Only 2 Chemos Left !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is almost impossible to believe we are at this point - 17 chemos done, as of yesterday. In December, about all I could imagine was this monstrous cancer killing my precious Dudley. For now, he has beaten the beast back. He has been in remission since mid January, thank God (and thank you Dr Richardson, Dudley donors and those who have supported us in any way).

He has only had only two problems: 2 days of fatigue after dose number two of his Cyclophosphamide and was sick to his stomach after that same drug following dose three (he gets them sbout 6 weeks apart)despite me giving him his Zantac before and after. Yesterday, he got his last dose (dose 4) of it and I asked his vet about giving him Ondansetron (Zofran). It is a human drug, outrageously expensive and as luck had it, my last bout of severe gastritis resulted in me getting it in Emerg and being given a prescription for 9 more, fortunately covered by my drug insurance. It is $10 or $20 a pill. It seems to work for very specific types of nausea - it is frequently given to humans with chemo. His white count was down a few times (he had no symptoms of anything being wrong) and he couldn't get his chemo but now, we know at which point it is happening so we scheduled a week off when this was expected to happen rather than me paying for gas and bloodwork (about $90) then he can't get his Chemo. That means it is taking longer for him to finish but he isn't having to come in to get poked for blood and not get his treatment either. So far so good.

Dr Richardson looked up the dose and Dudley got it right after he had his blood taken. Dudley was fine. He also got one medium walk and three small ones plus a visit to a garden centre (where he hit on a few women) - so he made out pretty good, I would say!

I have a really bsuy day ahead of me and Dudley will be house sitting. I am so grateful to have a dog who is able to be left alone for 10 or 12 hours. I have no worries I am going to come home and find things damaged or puddles or poop anywhere. I think he goes in and sleeps on my bed. He isn't wild about it but with the outrageous price of gas, I have no choice but to cram as much into those trips as possible. I often come home so exhausted and in so much pain I can barely get up the 3 steps to the house, let Dudley out then go lay down. Sometimes I have to go look for him. A few times he has been so sound asleep that I have startled him when I have gone in and found him on my bed, sound asleep.

I hope to take him to Rissers Beach one day between Friday and Monday, since I have four totally free days. Whichever is the best weather day, we are going. I am still struggling with the outdoor work and want to finish getting my garden in. The four largest gardens are full of 4 to 6 inch weeds. Since hurting my wrist in the winter, I can only do so much, in addition to the other stuff that restricts how much I can do. I am still going to physio for it and it seems my progress has plateaued, which is frustrating. That is one reason I haven't kept up with the blog or calling and writing people. Between going to the city for myself or Dudley, trying to get stuff done in the house then with the yard added on, I push it until I am falling off my feet. Anything I have to sit down and focus on to do, it is a real problem for me. Every day I have completely exhausted myself and a few times my body has made me pay for it. I hada scary episode mowing two days ago when I was too tired to do it - chest discomfort, difficulty breathing, lightheadedness, weakness. It was hours before I felt any better.

Dudley has been doing so well - you would never guess anything was wrong with him. He has been able to walk and play every day and anywhere I can take him with me, he goes. June 24 will be his last chemo and I am thinking of throwing him a party. There is a little park down behind the vets with park bencehs and a gazebo so I will see if I can get Dudley a 4 p.m. chemo appointment and have a little party at 5:30ish. Then people who work at the vet could wander down if they wanted. If anyone wants to come, let me know.

Sorry there isn't a picture but I got a bit of sand in my camera again and I can't afford $65 to clean it. If anyone knows someone who doesn't want an arm and a leg to do this, let me know. If I can't turn up someone soon I will have to attempt to take it apart myself, which I would rather not do!

Love
Joyce and Dudley

Ladies of Wolfville and Kentville Curves

This week, Dudley and I had the pleasure of meeting Melanie, Manager of Wolfville Curves (a womens fitness club). In one month, they had Dudley as a fundraising project and raised an incredible $215! WOW!!! It sounds like they do a fundraising initiative every month and were currently trying to collect several hundred pounds of food for the food bank. You go girls! Great to see small businesses take the initiative to help out in their community.

Dudley was intrigued by the people working out and wanted to do the workout along with them! Dudley is always up for anything that looks fun or involves schmoozing with people (as Dudley and I are demonstrating in the photo).

Thank you so much, Curves Ladies! We really appreciate it so much!
Love,
Joyce and Dudley

April 2 - Chemo #9

We are more than half through - yay!!!!!! I hurt my back and ended up in Emerg yesterday so it was pretty hard getting Dudley down for his treatment today but there was no choice as the vet was going to be away the next week and a half. So, Dudley gets next week off. This coincides with the timing in his last cycle of treatments where his white count bottomed out so I am hoping with an extra week to recover that when we come in again on the 16th that it will be OK.

Our vet gave me and Dudley something special which we greatly appreciated! Dudley is still going in quite willingly for his treatments. I ply him with salmon as he is getting his blood drawn and again when he gets his chemo injection (which takes about a minute). I feed it to him right when those two things are done so he has a distraction and he doesn't accidentally move his leg until Dr Richardson is done, which is very important as the chemo could burn his tissues, just like with a human. Then he is off outside for a much deserved walk. Unfortunately because of my back it was a slow short one but Dudley is very appreciative of whatever anyone gives him - just wish it was more. he is always rarin to go for a big walk. His vet was saying Dudley is a textbook case for how Chemo should go. He has just sailed right along. It is almost impossible to believe - like he is doing too well.

