3 times in the past year. We had our vet check it out as well as Dr. V, and everyone said that it seemed like an upper respiratory tract thing, since his lungs sounded fine. But we took him off palladia for a couple of weeks while we gave him some antibiotics to not overwhelm him with drugs.

Well, on Friday Lucky was due for another chest x-ray session. We were totally blindsided when we saw a HUGE met in his lungs. About softball sized. Dr. V talked to us about how this met was probably a palladia resistant group of cells that had just been biding their time and had started to expand very rapidly. Needless to say, it was a very rough weekend. We didn’t tell Lucky about it though, so he had a great weekend! He got to go to the beach at Fiesta Island, on a picnic at the park, and he got to eat pretty much anything he wanted all weekend! He’s such a happy puppy, full of energy and love.

Playing fetch at Fiesta IslandPicnic day at the park

 

Now for our dilemma. Of course the quality of Lucky’s life is way more valuable than quantity, and we would never want to see him suffer at all. Right now, I feel like that is definitely the case. Other than his occasional coughing, Lucky is living it up and he’s just as happy and full of energy as ever. Dr. V’s take on things was that Palladia is one of the best drugs out there, and so if Palladia isn’t working then probably nothing else will. However, with the miracle we saw in the past with his tumors decreasing in size/disappearing with Palladia, I can’t help but wonder if there’s something we can do to attack this tumor and get it to shrink/slow down. In some online research, I’ve come across Masitinib (also called Kinavet) as another recently approved drug that has shown some really promising results. I know that this drug targets a lot of the same pathways as Palladia, and I’ve seen at least one reference online that indicated it might be useful in palladia-resistent tumors. I know that I’ve seen some dogs on Tripawds that have used Masitinib, so I’m trying to look around and see what people’s experiences have been with it and if anybody knows anything more about it, particularly in relation to palladia and palladia-resisitent tumors (I know, that’s very specific information that might be hard to come across).

Anyway, we’ll be talking to Dr. V this week about the possibility, and we’ll let you all know what happens with it. We’re going to keep our fingers crossed for now.

 

Cancer sucks 🙁

7 thoughts on “And now for some bad news…”

  1. Sorry to hear about Lucky’s latest development, but he sure looks happy! Please give him a good belly rub for us, and keep everyone posted.

    Thanks for the update.

  2. Well, I’m sure sorry to hear Lucky’s latest x-rays didn’t come out as good as some of his previous ones. But you’re right: Lucky doesn’t know he’s sick, and he looks pretty happy! Be sure to check out the forums, I’m pretty sure AngelAbbysMom used Mastinib for a bit. Please give Lucky a good ear scratch from me, and keep us all updated on his progress and what you decide. Be sure to tell him he’s got the entire Tripawd Nation rooting for him!!!

  3. so sorry to hear about the ‘lung mint’, but thankfully lucky doesn’t let that stop him from having a great day at the beach. good luck with the new protocol, hope you can continue to have wonderful times with your wonderful tripawd brother.

    charon & spirit gayle

  4. So sorry to hear about the stoopid lung met. Lucky certainly seems to be having a fantastic time on the beach!
    Sending lots of wags and positive energy
    Joanne & lylee

  5. Terrible news indeed! I’m sure you are agonizing over what to do. I’m glad Lucky is oblivious to the whole thing. What a happy guy! Lovin’ life for sure!

    I hope you have many more wonderful days at the beach. Paws crossed!

    Hugs and Wags
    Judy and Baby

  6. I’m so sorry about that bad news. But you’re right: Lucky doesn’t know what any of that meant, and judging by the photo he is still loving life. Follow his lead as you walk this journey and you can’t go wrong.

  7. This is the news none of us wants to get. So sorry about this bad news. I got the news yesterday about lung mets in our girl, Peaches, and have been reading about Lucky’s journey. I am considering Palladia-your story is so inspiring and hopeful.

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