Tanner Tuesday

Tanner is less than thrilled to be trying on Halloween costumes this year.  We only put out a couple of decorations because of two crazy pants young cats :)  But that didn't stop us from pulling out the costumes!

 

The real reason many of you are here, is to see how Tanner is doing with his cancer treatments.  Yesterday, Tanner spent the day at the vet school getting blood work, a urinalysis, and his chemo - Vincristine.  Then we got some good news...Instead of weekly treatments, his protocol has switched to every other week! It seems as you progress through treatment, things begin to taper...

 

So this will be his schedule for the next round in the treatment cycle...

10/27 - Vincristine given at vet school

11/3 - Rest week

11/10 - Cyclophosphamide given at home, quick blood draw at regular vet

11/17 - Rest week

11/24 - Doxorubicin given at the vet school

12/1 - Rest Week

12/8 - Next round begins, Abdominal Ultrasound repeated to see how we are doing

 

During this time, his Prednisolone dose has also been decreased again.  We are now giving 1/2 tablet every other day.

 

Less pills and less travel will make for a happy Tanner!  He tolerates things very well, but I know he will appreciate the change in frequency.  The rest weeks still count as part of the protocol.  His protocol is 27 weeks long.  We are currently on week 13, and if all goes well, week 27 will be February 2, 2015.

 

Thank you all for the continued purrs...they are working!

Tanner Tuesday

On this Tanner Tuesday, Tanner is enjoying a complete rest week!  He did not have to go for blood work yesterday.  He is spending his time playing hard, enjoying extra snacks, and hanging out with his brother. 

Happy TockTober Day

Tanner's tocks and the shaved belly...enjoying some outdoor time! 

Oliver isn't so sure about showing his full tocks, so this will have to work for him...

We didn't remember to celebrate last year, so these were Ollie's tocks back then...he's grown just a bit this year!

Tanner Tuesday

Tanner spent yesterday at the vet school.  He received his IV doxorubicin chemo alsog with some blood work and an exam.  Next week will be a complete rest week...no blood work needed, so Tanner will not need to travel again for two whole weeks!

He is a good passenger in the car.  He talks some and is quite curious about what is going on.  He sits in the back seat, in the middle, so I can aim the air vents at him.  He will let you know if he is too warm...he prefers to be a bit on the cool side when he rides!  On the way home, he will talk and talk when we first get in the car...like he is telling me all about his day.  Then he settles down until we turn into our neighborhood and he starts talking again. 

After a good snack, he will find a nice place to sleep for a while. 

 

When I spoke with the doctor yesterday, I asked about the chances of achieving a complete remission, since he is still just showing strong partial.  She said it is hard to say, that the next ultrasound could show more improvement, no change - stable, or worsening.  She said some cats never achieve full remission, and also that many don't make it to the point Tanner is now before their cancer becomes resistant to the drugs.  She said he is the poster child right now for his cancer type and chemo protocol because he is doing so well, and that while we haven't achieved complete remission, we have had improvements at both ultrasounds, which is positive. We don't want to jinx ourselves, but I hope he will continue to do well, and beat this thing!

 

She is also going to research other cases like Tanner to see what the plan would be, if we made it to the end of the 27 week protocol, but still had not achieved complete remission, but he was still stable and doing well.  What options do we have then?

 

I am simply enjoying the time I have with my boy and hope he will be around for a long time yet to come!  We will continue to fight as long as he is doing well.  Thanks everyone for continued purrs and prayers!

Wordy Wednesday

As the wooden art piece on the shelf says, "Life is Good" for Tanner at the moment.  Monday was chemo day for him.  We went for a quick blood draw at our regular vet's office and then back home.  It was a very quick outing for Tanner and he was thankful.  The vet faxed the results of the bloodwork to the vet school, and they called and said we could give the chemo.  Tanner takes 75mg of cytoxan.  The last time we did this at home, they sent us a 25mg tablet and a 50 mg tablet.  The 50mg tablet was HUGE!!  I asked for 3 of the 25's this time and that is what we were given.  They are still a bit big, but manageable. 

 

I got the ice cream from the freezer...Auntie had picked up fudge ripple this time :)  I scooped a small spoonful (all vanilla) and called Tanner over.  He took his first pill, and licked the ice cream.  We repeated this three more times until he was done.  Then he was given another small scoop of ice cream on his plate.  He was a happy camper and did not mind his pills!

 

He is doing very well with all of this, and the only time he is worried, is in the morning when I come downstairs to go to work.  He always thinks I'm going to grab him!  I try to reassure him that he is done for the week, but he still avoids me.  Because of this, I've changed up when I give him his morning heart meds.  I have them upstairs and we get them as soon as I get up.  Then we have some playtime before Auntie is dressed and heads downstairs, playtime is over then because she is going to give breakfast!

 

Thank you all for following along with my boy on his cancer journey.  If you have any questions about anything, please don't hesitate to ask.

Tanner Tuesday - Interrupted

We interrupt this Tanner Tuesday post to bring to you the celebration of Oliver's Gotcha Day!  One year ago, this baby came to live with me.  He was a tiny fella, about 3 weeks old.  You can read a good bit about how we "got" him on his introduction post.

 

Ollie immediately tried to show Tanner who was going to be the boss...

Tanner loved his new baby.  They have been and still remain the best of friends... 

Oliver loved Smokey from the beginning too, but it took Smokey a while to warm up to the new pesky baby in the house! 

Oliver got a new cousin in November...Cousin Georgie was brought in to give Oliver a playmate his own age.  They became fast friends! 

It's been a year of new experiences and wild times, but Oliver has shown that he belongs in our family.  I am thankful everyday for the facebook post that mentioned the poor little kitten at the shelter and the decision to adopt him!  Here's to many more years with you Oliver Hughes!

 

 

 

One Month

One month since

 

- I held you and snuggled

- I shared my pillow with you at night

 - You were waiting on the bathroom counter when I finished my shower

- I watched you struggle to move around due to weakness and the "big arm"

 - I had to give you fluids

- You gave me head butts and talked to me 

- I worried about whether you were eating enough and saw you refusing all food

- I rubbed your soft paws 

- I worried whether you were in pain 

- I petted your belly..you loved having your belly rubbed!

- I heard you purr

- I saw your face light up when I came home

- You did your "cute" pose

- I told you I was sorry that I couldn't fix you this time

- You woke me in the night by touching my face with your paw

- You purred in my ear as we snuggled and I "fussed" at you...it was a fun game for you

- You drank from my cereal bowl at breakfast

- I told you that you were my boy and to never forget