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| Sex / Breed: |
male, mixed breed |
| Type Of Cancer: |
GI - Small cell |
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| Other Health Problems: |
Hyper-T |
Rumble's Story
by Janet
Rumbles was diagnosed in July, 2004 by endoscopy. He was 10 years old at the time. He probably actually had the cancer for at least 6 months prior to diagnosis. He had his 11th birthday in March, which I didn't ever think we would see. His chemo started immediately after diagnosis with Elspar and he has been (and still is) getting Leukeran every other day, Vincristine every 3 weeks and Cytoxan every 4 weeks, in addition to steroids. The Pred wasn't working well for him so he gets Depomedral shots every 4 days and Dex Sodium Phos shots every other day. He had a feeding tube inserted at the time of diagnosis, which has provided him enough nourishment to keep him fighting the cancer. He was down to 4.9 lbs when diagnosed and is now over about 6.6 lbs. The feeding tube is almost a year old now and I am concerned that it will have need replacement soon. He could not live without it.
He is not in remission but is holding his own, although he is often nauseated and vomits frequently despite the Reglan and Pepcid AC he gets daily. Some days he feels pretty lousy but those days are usually right before his chemo treatment and depomedral injections. The chemo and depomedral really seem to help him feel better. He is always perkier, purrs and cuddles more and is less nauseated. Those are the good days.
In September last year he broke his right rear leg. After looking at the x-ray, the vet said that the bone is deteriorated because of the cancer and it cannot be repaired. I don't know if it is actually bone cancer or a by-product of the lymphoma. So poor little Rumbles limps along with his broken leg and wobbles a little, but he still gets around. I made a "staircase" to my bed for him.
Through it all, although he has some bad days, he also has some good days and we continue to have warm, loving moments and sometimes days together.
After several final hard weeks, Rumbles lost his battle with lymphoma on June 30, 2005. We kept giving him different meds and chemos and hoping that he would perk up again as he has always done in the past, but nothing worked. The day we decided that the end was upon us, he seemed slightly more alert and looked at me with his eyes brighter than they had been for days. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do, but I finally told my favorite vet tech, who has taken care of Rumbles for a year and loves him very much, that I guessed I was ready. We went into an exam room and he went to sleep for the last time in my arms with me petting him and telling him I loved him.
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