Corona is doing great! It has been almost 4 weeks since she
had her leg amputated due to bone cancer and almost 2 weeks since she
started chemotherapy and she is already back to her regular routine. The
main changes seems to be that she does not jump very often, our dog walks
(hops) are a little shorter, and she does not jump up to bark at the mail
man (she now barks from her dog bed instead).
Corona loves sunbathing in the back yard
Dog hops around the block are very entertaining. It seems to
be easier for Corona to hop fast then slow. So Corona is always leading
while the Dingo, the dog with all 4 legs, is slow and lags behind. We have
shorten our walks until we are confident Corona can go further and because
the weather is so hot.
Corona still knows how to relax
Corona has 4 more chemo treatments at LSU between now and
August. Each treatment is followed by blood work. After that, she will
return to LSU every 2 months for check ups.
Dave with Corona when she returned home after surgery
May 1, 2010 - Corona has osteosarcoma (bone cancer) in her
left rear leg. She has been accepted in a treatment study at LSU. She
started Friday with a treatment of interleukin 12 (IL-12), the immune
stimulator which is the basis of the study. This week, she will have her leg
amputated. The following week will be another treatment of IL-12 and the
week after that she starts chemotherapy.
Corona hogging up all the dog beds days before surgery
From what I have learned is that Corona should feel much
better once her leg is removed. Currently, she holds her leg up and hops
around. Only occasionally does she put it down to walk. We give her pain
medication every day. And unlike chemotherapy in people, Corona should not
feel sick after treatment.
Corona on the levee days before surgery
LSU is trying to determine if IL-12 can help extend life
when added to the standard treatment of amputation and chemotherapy. Life
expectancy when untreated is 4-6 months. Standard treatment extends life to
an average of 12 months. Results with IL-12 still to be determined.
For almost 1 year, things were uneventful with Corona. This
year, Corona's initial feeding tube broke due to a growing clog and it took
4 new feeding tubes before she ended up with a proper size feeding tube and
anchor! She also had surgery to repair a torn ACL in her left rear leg. So
at least she gets to keep her good, strong leg.
Dave, Dingo, & Corona in St. Francisville
In the meantime, Corona continues to still play and spread
her toys all around the house. She still enjoys hops (walks) around the
neighborhood. Occasionally, she jumps on one leg when she get excited which
is really scary. Guess I will have to get use to that. She is still a happy
dog with normal energy levels.
August 2009 - We had our family portrait
taken by Sister Pet
Pics located in Covington, LA. They did a great job taking
pictures of Corona with out her tank top while not revealing her feeding
tube. More photos are available
here.
Corona's Favorite Scent is Parfume de Bounce
with Febreze. When given a fabric softener sheet, Corona will rub her
head on the sheet. We noticed this behavior when we put fabric
softener sheets inside freshly cleaned dog beds. Corona will rub her
head on the dog bed even through the fabric softener sheet is on the other
side of the dog bed cover.
In February, 2009, we discovered that Corona has a tumor
growing around her esophagus. This tumor is constricting the esophagus
making it difficult for food to pass through to her stomach.
Dave & Corona feeding the ducks in
Audubon Park
We became aware of this problem when Corona continued to
throw up her food after eating. This caused her to loose a lot of
weight. Corona went into surgery to have the tumor removed, but it was
not successful. The tumor was already too big and was attached to her
lung. It was also located very close to a heart ventricle. We
also learned that chemo or radiation would not be an acceptable treatment
for Corona.
Family walk on the levee on Mardi Gras day, the day before Corona's
surgery
We now feed Corona through a feeding tube 4
times a day which has helped her to regain some of the weight that she had
loss. Corona can still drink water orally. And her treats have
been replaced with dog food flavored popsicles and small amounts of peanut
butter.
Corona is still living a happy life.
We still go on dog walks and take trips to the park and the pet store.
She still plays with her toys and enjoys looking for squirrels and critters
in our back yard. She still barks at the mailman and she still loves to hang out with
us when watching TV.
Corona's spiral tie-dye tank
Corona now has a whole new wardrobe. She wears tank
tops to help keep her feeding tube in place secure against her body.
It also does a great job of hiding the feeding tube as well as her shaved
fur from the surgery.
