One year ago, this past weekend, we received some of the most devastating news that our dog Rambo had prostate cancer. If you follow me over on Instagram, then you know Rambo is my everything, he’s like a child to me. Yes, I’m one of those crazy dog moms! Mo and I got him while we were dating 10 years ago, he has been through many moves, vacations and life changes with us. I just remember getting the phone call and the vet telling me the biopsy came back positive for cancer, it took the breath right out of me. I immediately lost it and prepared myself for the worst. I was 6 months pregnant at this point and super emotional. Just like that, my dream of becoming a little family of four was being ripped away.

I had been at the vet the day before with him to have a x-ray done to check for bladder stones. A few years back he had developed bladder stones that were recurring; so I would have a routine x-ray every 3-4 months to check and make sure they hadn’t come back and try and avoid surgery. We had just moved from Las Vegas to California and were seeing this new vet for the first time. She took him back to do the x-ray and came back to tell me that his prostate looked enlarged, that it could be an infection, or worse case scenario, cancer. I remember being completely shocked and kind of caught off guard. Rambo was nine years old which is not real old for a small dog, and other than bladder stones he has always been pretty healthy. She suggested doing a biopsy so we could figure it out, I had to leave him there and come back later in the day. I remember pulling out of the parking lot and bursting into tears. We were told we’d have to wait a few days for the results, which was torture to think about, but I told myself there was no way and everything was going to be fine. Well, we ended up waiting only 24 hours and we got the call the next afternoon saying that it was prostate cancer.

They recommended an Oncologist in the area if we decided we wanted to try and treat it and gave us their sympathy. I hung up with the vet and got straight on the phone with the Oncologist’s office, the earliest they could get us in was two weeks. The receptionist must have thought I was nuts as I cried and begged her to please let me know if any earlier appointments opened. I spent that whole weekend researching canine prostate cancer and looking up all treatment options and clinical trials. Needless to say it just made me feel worse because the prognosis is not good. I read article after article of the grim outcome and small amount of time I would have left with my fur baby. Just another reason why I wanted to write this blog post. I want to get our story out there for any other dog owner going through something similar. To give you a little bit of comfort and possibly a glimmer of hope.

Monday rolled around and I got a call from the Oncologist’s office saying they could squeeze me in the next day, I took it! That drive I was on pins and needles, it felt like the longest 30 mins of my life. We walked into the office of the Veterinary Cancer Group of Orange County  to some of the sweetest people and a place I would call home for the next couple of months. We were put into a room (they had a little sign with his name written on the door) and for once in this whole process, I felt a little bit of comfort. We met with Dr. Bommarito, who did a CT scan and went over all of our treatment options with us. It turns out we had caught the cancer early (he was showing no signs), thankfully due to the x-ray searching for the bladder stones. It hadn’t spread anywhere, another good sign. Because surgery was not an option, we chose to do both  radiation and chemotherapy. I left the doctor’s office that day feeling ready to get treatment going so we could kick this prostate cancers butt!

                                                                            My little radiation graduate

This is a rundown of the treatment that we have done to treat the prostate cancer to this point.

• Metacam– This is the anti inflammatory that we give in liquid form by syringe into the mouth every day.
• Radiation– He received 22 radiation treatments within a 4 1/2 week period five days a week. This type of radiation is very pin pointed and meant to kill the cancerous cells without damaging too much of the surrounding area. He was put under a twilight each time he was given radiation so that he wouldn’t move during the treatment. He did very well with it and we saw great results with his tumor shrinking significantly.
• Chemotherapy– Once he was done with his radiation treatment he received chemo to help clean up any cancer cells that could help his tumor to grow or spread. This was done with an injection five times and was done every three weeks. He did get a little sick the first round, so from that point on I made sure to give him zofran right after treatment for a couple of days and he seemed to tolerate it well after that.
• Palladia– We tried Palladia (chemo in pill form) after the injection as a form of treatment to keep things in check. It was to be administered three days a week at home every other day. One of the biggest side effects is GI issues and we saw this with him after two weeks. We ended up discontinuing the use of Palladia because he wasn’t doing well with it.

Some other things I did along with his treatment was add Onco Support to his food. I’m currently still using it, I pour it on top of his food in the morning. I also changed his diet to chicken and vegetables for a few months. I know diet can be a big part of cancer and the growth of it. I ended up going back onto his dog food when he was having the GI issues with the Palladia to get him to eat again, he had lost some weight. We also used the dog food company Just Food For Dogs for a while and loved it! They have all kinds of different healthy diets for dogs.

Since ending treatment, we have been going for routine ultrasounds every 2-3 months to check on the prostate cancer and make sure that it is stable. As of the end of February, everything still looked stable. Rambo is living a very good quality of life, with a full appetite, lots of walks, cuddles and watching over his new baby brother. A year ago I would have never imagined this as our current situation. I still do worry about him every day, but I’m taking one day at a time and feel so fortunate for every additional day we get with him.

Having gone through this cancer journey with him, I have learned so much. What I didn’t realize is how many dogs get cancer. When I walked into VCG for the first time I was shocked at how many people were there with their dogs and cats. Dogs 10 years and older have a 50% chance at getting cancer, and certain breeds are more susceptible to it. It’s so important to pay attention to any signs your dog may be showing or just to get them in for their routine vet visits, especially as they get older. I hope you never have to go through this with your pet, but if you find yourself in a similar situation, there can be some hope. If you’re in California, I honestly cannot recommend Veterinary Cancer Group enough! They have been so unbelievably amazing. I never expected to come out of this making friendships with so many amazing people. I met a support group of other people treating their pets and all of the staff is so comforting and friendly. It has made going through all of this just a little bit easier and I can’t thank them enough.

I’m so proud of my little guy for being so strong through all of this, he’s done so well! Cheers to one year of kicking  cancer’s butt and hopefully many more!

Xoxo,

Danielle

**For videos documenting our entire journey go to my Instagram @diaries.of.danielle under the highlight tabs Rambo’s Journey with Cancer**