Today was another vincristine treatment for Beau's third week of his second chemo cycle. It's almost starting to sound mundane, as if going in for a chemotherapy treatment every Monday is somehow normal.

This is, of course, exactly the wrong way to think of it. Still, his South Paws veterinary oncologist notes that he's looking well. He's still in some distress whenever he urinates, but it seems as though we've turned the corner on that issue as well. It's clearly getting better, anyway. Less frequent and shorter duration outings seem like a welcome relief for all of us. (We actually slept all night straight through last night!)

Indeed, the biggest issue we seem to be facing right now is the slow hair growth to cover up Beau's "Brazilian" hair cut around his nether regions.

But "seem" is an intoxicating word. I have to keep pinching myself to remember that even this rigorous chemo regimen is in fact not a cure.

We just continue to hope and pray that Beau remains happy and that his lymphoma remains in remission for many years. In the meantime, it's onward to next week's doxorubicin treatment, which will mark his half way point in the CHOP program. Seems an appropriate milestone for a cupcake, don't you think?

Cheers,

Ken

So we're up to week 2 of Beau's 2nd (of 4) chemo cycles. This week seems to be going smoothly so far.

He's still been having issues with urinating, so the folks at South Paws suggested doing an ultrasound test on his bladder to ensure there are no obstructions, growths, etc., in there. It went well, and they weren't able to identify any problems. Patience is apparently what's needed, but it's been 6 weeks since the cytoxan treatment that caused this problem, so we're all having a tough time with "patience".

In order to do the ultrasound test, they had to shave the area around Beau's bladder--Beau's first "Brazilian"! Caren told me about it via a text message, and I broke out laughing in front of my class here in New York. Of course, I asked Caren what Maggie thought about Beau's "Brazilian," but apparently Maggie was blissfully unaware of it.

So we press on, and hope with every day that Beau's bladder irritation clears up. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers, please!

Cheers,

Ken

Well, we're home from a couple wonderful days at the beach, and Beau has started his second (of four) chemo cycles. So, he's back on the vincristine this week. So far so good, he seems to be responding well and in great spirits. Oh, and he did actually gain a pound or so over the week. I suppose a couple days at the beach (and some of Ouma's pancakes) will do that. But that's a good "problem" to have right now.

He still has some residual bladder sensitivity from the horrible cytoxan stuff, and his oncologist says they might do an ultrasound scan of his bladder next week if the sensitivity continues. Not sure where that will take us, but he's clearly still in some distress. After he's back in the house, though, he's all happy and it's as though everything is normal.

I've noticed from the web logs that Beau has several regular readers of this blog. Thank you all for caring enough to check in and see how our little guy is doing. It means a lot to all of us, and I'll do my best to keep his status updated here.

Cheers,

Ken

What better way to get some rest than to head to the beach for a couple days? And, with the first signs of Spring beginning to pop up, a couple days down in the North Carolina Outer Banks (aka "OBX") makes perfect sense.

Beau enjoying some sea air in the Outer Banks

It was wonderful to see Beau happy out on the beach. We took him for a couple nice strolls down the beach and he enjoyed every moment. Definitely the type of rest that he needed most.

Cheers,

Ken

I'm home after a week in Belgium, and this is Beau's first scheduled rest week in the 19 week "CHOP" program. No chemo for the week, but he did have to get a blood test this morning. All went well, including taking the blood sample from his jugular, since his oncologist asked for "first dibs" on the veins in his legs. But, he was very brave and didn't even flinch.

Tomorrow is one of Beau's favorite days as well. I'll be cooking them another batch of their organic diet. Once the crockpot has warmed up, the whole house smells like chicken. He'll be spending a good amount of the afternoon hanging around the "altar of the crockpot" and taking in the smells.

Then he'll get to spend a couple days at the beach, so it will indeed be a fun rest week for him.

Cheers,

Ken

Well, Beau has made it through his first full cycle of the CHOP chemo treatment. He seems to be holding up quite well. We remain enormously relieved that he so quickly responded to the treatment and that his lymphoma is in remission, of course. He' still having some residual bladder irritation from the cytoxan, but that's slowly improving.

Next week is his first scheduled "rest" week--no chemo. We'll be taking him and Maggie down to the North Carolina Outer Banks (here's a photo of us the last time we were there) for a bit of R&R, and to help celebrate Ken's parents' 50th wedding anniversary. It'll be nice to get away for a couple days. We're really hoping for clear skies so we can go for walks/jogs along the beach.

Lymphoma is a horrible disease, of course. It has certainly highlighted the importance, however, of enjoying and appreciating every day we get. From the moment we first met Beau, he has been nothing but pure affection incarnate. A pure joy to spend time with. And now, every time he wags his tail, every time he climbs up on my lap/belly and looks me in the eye, every time he curls up with us on the bed, every time he tells me that YES he wants his dinner, and so forth--every time we savor and appreciate.

I hope that everyone reading this blog will be fortunate enough to share the type of bond that we share with our Beau Beau and Maggie.

Cheers,

Ken