I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Oreo, Heather!

:) Mary

Hope you get some info on the lump soon, Heather. Cuddles and kisses to Oreo, the little trooper. :)

Brenda

Hi everyone.... Oreo and I are off to see a specialist today. Keep all your fingers and paws crossed!!! We will be starting chemo very soon (I hope today).

Ima please tell Chicka... my inbox crashed and I lost all yer email addys!

{{gwi:171809}}

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Awwww!! Heather, he is so precious! (Like you didn't know that.) We'll be hoping for the best and sending positive thoughts your way.

Big-time cuddles to the little guy, too!

Brenda

Hi Heather and Oreo.

I was just going to ask you how things are doing and there you are! They don't call me Miss CleOH for nothing; isn't that right, Mr. _Fi? :-)

Best wishes to Oreo and Mom.

C3D

Mr. Ima is out of town for a few days.

Thanks everyone! So far the first dose he got is ok! No side effects yet. Dr and I were talking... IF he loses his hair, those baby onesies will fit him?!!

Who the heck is this "Mr. Fi" idiot?!?! :-)

Heather, don't fret too much... My dobbie Troy was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and we were told that the average life expectancy in that stage was around 6 months. We had to amputate one of his legs and started chemo treatments. He is managing amazingly GREAT as a 3-wheeler! That was back in April of 2002!!! 4+ years later he is going strong at the young age of 10 with no sign of cancer (knocking on my nuggin). It's really amazing what those great vets can do these days.

Best wishes.

I love happy endings! WTG, Troy!!!!

And if that little Oreo has HALF the gusto and "vim and voyve" (as sung by the Cowardly Lion) that all Bostons do, he'll be just fine. :D

Brenda

Ah, he does look like an Oreo too! Good luck to both of you!

And may Troy live a long and happy life, he certainly deserves it after going through all that.

How's it goin? Best wishes and >>>GOOD THOUGHTS

He's ADORABLE, Heather.

Make sure you get him fixed up GOOD, then bring him down here to visit with Tater Tot! :)

Best Wishes!
Jeff

Heather?

If you have a chance, please give us an update on Oreo. :-)

C3D

Thanks for the reminder C3D!!

Oreo is holding up well. He was losing a lot of hair, but it seems to be coming back in. We only have 3 more chemo treatments and we're done with that protocol. He's been in remission since Sept, which is good!! Currently he's got a skin thing going on, on his chest, like his harness rubbed him the wrong way? So we're treating with neosporin.

I don't know how long he will stay in remission and I don't know what the Dr will do when he's comes out. I may ask her for maintence chemo. Some dogs stay in remission longer this way, but some don't. We don't want him to build up a resistance to the drugs.

He's still receiving holistic treatment (acupuncture and meds) and I will probably continue that after the chemo stops. Only time will tell what happens to this little boy. He's still very happy and ball obsessed!!!

Check out his website below!

Heather and Oreo.

Here is a link that might be useful: Oreo's Web Site

Hi Oreo and Heather.

Good to hear that you are doing well. :-)

A hug for getting-fuzzier Oreo from us, please.

C3D

Thanks for the update, Heather. So far so good, hang in there...our thoughts are with you!

(((Hugs))) too, Sarah

Yay, Double Stuff (mmm, that makes me hungry)!!! He's such a fighter, and that holistic thing is great, too. I just love his sweet little face. *sigh*

Brenda

I hope Oreo is with you for a long time. Sandy

Happy birthday, Heather!!! I hope you get plenty of Oreo kisses today. :)

Brenda

Oreo? How are you doing?

Oreo is good. On Aug 30th he will reach 1 year in remission. His chemo dr is leaving the area. She's moving to Seattle. Doesn't have anything to keep her here (but what about us!) and wants to see Seattle for a while. She wrote a wonderful letter to his Holistic Dr about how to administer the chemotherapy should Oreo need it again, and also how exceptional he is. Apparently he's doing better then most and she attributes that to the combination of holistic meds and the chemo. I can't say thank you enough to everyone!! CD3 you've helped the most!! Oreo wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for all of you. We're not changing anything as it seems to be working so well. No chemo since Feb. and he's still getting acupuncture once a month. Whatever is working, works! I also think Dad is up there doing whatever he can to help keep my baby with me as long as possible. But whenever Oreo's time comes... dad will be waiting with open arms at the Rainbow Bridge.

