Re: [PyrNet-L] HEALTH: Clondike the Chemo Star

[Joy Mccarron <joym@monmouth.com>]

David, Nancy and Clondike,   Keep the good news coming!!!   Joy and Maggie
----- Original Message -----
From: David P Kintsfather Jr <kintsfat@kutztown.edu>
To: Great Pyrenees Discussion List <PYR-L@APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM>
Cc: <LGD-L@APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM>; <pyrnet-l@pyrnet.org>
Sent: Friday, May 21, 1999 8:22 PM
Subject: [PyrNet-L] HEALTH: Clondike the Chemo Star


> Clondike, the 11 1/2 year-old Pyr bitch who has been undergoing
> chemotherapy for lymphoma for almost a year now continues to surprise the
> vets.  After one treatment of the DMAC protocol she is well on the way to
> her third remission.  DMAC uses two combinations of drugs, alternating on
> a one or two week schedule for up to 16 weeks (8 cycles).  Clondike
> achieved a full remission after only 3 treatments (1 1/2 cycles) in
> February and was able to hold it for 12 weeks without any chemo.
>
> By using injectable Centrine for nausea and diarrhea control she got
> through this first treatment with only some soft stools and a little
> queeziness that caused her to reject 1 meal and only eat half of another.
>
> 24 hours after the treatment our regular vet thought her nodes were back
> within normal limits, but her spleen was still slightly enlarged--common
> with lymphoma, the spleen acts like a big lymph node.
>
> Thursday night, 8 days after the treatment, our vet checked her again and
> found her nodes down about 1/3 from the previous week, spleen unpalpable
> (which is as it should be), and her color and heart rate very
> satisfactory.  Unfortunately her white count was down to 2,400 (6,000 is
> low normal), but this is an expected side effect of this particular drug
> combination.  She is on antibiotics and today the oncologist gave her a
> shot of neupogen, a very expensive and exotic drug that stimulates the
> bone marrow to produce white cells.  Clondike responds very rapidly to
> this drug.
>
> On a positive note, after some lethargy Sunday and Monday, Clondike was
> very perky on Tuesday, and visited the groomers for a bath which removed
> most of her undercoat (not sure if the chemo hastened this blow or if it
> was normal seasonal shedding).  Standing for 2 hours for a bath and comb
> out usually tires her out, but she was still pretty perky Tues. night and
> she was a monster on Wed.  By Tues. she was having perfect poop and by
> Thursday she was back on dog food along with meat (round steak,
> actually--she's spoiled) and a rice gruel.
>
> Based on notes our vet made and my memory, we think Clondike is responding
> to the DMAC protocol almost identically to the way she responded the first
> time.  This is much more encouraging that the results we got when we tried
> to re-induce a remission with the traditional first-line drugs.
>
> Today I asked the oncologist for some sense of how well Clondike is doing
> and she basically said we are in totally unknown territory.  She
> reiterated that DMAC is a rescue remission protocol intended for dogs
> refractory (non-responsive) for the first-line drugs.  She said that for
> some dogs it "doesn't do squat" (I love this technical talk), and for
> others she is seeing positive results.  The research clearly shows shorter
> remissions with DMAC than with traditional protocols, but how many times
> you can reinduce remission is just not known yet.  We feel very lucky to
> have achieved a 2nd remission with DMAC 75% as long as the first remission
> when the conventional wisdom is that each successive remission is only
> about half as long.
>
> Clondike will be re-evaluated next Friday and will probably be ready for
> DMAC 2, a treatment that gave her moderately severe vomiting and diarrhea
> last time around.  It also made her lymph nodes all but disappear!  We
> hope that using injectable Centrine before the symptoms occur will greatly
> reduce the severity of her reaction.  Keep your fingers crossed.
>
> I know some people who have experienced dogs with lymphoma are especially
> curious about the DMAC protocol that seems to be doing so much for
> Clondike.  I asked if the research has been published yet and the
> oncologist doesn't think so.  I would guess that the Ohio State Vet School
> could probably answer specific questions that vets or oncologists might
> have.  Just keep in mind that apparently Clondike's success is "not
> typical."
>
> Thanks again for all the good thoughts and prayers.  Clondike continues to
> enjoy life and to teach us to live "in the moment."  I'll keep you posted.
>
> David
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
>  David Kintsfather              | PHONE:       (610) 683-4497
>  Dept. of Telecommunications    | FAX:         (610) 683-4659
>  Kutztown University            | INTERNET:    kintsfat@kutztown.edu
>  PO Box 730                     |   "We need not think alike to love
alike."
>  Kutztown, PA  19530-0730       |                Francis David
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
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