Hello everyone. It has quite a long time since posting the last time – things get very busy outdoors in the spring, and I haven’t sat down to do this in a while.
Ginger got her first Chemo treatment last Tuesday – finally. As my last post indicated, we had an appointment with an oncologist on April 5th, but that didn’t really work out. We just weren’t comfortable there. Why, you ask?? Well…
-Is it really normal for a vet to completely ignore the patient?? …not what we are used to from our normal vets at Glenmoore Veterinary Hospital. Kudos to the docs, especially Dr. Koehl, and the staff there for helping us through this journey, and for pointing us to Tripawds!
-The oncologists first question was ‘So why are you here?’ She didn’t understand why we waited 6 weeks after the amputation to get an appointment. Made us feel like the worst Pawrents.
-From the upfront paperwork (too much financial information required) to the high end price quote, it just wasn’t the place for us.
Fast forward to last Tuesday. We had an appointment at the University of Pennsylvania Vet Hospital in Philadelphia. In the first 5 minutes that we were there, more attention was paid to Ginger than the entire visit to the other place. She had a thorough exam by a student – who clearly loves animals – and then a consultation with both the student and the oncologist (who also did an exam). We decided on a course of action, 6 treatments over 12 weeks, and Ginger had her first treatment that afternoon. It was a long trip into Philly, but well worth it. We only need to go there for the treatments. The blood tests can be done by our vet, close to home.
Ginger is handling her Chemo like a champ. We are giving her the nausea meds, as recommended by the vet, for the first week of the first course. She was very sleepy on Tuesday night, but I think that was more from the long car rides than the medicine. Since then, for the most part, she has been full of playful energy, chasing her dad and Jack, her brother, around in the yard, and tearing up some more cardboard tubes!
Just another tidbit…Ginger has begun to occasionally lie on her surgery side. I know, that doesn’t sound that remarkable, but she has been lying surgery side up for so long, that I was surprised. I was glad to see that it doesn’t seem to bother her at all.
Well, I’m glad that you switched to another oncologist that you were more comfortable with. Just like human doctors, you can have good and bad vets. You need to feel comfortable with the staff and the treatments you will be putting your baby through.
Sounds like Ginger is doing well with her chemo treatments… Yay! 🙂 Hope that she continues to do well with all the chemo cycles… BTW, what kind of chemo is she on?
Keep posting on your sweetie’s progress… and add some pictures of her when you get a chance!
Angel Jake’s Mom
Don’t blame you for switching oncologists. I would have done the same thing – you have to be able to connect with your doctor, especially for something as important as this.
That’s great news that Ginger’s getting through her chemo ok. The first few days for Mackenzie were always the roughest so the fact that Ginger is doing so well is very pawsitive!
Per Angel Jake’s mom, what kind of chemo treatment are you doing?
Keeping our paws crossed for Ginger that she continues do well!
Phooey on oncologists with bad bedside manners. Good for you for not putting up with it. Who needs such lack of compassion and disinterest in us and our babies?? I wouldn’t have been comfortable at all.
Glad Ginger’s so far okay! Each time Catie gets a treatment she experiences some loss of appetite and some lethargy. She had her fourth treatment yesterday, as a matter of fact!
Hang in there, Ginger!
Wow, Ginger. So glad you got away from that yucky oncologist. If they don’t love you enough to pay attention to you and play with you before they start talking about money, you don’t need them at all!
I am so glad to hear you found a good doctor who cares. I’m also very glad to hear that my tripawd sister is doing well on your chemo. Make sure your pawrents spoil you rotten after your treatments, and keep us posted on your progress.
Lincoln has his second chemotherapy treatment on Friday, so it seems we are just ahead of you. He, too, did really well on the first treatment, so we are hoping they are all that smooth.
If I recall, Ginger was just slightly ahead of Lincoln (a month or so) in amputation, so now we are just about on track with one another.
We will keep you posted as to how Lincoln does after round two. We’ve heard that they can get more difficult on them the further they get into treatment. He’s getting carboplatin, btw.
Glad you found somebody you were comfortable with. We had a difficult time with our people returning OUR calls, but they loved Lincoln and gave him great attention while he was there.
Good luck. We’ll be watching to see how everything goes.
Ginger the Champ! Glad the chemo didn’t knock you down and you are already back to playing and having a good time!
Glad you changed chemo locations! A place that doesn’t show interest in the patient and the patient is a dog isn’t worth the time of day! Good job pawrents!!!
XOXO
Dillon and Rhys
Good call on changing oncologists ! Absolutely, the rapport is critical when you’re putting your furry child in their hands for something like this.
Keep hopping, Ginger !
Tana and Sophie