--Heather and Oreo

What wonderful news Heather!

I have never doubted the power of 'non-traditional' medicine. For Pete's sake non-tradional medicine has been around far longer! And alone or combined with some newer discoveries and good old prayer, many amazing things can happen.

My best wishes to you and Oreo.

whoooohoooo!

That's great, Heather and Oreo! I'd agree with you. If your combination of therapies is working don't change it.

Our kitty, Teeb, had intestinal lymphoma and her prognosis was 9 month survival. We did the chemo plus the holistic nutritional supplementation and she did well for 22 months!

WoooooHooooo Oreo and his Mom for being so dedicated! :-)

Oh, that is such wonderful news, Heather! Oreo is such a beautiful puppy, inside and out. His time with you isn't done yet. :)

It sounds like he will have some wonderful cuddles waiting for him when it is time. I'd like to pass along some kisses for him now, though. :D

Brenda

Just an update if anyone is interested. Oreo came out of remission and we've started the same chemotherapy protocol that we used before. My chemo vet has left the area so my holistic vet wanted to take it over, she has all the notes from the forst protocol and the chemo vet is still available via email. Going this route will cost a lot less, but I've lost the experience of the chemo vet, sort of. At least Oreo gets his acupuncture and chemo in one visit. Saves gas too. He feels ok, just his lymph nodes were starting to get big. He had his first dose yesterday, everything went well. I love my holistic vet!! She's just a nice as our own C3D!

Heather I so hope this round works too. I can only imagine how hard this is on all of you. Oreo certainly picked the right family to adopt as you are right them with him through all of this. God bless you all.

I'm always interested in your little darling, and thanks so much for the update, Heather! I think of Oreo often, and we'll be keeping our most positive thoughts on him this season! He's such a little trooper, and I'm so thankful he has you looking out for him!!!!!

Brenda

Oh, good luck to Oreo! Good thoughts beaming towards you!!

Sarah

Hi all, just an update:

We may be at the end of our journey. We haven't been able to reach a 2nd remission. The last dose of CCNU sent Oreo over the edge. His platelet count and red bood cells are very very low. We've placed him on prednislone and baytril. After 5 days, the platelet count is up a little, but the RBC are down again. His lymph nodes have gone wild and are larger then ever. We decided one last try on a chemo drug we haven't tried. Today the nodes were down a lot. He's acting normal and eating! But it may be one last hurrah on his part. I've asked a couple animal communicators to talk to him and they've said the same thing. He's ready to go but he's worried about me. We have a close bond, and he won't go unless I'll be ok. I'm amazed they picked that up. This weekend he gets whatever he wants. Monday we visit the vet and then we decide what's best for Oreo.

Please send prayers for Oreo and help me to make the right choice for my baby. God has given us much more time then the doctors even thought.... I, of course, want a little more. But it's what will be best for Oreo that needs to be decided.

Thanks everyone
Heather

Oh, Heather, I'm SO sorry! You two have been in our prayers and thoughts quite often lately.

The heartbreak of letting a loved one go is the most retched pain of all, but whenever he goes, he'll finally be free from this terrible disease. You know your sweet dog better than anyone, and you know what needs to be done, in your heart, just as you know you've always done everything you can to help and comfort him.

If there's ANYthing we can do, please say the word. Bless you, sweetie. *HUG*

Brenda

Heather I'm soooo sorry too! Once you need the CCNU that's not a good thing. Please give Oreo a hug and a kiss from us.

Give yourself a hug from us too. You and Oreo went through some tough times together. Soon he'll be running into the arms of your Dad.

Take care.

Camp Nappy :*-(

Oreo is still here!!! The power of all those praying has paid off. While is blood work wasn't perfect, the lymphocytes are down almost in the low range (where there were off the scale so high) his neutrophils are up that's the good!! The Red Blood Cell and Platelet count are still very scary low, that's the bad. All the people in the vet hosp were so excited to see him in good spirts. Both vets were in to see him and said now is NOT the time!!! We have to give his bone marrow time to recover and start making platelets. Dr Linda gave us some other holistic pills to try. Oreo needs to gain a pound. But All is happy!!!

