Roxy - February 5

Sunday, February 26 - Roxy is still improving!

Roxy is still improving and she is returning to her old self. Licking her lips again after her meals, greeting me at the door, looking for other dogs on our walks,  sleeping in her bed next to mine. Our next appointment is on Friday March 2. I will post again with an update then. She is still on the prednisone, 15 mg one time daily. Dr. Lyons says that he continues the dogs on prednisone for a month following the surgery.

Wednesday, February 22 - Cyberknife Day : )

It is Wednesday February 22 and I can't wait to get to the appointment. Dr. Lyons was very thorough with the pre-surgery conversation. Letting me know that brain tumors in dogs and anesthesia are not always a good mix. I was so stressed out. Please let my girl pull through this. My friend Neil and I went to grab some dinner while she was being worked on. Happily Roxy pulled through the surgery like a champ. When we returned home she was the happiest she had been in days. Wagging her tail again, happy. Wow - this was all immediate without a scalpel touching her. It seemed too good to be true. I couldn't wait to see how she is the next morning. The next day she is still feeling so much better. I can't believe I have my dog back! Thank you God!

Monday, February 20

The weekend was tough. Roxy was not feeling well. She was very tired and it seemed like she was on her way out. When I took her in for the catscan on Monday February 20  I asked if we could do the Cyberknife Wednesday evening. Dr. Lyons said yes! I couldn't wait. They do the surgery at an offsite facility in Pasadena in the evening.

Friday February 17, 2012 - Yippie! There is something I can do!

The amazing Dr. Pluhar called me on Friday February 17 to say that Roxy did qualify, and she had done surgeries in this area of the brain before!! I was going to Minnesota! I asked if there was anything else I could do for my dog and Dr. Pluhar mentioned Cyberknife.  Prior to talking with Dr. Pluhar I had already had an appointment scheduled with Dr. Lyons at the Veterinary Cancer Center in Culver City. I called and asked if they were able to do the Cyberknife treatment and I was astonished to learn that YES - they do the treatment! I continued to my appointment with my copy of Roxy's MRI to meet with Dr. Lyons. Dr Lyons went over all of the options that I had. The options seemed to be do nothing, 0-2 months survival. Traditional Radiation, 17 Fractions, almost daily, which meant putting Roxy under 17 times. That sounded scary to me. We then discussed the Cyberknife.....wow - this is amazing I thought. Then he mentioned the price....I couldn't afford it....Minnesota here I come. On my way home I was talking with my very close friend who offered to help me pay, then my dad helped too, then someone I barely knew. Wow! I could manage the rest!! Thank you Care Credit with 0% financing! I called Dr. Lyons and told him that we were in. We made an appointment for the Catscan for Monday February 20.

What is the CyberKnife® System?

The CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System is a non-invasive alternative to surgery for the treatment of both cancerous and non-cancerous tumors anywhere in the body, including the prostate, lung, brain, spine, liver, pancreas and kidney. The treatment – which delivers beams of high dose radiation to tumors with extreme accuracy – offers new hope to patients worldwide.

Though its name may conjure images of scalpels and surgery, the CyberKnife treatment involves no cutting. In fact, the CyberKnife System is the world’s first and only robotic radiosurgery system designed to treat tumors throughout the body non-invasively. It provides a pain-free, non-surgical option for patients who have inoperable or surgically complex tumors, or who may be looking for an alternative to surgery.

Tuesday, February 14 2012 - Happy Valentines Day : (

When I picked Roxy up from the Animal Imaging Center I asked the doctor is she had seen anything. She sadly said that she thinks she saw a mass. I took the image to Dr. Carlsens office and we waited to get the radiology report. While I had been suspecting a brain tumor I had started my own research to see if there were any options. I came across a Clinical Trial that Dr. Pluhar was doing at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center. This gave me hope! A way to save my dog! I knew that I needed to get a copy of Roxy's MRI to Dr. Pluhar and see if Roxy qualified. I was told that the location of Roxy's tumor (cerebellum) was not a surgical disease. What could be worse than hearing brain tumor? Inoperable brain tumor......

Roxy - February 5, 2012 - the day I noticed something was off

On Sunday February 5, 2012 I noticed that my girl was a little off. She was stumbling a little, and she seemed a little off. We went to the park for a bit, and while she seemed slower and a bit tired she was ok. Then we saw the squirrel....Roxy's favorite! I had to point out to Roxy that the squirrel was there, she started to run after it, chased it up the tree with a half bark, then lost interest. I knew then my dog had a brain tumor. My friend Neil and I had lunch at an outdoor cafe where Roxy could be beside us. She was still barking at the skateboarders, which is another one of her passions. We walked home, while she was tired she was ok. I made an appointment for a veterinary visit the following morning with Dr. Carlsen. He tried to give me hope, perhaps vestibular disease? Inner ear issue? I was hopeful. He prescribed some Baytril and Predisone. This seemed to work - her stumbling was improving, but she still seemed a little off. Our follow up appointment was Friday February 10. I knew I needed to get Roxy an MRI as soon as possible. The MRI was booked for Monday February 13.