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[PyrNet-L] HEALTH: Lymphoma--Clondike Beats the Odds, Again!



Clondike is an 11 year 9 month old Pyr bitch who has been undergoing
chemotherapy for lymphoma for 14 months.  Thursday the oncologist made it
official.  Clondike is still in full remission 13 weeks post-chemo.

This is significant because this is remission #3, and remission #2 only
lasted 12 weeks post-chemo.  Fortunately Clondike hasn't read the
literature on chemotherapy which indicates that each successive remission
should be of shorter duration than the previous one.  The oncologist just
shrugged and said that is usually the case--"usually" doesn't apply to
Clondike.

It is time for me to help Clondike write her annual report for the Rescue
issue of the Penn-Dutch GPC newsletter entitled "My Life as a Rescue Dog."
As I was helping her organize her notes, I realized that, while she was
very sick last July, in the last 365 days she has been sick exactly 5
days--3 from chemotherapy reactions and 2 from the stomach bug circulating
at the National Specialty.  Sick is defined as feeling bad enough to
interfer with her dogly activities.

While the 14 hours of cleaning up toxic dog vomit (a great name for a
grunge band, by the way) tends to stick in my mind, the good days have FAR
outnumbered the bad.  Let's hope she has a lot more of them!

David (for Nancy and Clondike, who went to bed long ago)

PS.  A 10 year-old Cocker Spaniel came on to Clondike at the
oncology clinic yesterday.  She is used to being the aggressor and didn't
know quite how to act, but she let him live--probably quite a compliment.

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 David Kintsfather              | PHONE:       (610) 683-4497
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 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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