So, overall, Teddy handled his first chemo pretty well. He did get sick one night, five days after the infusion, but we gave him some additional anti-nausea medication, and he got through it. I think it scared him, and he became really clingy, which may be difficult for the casual observer to detect, as he follows me constantly even when he feels his best. "Clingy" just means that he wanted me to offer constant comfort and to accompany him out in the backyard when he needed to heave a little and to nibble some grass. And that's okay, because that's exactly what I wanted to do andyway, so I could see just how sick he was and to make sure he didn't nibble too much grass. So what if it was 1:30 in the morning? And 3:00 in the morning...and 6:00 in the morning...He is feeling better now.

Teddy had  a blood test at OSU on Tuesday, and that was fine, but his oncologist didn't like the look of a cyst on his back. We were aware of the cyst and had it previously tested, and at that time it turned out to be a not-uncommon, not dangerous sebaceous cyst. But now we have cancer, and the nature of the cyst may have changed. It looks a little different, a little more raised, a little angrier. They took a scraping at OSU and sent it to pathology, and now it has some "atypical cells." They are going to do a bigger biopsy in two weeks when Teddy goes back for his next infusion. I offered to bring him in sooner, like immediately, but they didn't think it would make a difference. The scary thing is that the myxosarcoma that he had in his spleen is usually found on or just under the skin...like a cyst. So now, there's two weeks of waiting. Or two weeks of denial. I'm thinking about going with denial. In the meantime, I have his "carry out" chemo to give him on Friday and Saturday at home.

And now the survival story...after Teddy's operation, we kept him downstairs until his staples came out because we didn't want him to go up and down stairs very much and we especially didn't want him to jump up on or down from the bed. He also needed to go outside much more frequently because all the fluids during surgery affected his kidneys for a while, and he had to be on a leash to go out even though the yard is fenced because he could not run or roll or jump. So, it seemed easier to stay downstairs with him and sleep on the couch in the family room. I did that for almost three weeks. It may sound like a hardship, but I actually enjoyed our little slumber parties and our peaceful sojourns out into the moonlit snow-covered back yard at all hours of the night. When it was time to move back upstairs, I disassembled the bedding on the couch and washed it (which I did along the way, too, but the final time had a special urgency to it. Just sayin'......) So, the sheets and blanket went into the washing machine, along with my ipod, one of my favorite possessions, and one that I use daily, for dogwalking, artmaking, and lying awake while the rest of the world slumbers. And of course, Art had to be the one to discover it in the washing machine. Full cycle, wash, rinse, spun dry. For a few days, it didn't look good, but I kept it in a box of rice, and every day it got better. Once we dislodged a grain of rice that had stuck in the charging port, my ipod is fully functioning with no water visible under the screen. I fear that the insides are corroding, but right now it works fine. So that's one little victory. Yay.

Teddy's first chemotherapy treatment went well yesterday. He was at OSU for about four hours for an infusion. He was very brave, and his chemo nurse and yesterday's oncologist were really nice. And they loved Teddy, declaring him a very sweet boy. He gets three different drugs to fight any uncomfortable effects of the chemo, and so far, so good. His appetite is great and we had a nice walk this evening. They did say that if he is going to feel sick, it would probably be three or four days after the infusion, so we'll see. Right now, every good day matters. And there's nothing like a good snooze in the sun to make a good day great:

Teddy had his oncology consultation on Tuesday, and we learned two things. The first relates to his cancer, and that is that myxosarcoma probably is better than hemangiosarcoma, but it is still likely to spread, so he will start cheomotherapy next Tuesday. Teddy's oncologist, Dr. Vicario, related that there is only one study of this kind of cancer occurring in the spleen of dogs, and it included only 6 dogs, none of which were given chemotherapy. Teddy's case differs from the dogs' in the study because he will be given cheomotherapy, and his mitotic index (go ahead and Google it; my time is precious...) was considerably lower than that of the dogs in the study. So, we still have hope... but you can never trust cancer.

The second thing we learned is that golden retrievers are irresistible. I kind of already knew that, but Dr. Vicario confirmed it when he asked why anyone who knows how prone the breed is to cancer would have one...and answered his own question by stating the he, a veterinary oncologist, owns a golden retriever. They are beautiful, loving, gentle thieves of the heart. We also learned that Teddy's surgeon at Ohio State, Dr. Bertrand, had a golden retriever that had to be put to sleep just after Teddy's operation for medical problems not related to cancer, and it was just a year and a half old. That broke our hearts and made us realize that we are lucky to have a dog who has lived long enough to have cancer.

With all of this attention on Teddy, we can't forget about our little Maggie. She was diagnosed with Cushing's disease (again, go Google....) just about a month ago, and she has been undergoing lots of testing and monitoring to confirm the diagnosis and regulate her medication. So, she has her issues, too! We're doing all we can for both of them, and they both seem happy and comfortable.

We took Teddy to visit the OSU vet hospital last Thursday because he was having an issue with his incision. It turned out to be a type of staph infection, which should be cleared up with some antibiotics. They also removed all but 4 of his staples, leaving them in where the infected area is. He was also outfitted with a nifty little stretchy net "shirt" which securely holds gauze pads in place over the seeping infection. Not only does it look adorable (my opinion), it works much better than the cast-off t-shirts of Art's that we were using, as they caught the seepage, but they also probably distributed oozing staph all over the house. So, good call on the stretch fabric! His new duds also show off his new svelte post-mass shape.

We also learned what kind of cancer caused that giant mass. It was not hemangiosarcoma, which was predicted to be the problem because it is so commonly found on the spleen, in dogs of a certain age, and in Golden Retrievers. It turned out to be myxosarcoma, which is apparently very unusual to find on the spleen. We won't know how this diagnosis applies to Teddy's case until we meet with the oncology department on Tuesday, but you just know I had to look it up online. From what I can gather, it seems like this puts Teddy in a better position than having hemangiosarcoma. Now it's more like, "we got it out, and we'll consider some follow up treatment," as opposed to "get your affairs in order and enjoy the next 90 days." So, we are cautiously optimistic, and we are looking forward to learning more on Tuesday. One thing is for certain:  You can never trust cancer.

I suppose our goal remains the same: to make each day really special, and to make him feel loved all the time. That's always our goal, with or without cancer!

We feel fortunate that it doesn't seem as devastating as it could be. Unfortunately, we know of someone who recently received the other kind of news about his cancer. It is hard to celebrate our cancer "victory" (I'm not sure that is the correct term) while he struggles on. He is a child from our church community, and he has been fighting his battle for years (and he's only 6 or 7 years old.) Despite the non-stop efforts of he and his family, his news was of the devastating variety, and it is heartbreaking. 

I know that Teddy would change places with him if such a thing were possible.