It is supposed to be really nice Sunday - would be great if we could get in a South Shore trip but we'll see what the back is doing

Finally, I got a picture up of Dudley with his doggie necklace made by his friend, Brandy. It looks so cute over some of his bandanas (like this pirate treasure map one that I made him). He wasn't in a mood for co-operating for having his pic taken for some reason. He is usually so good about it. Oh well...

Love
Joye and Dudley

March 29 - Relay for Life 1

I was able to arrange for Dudley to participate in the Relay for Life (for cancer survivors) at Acadia University. It was held indoors so I wasn't sure I could sell them on it. But I told them Dudley's story and pointed out he really is a cancer survivor and it would be a novel thing for him to come. The green thing on my arm is my fancy smancy fiberglass cast. Week 4 of that as a result of dislocating a bone in my wrist. Good riddance day is April 15.

Lots of survivors. A few hundred participants - teams who have at least one member continually doing laps around the track for 12 hours. There was a nice ceremony for everyone and the survivors take the first lap upstairs around the track. It is so moving when the survivors go through the cheering crowd, up the steps and around the track. We can look down and wave and see people cheering and waving at us. If that doesn't make you feel special for a few minutes, I don't know what will. Had to take Dudley outside a few times as he doesn't tolerate heat well and it was fairly warm. We saw lots of people - many were absolutely shocked that he had cancer and was getting chemo. Several seemed very moved by his story. One girl who was about 10 was talking to us and Dudley insisted on "throwing himself at her" i.e. leaned over on her shoulder so she had to pick him up and cuddle him. She said she had lost her father to cancer when she was only 1. Unbelievable!

We had a great evening and I hope we can participate in the one in Kentville in mid June, which is outdoors.

I can only post one photo per blog entry so there will be 4 so I can put in all the pics.

Love
Joyce and Dudley

March 29 - Relay for Life 2

I am one HAPPY DOGGIE! Lots of people all following the instructions on the sign Joyce made me (Hug Me, I'm a cancer survivor)

Love,
Dudley

March 29 - Relay for Life 3

Our wonderful friend Barbie came with us. We all had a great time. It was very moving. About 40 cancer survivors. The survivors were all given a nice little prezzie, part of which was a framed picture of all the survivor participants

Love
Joyce and Super Dog Dudley

March 29 - Relay for Life - 4

Ah, my people! I LOVE kids! I got to socialize a lot. Hope I get to come next year. Thanks to the nice Relay for Life People for letting me participate! I was the only DOG survivor.

Love,
Miracle Dog Dudley

March 19 - Chemo #8

Well, Dudley is officially half way through! Now I feel like we are getting somewhere! He nodes are still down and he is his usual Dudley self. I took him for a walk behind the Vet's and found Mayflowers! I have never found mayflowers this early. It took a week and a half but I coaxed them to open up. They are in a little magnetic vase on my fridge and I see them every time I open the fridge.

Dudley will get a week off, then have Chemo #9, then another week off as the Vet is away and it also coincides with the point in his last cycle of 4 treatments that his white count really dropped so I am hoping the extra week will mean Chemo #10 will go as planned.

Love
Joyce and Dudley

Port Williams Elementary School

I had a bug surprise when a teacher from Port Williams Elementary called a few weeks ago to say a student in his class brought in Dudley’s article and the class set out on a fundraising effort for Dudley! They raised nearly $140! WOW!!!!!!!!!!

So, instead of just having the cheque mailed, I thought it was important for the kids to have a chance to meet Dudley. I thought it would make it more real for them and they could see for themselves that the person who received the money appreciated it plus Dudley could be his usual charming self with them. I knew he wouldn't disappoint them!

I brought some brownies for the kids. They were all so well behaved and so sweet. Everyone wanted Dudley's autograph which I thought was really cute! I used to have a pawprint stamper and I can't find it! I can't even find one to buy. Would have been perfect. He saw two other classes and we were there about an hour and a half. The kids and teachers really enjoyed him and he had his HUGE smile on the whole time. He was just in his glory with all those kids! I hope we can go back again soon to see them!

Thanks everyone, we really appreciate it!
Love,
Joyce and Dudley

March 25 Beach Trip

It was SUPPOSED to be nice today so I decided to take Dudley to Rissers. Not cheap to go because of the gas but I just really want to be able to take him, in case something happens later, because he enjoys it so much. As soon as we got on the beach we saw someone with a gigantic kite and because it was so windy, it was making a noise like what firecrackers do before they go off which just terrorized him. He was nearly impossible to walk down the beach because he kept pulling (he is strong enough to pull my bones out of place and pull me right off my feet). I had to stop every few steps and point out to him that he was pulling and to stop it. He'd walk a few steps then freak out again. I can only carry him briefly. Finally after a good half hour, he started settling down. It was too bad because I can't reason with him when he is like that. I wish I could because it can't be good for a small dog to get so stressed out. If something terrifies him, there seems to be no helping him with it.

It would have been nicer if it wasn't so windy. It wasn't supposed to be and it was windy just at Rissers! At least it was sunny! We mainly stayed on the back beach, which is sheltered and far away from Kite Guy. We went on the promenade walk a bit, which was nice. Met a few dog walkers. Sat down with a British family at a picnic table and had a nice rest stop with them. I meet so many people because of Dudley that I would likely not talk to much, otherwise. My little furry social butterfly!