Anubis

Anubis passed away. He was really meaningful to me, and my heart is heavy with grief. As a young man, he gave me a reason to work hard and build a functional lifestyle. He was insistent on being loved to his last moments, and he was. I will miss him dearly

Length 125 width 85.2

We have hope of a recovery.. but it’s going to be a while. His head perked up a few times today, at one point he reached his head under my hand like he always does. He has refused solid foods. He accepts liquid foods, so we fed him liquid foods.

A small but hopeful day

Not a huge change. He still seems dizzy, unable to stand without toppling over. He did hold himself up for a bit.. but it seems like a bad case of vertigo. He has the presence of mind to urinate in the correct place.. he just can’t stand long enough to do it on his own.

l 124.5 w 92.8 It's hard to measure but there is some reasonable depth. more than with the asparagine (or whatever it's called) primary tumor has lost firmness day over day, continues to soften.

So, he's starting to perk up just a bit. Every few minutes he's popping up, attentive.. His legs are still flimsy but he wants to get up and move. I helped him off the couch and he stood up on his own for a bit, so that is good. He's still lethargic, but aware, wants to keep track of me, aware of me.

He’s .. not very responsive.. like he’s spinning..

Breathing rate 27x2

We are increasing prednisone to 20mg twice per day. The imbalance may be as a result of a tumor reaching his brain.

Medication adjustment underway.

101.8 temp

He is unsteady, imbalanced. I think it's something to do with inner ear. He's not vomiting, but I think he is in a constant state of vertigo. It's difficult for him to stand and remain standing, and when he is standing, he will begin to pant and seek to slide downwards. This has ben going on for a bit but we sort of passed it off as hip or leg pain, looking back I think it is a sense of dizziness...

w 114 l 140

What I notice is the length of the tumor has reduced. Just a few hours after the meds went in, the tumor lost density and the “tendrils” that exasperated the length seemed to retreat, or at least become flimsy enough that I don’t register it as something to measure. The ridge along the “south” edge is shallower

157.2 length 105.9 width

Monitoring the tumor size.

Back at the oncologist after the break week. His blood counts were good, so he moved up to vinblastine. He weighed 89.7 lbs today.

160+44.3 length 121.7 width

Anubis's tumor is growing.

Anubis’ first full vacation day was good, relaxing, rained a bit. He still has high energy and finds joy in little things

L 160 w 122 d 28.5

Measurements taken.

Anubis picked up kennel cough this week. A dry, honking cough started around the 15th. It is unrelated to the lymphoma. We are keeping him rested, away from other dogs, and making sure the coughing does not wear him out.

He’s seemingly fine. The tumor has gotten more firm. I don’t think it’s grown all that much in a day but it’s certainly not shrinking. He has high energy, is eating well. Begged for pizza crusts per usual

Length 160 width 113.3 depth 28.5

Length 160 width 100.6 depth 28

I think it is beginning to grow back again..

A concerning development for Anubis' health.

3D scan of the tumor.

He’s perked up since a walk and a scoop of ice cream. Ate all his food

He spent much of today just sleeping. Not completely unusual but I would say that he is a bit lethargic. Medication caused? The tumor itself seems to be lower density than at its height.. still causing anxiety but I think the latest round had some reasonable impact. Holding judgment until week after next.. still trying to figure out what to do next week

He ate most of his food (all the good stuff) probably a proper amount. No reason for concern. Today he was somewhat restless and I’d say stiff, but mostly after a long car ride. Maybe it was tough on him.

3D scan of the tumor.

He’s kind of restless. Unable to settle

He pooped!

He's doing ok. The tumor has lost density since yesterday.

Glad to hear that Anubis is stable.

The CCNU did not do much, so today he got asparaginase, the top drug on his panel, with a benadryl pretreat. Back up to 86.5 lbs and the tail has not stopped. Next week is a break week so we can take a trip together, and a radiation consult is being arranged. We keep going.

3D scan of the tumor.

3D scan of the tumor.

Pivot day. Off the CHOP backbone and onto CCNU (lomustine), guided by the sensitivity panel. The tumor looks a little bigger today, which is hard to type. A new ointment for the wound after the culture found a stubborn bacteria. He got extra dinner. He knows nothing is wrong with extra dinner.

3D scan of the tumor.

The drug sensitivity panel is back and it explains a lot. His cancer is CD8+ peripheral T-cell lymphoma, stage IIIa, and it is largely resistant to the CHOP drugs we started with (vincristine scored 0.15 of 1.00). The best bets are asparaginase at 0.60, mitoxantrone at 0.59, and lomustine at 0.55. The plan is changing, and honestly, having a map feels better than guessing.

Round two: cyclophosphamide. Real news: the mass is a little smaller. The open wound over it has picked up an odor though, so a culture went off and his antibiotics changed. 81.1 lbs today, he has lost some weight this week.

Lab confirmation: it is T-cell lymphoma. The PARR test found a single monoclonal T-cell line, which is the serious kind. He remains completely unbothered and deeply invested in whether anyone is going to open the cheese drawer.

First chemo today: vincristine, the start of the CHOP protocol. He weighed in at 86.4 lbs and charmed the entire clinic. A sample also went off to the lab for drug sensitivity testing, so the treatment can be matched to his specific cancer.

Biopsy results: a round cell tumor, almost certainly lymphoma, and a fast growing one. Not the news we wanted. He marked the occasion by demanding dinner, which honestly feels like the right attitude.

The lump we hoped was a swollen lymph node got a proper biopsy today. It has grown fast over the last few weeks, about the size of a grapefruit now, with an ulcerated patch in the middle. Anubis is unbothered.

3D scan of the tumor.

3D scan of the tumor.