We’re only a couple of months into this, so we know it’s still early in the game, but so far blind Sophie is doing exceptionally well fighting her cancer. We have been amazed watching her bounce back from the major surgery she had in late January at Peak to deal with the anal gland adenocarcinoma. The operation involved opening up her abdomen to remove a pelvic lymph node, where the cancer had initially spread, and then a second incision at her rear end to remove the source tumor at the anal gland — and this also required cutting into her colon. It was a really invasive surgery.
The initial two-week post-op phase was the most difficult, because she had frequent diarrhea overnight and would be covered in dried poo by morning when we got up. Sophie’s doctors had told us we couldn’t use water or soap to bathe her because of the risk of the contaminated fluid leaking through her sutures into the incision sites, so every morning it was a 30- to 45-minute task trying to clean her up with barely-damp washcloths and baby wipes. But once we got past that stage, her bowels returned to normal and life here became much easier!
Once Sophie was fully recovered from the surgery, our veterinary oncologist, Dr. Kendra Knapik, started her on chemotherapy using a drug called Palladia. It’s in pill form and we give it to her at home three days a week. She has a full roster of supportive medications to help her gastrointestinal system cope with the chemo drug, including Pepcid, Zofran, and Mirtazapine (an appetite stimulant).
At the same time, Sophie gets several eye meds twice daily: Furbiprofen, Dorzolamide/Timolol, Latanoprost, and Terramycin. The kicker with the eye meds? You have to wait 5 minutes between each one. Sophie also recently developed a urinary tract infection, so she is now on a long-term course of Baytril. And, let’s not forget, she’s diabetic, so she also gets insulin twice a day!
Since Sophie is Alayne’s minion, guess who gets to administer all these medications every day?
Despite all this, Sophie is back to her old self. She dances around Alayne’s feet, jumps up on her, twirls around, and barks at her. If you watched Sophie these days, you’d have no idea she is battling a life-threatening cancer. She is as happy as we’ve ever seen her.
I took her back to Peak two weeks ago for another re-check with the oncologist, and the ultrasound showed no further sign of the cancer spreading beyond its initial locations. That was really great news and means, for now, the Palladia is working.
Based on the veterinary literature about this disease, we know this cancer will ultimately prevail, but if we can buy her an extra six months or — just maybe? — a year with a great quality of life, the fight will be worth it.
For now, please keep your fingers crossed for Sophie.
So glad to hear how well Sophie is doing. It sounds like she went through quite a bit, but so far she is still a happy girl. Hopefully the weather will get nice soon (it has to, right?) and she will be able to go outside and breathe in the spring air. I do have to ask. Sophie seems to have the Princess and the Pea thing going on there! Why is she on a stack of blankets? It looks rather high and I can’t imagine she can get up there on her own. Everyone is sending you all good wishes, Sophie.
Barb, yes, she climbs up there all on her own! And when she’s not that pile of bedding, old blind Hank manages to find his way up there, too!
You guys are just amazing! Those animals must be in love with both of you. Thank you for all of your tireless work.
I’m so glad that Sophie is enjoying life in spite of her medical issues. Praying for her comfort and healing. <3
Hooray for Sofie. And kudos to the best parents any critter could have. Bless you all.
Big prayers for Sophie! God bless you for all you do! And I’m not one bit surprised she’s on top of all of those blankets. That’s a doxie for you, blind or not!
Good job, Sophie! Glad she is doing so well. Sounds like giving her medication is a full time job! Love the photo. Both of my dogs would be on top of that pile of blankets in a millisecond. For a small dog, there’s just something about getting up high on a personal perch. If it’s soft and cushy, so much the better.