Oliver says, “Tini, are you done yet? Can I have some?”
Martini has now officially been a cancer patient for three and a half weeks. She has been subjected to two chemo treatments, and one to two sessions per day of up to three additional drugs, plus subcutaneous fluids for dehydration every other day. When we first discussed this treatment, Jon and I were willing to give it a try to see if it helped to give Tini some time, and a better quality of life. I was skeptical…
Tini has tolerated the treatments well, not getting sick, and she doesn’t spend any time being mad at me for the drug regimen. The only time she gets bent out of shape is that night every other week when she has to swallow three and a half pills, one after another – chemo night. Although she is a moody, bitchy, kitty, she doesn’t hold a grudge for long.
Since she hasn’t been vomiting, the vet decided to cut her anti-nausea med and the GI coating med down to once a day, except for the days immediately before, during and after the chemo treatments. We cut her back to once per day starting last Thursday and have gone fine – no vomiting!
Yesterday was her first check-up since starting chemo. An exam and a CBC (complete blood count) to see how she’s doing. She has been feeling heavier, and eating like a horse (the prednisolone stimulates appetite), but until yesterday I didn’t know how much weight she had gained. The result – two and a half pounds of weight gain! At her lowest point, she was 5.8 pounds and now she is up over 8 pounds! I’m so happy to see her plumper, more hydrated body!
The CBC results came back with nearly flying colors too! Her red blood cell count is a smidge low, but her other blood levels are good. She is tolerating the chemo so far! The vet wants to continue the treatment protocol for six months – assuming she continues to do well.
And for cats with her type of lymphoma that respond well to this type of chemo protocol, mean survival times are between 367 and 800 days. I hate having to think about her in terms of statistics, but I could get another couple of years with my little girl! And that is what this is all about. Because she isn’t “just a cat” to me…
Wine and History Visited 
We wish Tini the best. We lost a cat to cancer several years ago. We wish there would have been a treatment we ciuld have tried.
Thank you – that means a lot. She means the world to me, so we have to give it a shot. I’m so glad that it is going so well so far.