bye cancer !!!
At 21 years old I drove to Wichita Falls TX to meet San Antonio ranchers halfway to pick up my baby girl. Neither of us knew it at the time, but even at 10 weeks old she was my saving grace. Abusive relationship, mental illness, grieving losses-- she was what kept the scary cliffside far away enough to get her registered as my emotional support animal (ESA).
Now we live a happy life with our prince charming at home and grandparents down the street to spoil her even more! That was until this summer decided to be a bully. What follows is the timeline that social media followers are already familiar with:
August 7th: My girl had a growth on her neck that we immediately aspirated to send off for labs.
August 14th: The cells were malignant cancer.
August 27th: We attempted surgery only to find out it had wrapped itself around the carotid artery and jugular vein making it impossible to completely remove. Enough was taken to send off as a biopsy. We were told the cancer was "undifferentiated" which basically means MORE UNANSWERED QUESTIONS. She is NOT an old gal for her breed which is more reason to start treatment immediately. Our homegirl is healing up nicely other than a major amount of scar tissue and a belly that can only handle homemade meals (the spoiled life continues), but she's walking a mile a day and still has her goofball personality in tact.
September 5th: We're referred to animal oncologist, Dr. Jeannette Kelly in Santa Fe NM. She has an expression— “cancer doesn’t wait and neither should we,” so when her office asked if we could come in less than 24 hours we didn’t hesitate!
Dr. Kelly has found success with ~electro-chemo~ which is BETTER because it’s outpatient sedation (think kid with laughing gas at the dentist) and is injected directly into the area then stimulated electrically. She is also conducting a few clinical trials that Daley could be a candidate for! One being a vaccine used to prevent metastasizing (which hers has a 50% chance of) that is compounded and sent home with us as an affordable prescription.
September 6th: The mountains were sweet and our experience at Veterinary Cancer Center was even sweeter. I couldn't compliment these people more! Here's a rundown of everything that went down + what we found out + what's next:
--5 xrays & abdomen ultrasound that proved she is VERY HEALTHY
--vitamin D test that came back normal
--electrochemotherapy (ECT) session
--stitches & surgery glue removal to allow for drainage
--16 little staples we're keeping in for a month
It pains me to say that the lymph node has been taken over by the metastatic neoplasm and the biopsy in Amarillo was wrong. After all scans we were unable to find the origin location of the cancer.
Dr. Kelly wants Amarillo to send the lab results to a specialist for stain tests because she's almost certain she knows what type of cancer it is (hint: it's the most aggressively grim one) BUT she also put her fists up saying "I'm not scared and you shouldn't be either. I'm ready to fight!"
♥️I love this woman.♥️
Daley is currently on a steroid that targets this specific cancer quite well, an antibiotic to help with the high risk of infection to the ECT site, CBD oil to slow tumor growth, decrease inflammation, and calm anxiety, medicinal mushrooms to boost immune system, an antacid, L-Glutamine powder, fish oil, and onco support herbal supplements to further help her body be STRONG. She hasn't had any side effects and continues to be her silly self which is my top priority.
She starts a chemo pill September 13th that will continue attacking the cancer cells in the lymph node. After ECT the tumor cells die by necrosis and apoptosis. A warm compress twice a day assists in drainage. It's like a lil science experiment under her skin that thankfully doesn't hurt!
On Friday October 4th we travel back to Santa Fe for a follow up where we will further discuss dietary changes (hello meal prep!!!) and hopefully can begin the clinical trial for the metastasis vaccine.
My prince charming and I used our moving savings (sorry Colorado) to invest in our little girl's future like any good parents would, and ALL help is appreciated especially since we don't know what's next, but I'll keep y'all updated! It's important to shed light on what a holistic approach + cutting edge tech can do for people and pets alike. ;')
As an alternative form of donating --> Venmo: @rindseylice