April 8, 2016
I spoke to two local vets that I trust and we have decided to hold off on the Prednisone. He is doing well right now, and we are going to give him Rimadyl instead and see if that’s enough to keep the inflammation down. They both felt that there wasn’t any proof that Prednisone helped with his type of tumor and that the risks of the side effects outweighed his quality of life at this point.
We know the cancer is going to keep growing, we know that its just a matter of time .. but for now he is feeling good! He eats, sleeps, plays, acts normal. We go for hikes, he runs around chasing squirrels, jumps for joy when we come home, etc. The only time it seems to hurts him is if he yawns wide or picks up a large toy. Once things start going downhill, I will start on the prednisone to keep him comfortable. The vets I talked to felt it was just pallative at this point, and not going to really cure him or hold off the tumor from growing.
We have weighed all the options and we just really want him to be happy. So we are going to give the Rimadyl a try and see if that’s enough for a while. I am also giving him softened food and raw goats milk. I’ll keep you posted!
Last night we had Nick’s bday dinner and had a few people over afterwards. Rocco was playing with his toys, even chewing on his nylabone!!! Even on the bad side of his mouth. Its after 3 doses of the Rimadyl. I think its helping!! I was so happy when I saw him chewing the bone. I hope this helps him for a while. I am definitely not ready to let go at this time.
So Rimadyl is our drug of choice right now – maybe combined with the raw goats milk he will be good for a long time! Miracles happen all the time 🙂