Thank you for your prayers!!!

OMG!!!! I am crying with the greatest joy for you both! (Literally!)

That is the bestest news ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HOW WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(((((((((((sincere cyber hugs!!!!!!!!!!!!!)))))))))))))

From the Camp Nappy inmates

Cd3, any clues on how to get his bone marrow to start creating RBC and platelets? He gets tired quickly because they are so low right now.

Thanks again for everything!

PS-Taz the diabetic kitty says Hi

I too am so happy Oreo is better and pray that he will get even more better real soon. I pray for you too because I know a little of what you are going through. Glenda

Hi Heather! Hi Oreo! Hi Taz! :-)

You probably know all this but you can try the following after asking your oncologist what might be the best for Oreo:

shark cartilage ... 5-20 g / day

Coenzyme Q10 ... 20-50 mg / day

Vit. C ... 500 mg / day

dimethylglycine ... 50-250 mg / day

proanthocyanidin complex ... 10-100 mg / day

Erythropoietin stimulates the bone marrow to produce more red blood cells. That is usually given as an injection.

An infusion of Oxyglobin will give dearest Oreo a boost until his RBC count comes up on its own.

I'll see what else I can find out. :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Oxyglobin Information

Fantastic Heather! Hugs to you both! AND continued prayers! Sarah

WOOHOO!!!! I'm going to pig out on Oreos today in honor of the darling little snack cookie in your house!!! Happy, happy, joy, joy!

That's the way to kick it in the behind, little man! *tears here, too!!!*

Brenda

Jesus H. Christ. What is up with all this crying around here after the OUTSTANDING news?!?! :-)

Next time we have another drought of the century here in N. GA, I'm going to buy you ladies a plane ticket to come down and refill our lakes! :-)

Continue to fight the good fight lil' pup.

well...... the roller coster his hit rock bottom and is heading thru the tunnel..

Oreo spent the night at the vet, breathing hard, possible bleeding in the lungs. They did a plasma transfusion, but nothing has changed. they are running more tests this morning, but it doesn't look good. at all.

Oh, man. We're sending prayers, Heather.

Brenda

Our journey is over....Oreo crossed the Bridge at 12:30m today, snuggled safely in my arms, getting kisses on his head. He's in my Dad's arms, whole and happy. We fought the good fight! 20 months! All at the vets said that's amazing. He was a fighter right until the end! He didn't want to leave but his little body couldn't do it anymore. My heart is broken, I've lost my baby. But he'll always be with me in spirit and I can't wait to see him again.

Thank you all...you've meant a lot to my during this journey.

Oh, Heather, I'm sooooo sorry. My dog has been gone for 2 weeks now and I'm sure he was there to welcome Oreo into Doggy Heaven. It is hard and the missing hurts so much it's indescribable. But now he doesn't have to suffer anymore and you don't have to wonder "am I doing the right thing". So take it easy for a while and reminiscue about the good times when you can. Glenda

:-(

Heather, please find solace in knowing that you did EVERYTHING in your power to make his life a great one.

Ooorrah to that brave lil' pup who fought the good fight for as long and as hard as he did.

Perhaps a soldier might have best put it:

"Do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for me, for we shall meet again."

:*(

Camp Nappy

What a trooper. I'm so sorry Heather...
Sarah

Thank you for introducing us to one of the most wonderful bundles of joy on the planet, Heather. Our deepest sympathies to you, hon. :(

Brenda & Chris

My sympathies Heather and Glenda. They were both smart to pick such wonderful owners who cared for them and loved them until the end - it doesn't get any better than that.

Heather, have been thinking about you and wondering how you are? Sometimes when we don't hear from someone for awhile we tend to forget about them. Not the case here, I think of you often and would like to hear from you occasionally. Hope things are going well for you. Glenda

Thanks Glenda, I'm ok. I think about Oreo everyday. I can't stand him not being around.... I hate it. Bella the new puppy takes my mind off of things. She helps, and sometimes I think she's channeling Oreo!! Some of the things she does are just like him.....but I have my Oreo moments, almost everday!
Thanks again for asking.