Monkee's Cancer Journey
Monkee developed a softball size tumor on her front right shoulder in a matter of three days. October 15, 2019 she went into the vet and October 19, I received the call that she had lymphoma. One week before her 5th birthday. We started chemo the very next week. She was able to be seen and treated by Dr. Freeman at Veterinary Cancer & Surgery Specialist in Milwaukie, OR. Such an amazing team of people!!
In January, after 3 months of positive response to chemo, Monkee started waking up in the middle of the night screaming in pain and limping. Her right front paw unable to bear any weight. We did x-rays, joint tap, and other diagnostic procedures, but couldn't determine the cause. Everything came back normal. The next step was to do an MRI, but that was $2,500 I did not have.
We made the decision to put her on prednisone to see if that provided any relief. She immediately responded! No pain, no limping, back to her happy self. After the last dosage, about a week and a half later, the limping and pain started coming back. At this point we don't know if its related to the lymphoma, which seems plausible since its the same location at the tumor, or if its a totally separate issue.
After consulting with all her doctors, at the end of February I made the decision to stop her chemo treatments. Since no one could definitively tell me that the chemo was working and the return of the limping and pain could be an indicator that the chemo was no longer working, it felt like the right call.
So now we are exploring ways to keep her pain free, happy and able to play. She is back on prednisone and she had her first acupuncture treatment. She is showing great improvement!
In January, after 3 months of positive response to chemo, Monkee started waking up in the middle of the night screaming in pain and limping. Her right front paw unable to bear any weight. We did x-rays, joint tap, and other diagnostic procedures, but couldn't determine the cause. Everything came back normal. The next step was to do an MRI, but that was $2,500 I did not have.
We made the decision to put her on prednisone to see if that provided any relief. She immediately responded! No pain, no limping, back to her happy self. After the last dosage, about a week and a half later, the limping and pain started coming back. At this point we don't know if its related to the lymphoma, which seems plausible since its the same location at the tumor, or if its a totally separate issue.
After consulting with all her doctors, at the end of February I made the decision to stop her chemo treatments. Since no one could definitively tell me that the chemo was working and the return of the limping and pain could be an indicator that the chemo was no longer working, it felt like the right call.
So now we are exploring ways to keep her pain free, happy and able to play. She is back on prednisone and she had her first acupuncture treatment. She is showing great improvement!