Update! Making good progress!

It has been about 4 weeks since Cloud has been diagnosed with Lymphoma. This whole situation has had its ups and downs. Some day's I have high hopes and other days, I know that my time is limited. But regardless of the time that I have left with my fluffy baby, I know that I need to enjoy it. Whether it be a few more weeks or a few more years, I should cherish every day equally. When Cloud was first diagnosed, I spent the entire first week crying every night, wondering why me? Why my baby? While I wish cancer would happen to NO ANIMAL and NO HUMAN EVER again I feel lucky that I at least have the resources to help Cloud as much as possible. I know for some people, euthanization would be their only option but not for me. But euthanization is a whole other blog post in it self. So here is how Cloud's last visit went. This is the write up that the specialist sends out to both me and the Cloud's general vet.

On Wednesday, August 7, 2013, Cloud was presented for a recheck of his lymphoma and second dose of chemotherapy. The following is a summary of his visit:

Medical Condition / History:

Ms. C reports that Cloud has been doing well since he received his first dose of lomustine chemotherapy on July 18^th. The enlarged lymph nodes decreased in size rapidly and have not increased in size since that time. Cloud has been active and has a normal to increased appetite. Ms. C reports that Cloud shakes his head often but there has been no change since he was first diagnosed with aural polyps. Current medications: Prednisolone 5 mg q24h

 .

Diagnoses:

Large cell lymphoma – strong partial response to lomustine chemotherapy

Suspect otitis (ear infection), left ear

Historical aural polyps, bilateral

Treatment in Hospital: Convenia 52 mg SQ

Tentative Treatment Protocol:

Lomustine #1 (17 mg) – completed 7/18/13

Lomustine #2 (17 mg) – due 8/08/13

Recheck CBC – due 8/15/13

Lomustine #3 – due 08/29/13

SUMMARY:

Cloud looked good on examination today with a stable body weight. His lymph nodes have decreased drastically in size and are almost normal. The abdominal mass is still palpable but is much smaller that it was. This indicates a strong partial response to the lomustine. We rechecked a CBC today and Cloud’s blood cell counts were within the normal ranges so I have phoned in a refill of the lomustine to BCP Vet Pharmacy. Please phone the BCP to arrange billing and pick-up of this medication and administer the lomustine either tomorrow (8/8/13) or Friday (8/9/13). Cloud will need to have a CBC rechecked 7-10 days after he receives the lomustine to ensure that his white blood cell count does not drop too low.

I am concerned that Cloud may have an ear infection in his left ear today as there was some dried blood at the entrance of his ear canal. He did not tolerate cytology of the ear but we did repeat the antibiotic injection since both the lomustine and prednisolone are likely suppressing his immune system.

As previous, please keep a close eye on Cloud over the next couple of weeks for any potential chemotherapy side effects and contact NHVS if he develops lethargy, a poor appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, enlarged lymph nodes or any other abnormalities.

So to sum it all up, besides his ear infection, Cloud is doing really well. I have high hopes in the out come in his treatment. 

An Email Update from Cloud's Oncologist

I wanted to share an email discussion between Cloud's vet and I to allow people to know what was going on :-)

Good morning Dr. Wilson,

I hope you are enjoying your week. I wanted to give you an update on Cloud as well as ask you a few questions. He seems to be doing a lot better already. His appetite is back up, he is jumping on furniture that he should not be again, and he is even playing  with his toys a little bit. We weighed him last night and according to our scale he has lost half a pound. That kind of worried me. I know in humans chemo can make people lose weight but I was just shocked at half a pound so quickly. But like I said, his appetite is pretty much back to normal...always hungry, so I am hoping the weight loss does not continue.
Last night I was feeling around his neck and head to kind of get a a feel for the tumor that was there so I could keep an eye on size. I don't know if this is weird or not, but it is almost, if not completely gone. Neither my husband or I could feel it. I don't know if it was swollen due to infection and now it is at a normal size under the skin that is hard to detect or exactly what is going on so I just wanted to let you know. I will continue to feel for it and keep and eye on it. 

