SuzanneC
Super Boxer
Just a little update for those who are following Cookie's battle with cancer.
Cookie is nearly finished with her radiation therapy! Her final treatment is tomorrow morning. She has been an ideal patient during her treatment. Since January 4, she has undergone general anesthesia 18 times, and has had no problems. She's still excited every morning when I tell her it's time to go to the hospital, and she makes new friends there every day.
Thus far, her skin has only had a minor reaction to the radiation. Her hair has surprisingly not all fallen out, although it also hasn't completely grown back from her surgery December 7. She has a minor amount of scaling, almost like when we have dry skin.
The bad news is that Cookie also has a Mast Cell tumor. Fortunately, it is within the field that is being treated with radiation, but she will still need surgery to remove it. She won't be able to have the surgery for probably two months because of the skin damage caused by the radiation. Unfortunately, the histamine released by the tumor has caused her some GI problems (namely bloody diarrhea :( ), so she gets Benadryl, Pepcid, and sucralfate twice a day.
All in all, she's doing very well. She doesn't realize she's sick, and she's enjoying her royal treatment. I'll try to post some pictures of Cookie and the radiation therapy unit for those who are curious.
Cookie is nearly finished with her radiation therapy! Her final treatment is tomorrow morning. She has been an ideal patient during her treatment. Since January 4, she has undergone general anesthesia 18 times, and has had no problems. She's still excited every morning when I tell her it's time to go to the hospital, and she makes new friends there every day.
Thus far, her skin has only had a minor reaction to the radiation. Her hair has surprisingly not all fallen out, although it also hasn't completely grown back from her surgery December 7. She has a minor amount of scaling, almost like when we have dry skin.
The bad news is that Cookie also has a Mast Cell tumor. Fortunately, it is within the field that is being treated with radiation, but she will still need surgery to remove it. She won't be able to have the surgery for probably two months because of the skin damage caused by the radiation. Unfortunately, the histamine released by the tumor has caused her some GI problems (namely bloody diarrhea :( ), so she gets Benadryl, Pepcid, and sucralfate twice a day.
All in all, she's doing very well. She doesn't realize she's sick, and she's enjoying her royal treatment. I'll try to post some pictures of Cookie and the radiation therapy unit for those who are curious.