Thank you
Jessica Covarrubias

Good morning Jessica,

 

Sorry for the late reply – I don’t have work e-mail on my home computer. I am so happy to hear that Cloud is feeling better. I suspect that the lomustine worked very quickly in Cloud and this is why you’re not feeling the enlarged lymph node anymore. This could also explain the weight loss – Cloud had a large mass in his abdomen (probably in his liver) and two enlarged lymph nodes so it’s possible that they’ve decreased in size significantly and as a result Cloud has lost weight (cancer weight). Please continue to keep an eye on his weight and if the weight loss continues over the next couple of weeks, let me know. Remind me to start him on vitamin B12 injections at his recheck examination or you can discuss this with Dr. Zahn. The injections are given under the skin once a week for 4 weeks and then once a month after that. They are easy to administer (similar to insulin injections) and inexpensive (we can teach you how to give them). Many cats with lymphoma have a decreased ability to absorb certain vitamins and nutrients and supplementing vitamin B12 often helps to improve appetite and decrease weight loss.

 

I’m cautiously optimistic by Cloud’s response to the lomustine at this point!

 

Nicola Wilson

North Houston Veterinary Specialists

So there you guys have it! We are very excited by this news. We hope that everything continues on at this rate and treatment continues to go well!

Igg.me/at/cloud-covarrubias

~Jessica and Cloud

The Start of Chemotherapy

Sunday, July 14th my husband, Wade felt a large mass on the side of Cloud's neck. It was about the size of a ping-pong ball so that is what urged us to take Cloud to see the vet the next morning. On the way there I was playing out in my head all the things that it could be. My main suspicion was an abscess. The thought of cancer never even crossed my mind. Especially since the mass had grown so big in what seemed like a short amount of time.
When our vet, Dr. Zahn examined him he gave us terrible news. It was a tumor and he suspected that there was another tumor in his stomach as well. Devastated, I could not even stay in the room to hear the rest of the information that was given to us.
Our vet set us up with an Oncologist, Nicola Wilson DVM on Wednesday July 17th.  I was initially extremely nervous about using this specialist. She had just graduated in 2012 and has only been at this animal hospital since July 1st. But I trusted my vet and decided to go with her.
Dr. Wilson examined Cloud and informed us that Cloud did indeed have a tumor on his neck, but he also had one further down his neck as well as one on his abdomen. She suspected Lymphoma and ran a blood test.
He was then diagnosed with large cell Lymphoma that day. Her advice was to start him on the chemotherapy pill, CeeNU, as well as a steroid, Prednisone to increase his appetite as well as put him in a better mood.
He will need to be rechecked every 3 weeks and a CBC will be given to insure that he is responding well to chemo and his white blood cell count does not drop drastically
So Thursday night we administered the CeeNU and Prednisone. I am assuming it has so do more with the steroid than the CeeNU but the very next day Cloud slowly started to return to his normal self. My husband laid him in bed with us and he slept there all night, when for the past 2 weeks he had insisted on sleeping under the bed or in the closet. Saturday he began jumping on the furniture again and his appetite has gone back to normal as this point, which is fairly large. He loves you look at you and give you that "Puss in Boots look" and sucker you into giving him extra treats. I even got him to play with his toy a little bit last night. It was a really great thing to see. I couldn't stand the though of his remaining time on earth being full of sadness and lethargy. I am hopeful that as we continue with treatment, he will become the super lovable, playful, cuddly baby I once knew. As for now we will just have to wait and see.  Please keep him in your thoughts.

igg.me/at/cloud-covarrubias

~Cloud's mommy,
Jessica

Cloud and his baby sister Roomba. Early 2009. Before glaucoma, uveitis, and cancer. 

Introducing...

Welcome,
If you are visiting this blog, there is a possibility that you know me! I am the mommy of a super amazing cat named Cloud. He is the strongest, sweetest, toughest cat I have ever laid eyes on. And he is in need of some help. So I want to start off by sharing part of his story.

Cloud is an 8 year old Maine Coon mix who is a huge ball of fluffy love!
Cloud's medical issues first started off in 2011 when he was diagnosed with glaucoma and secondary uvetis. He was also found to have polyps in both ears. We started out by removing a majority of the polyps and providing him with a laser eye surgery that would hopefully get the glaucoma and uveitis under control. In February of 2012 the glaucoma and uveitis were no longer manageable and the next option was to remove his left eye. Since then he has had no issues with his remaining eye.
But the poor baby can't seem to catch a break. He has now just been recently diagnosed with lymphoma cancer. Cloud's previous medical issues have already caused some financial stress so now we are looking for help to save our cat's life. He truley means everything to me and neither I or Cloud are ready to let go just yet.
So now I am here. I know to a lot of people, animals might be just that, animals. But to me, Cloud is a companion and some one that I love dearly. I want to share my journey, in hopes of connecting with others who may have gone through this situation or are going through the situation right now.

igg.me/at/cloud-covarrubias

~Cloud's loving mommy,
Jessica