Smedley's Journal (remember, all external sites open in their own window. Close windows to return here)

IMPORTANT: NEVER CONSIDER ATTEMPTING ANY EXPERIMENTAL MEDICAL PROTOCOL WITHOUT THE ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT OF A VETERINARIAN! THIS IS NOT A HOLISTIC REMEDY; IT IS CHEMOTHERAPY. DOSES MUST BE CAREFULLY PREPARED AND FREQUENT BLOODWORK DONE TO PREVENT COMPLICATIONS SUCH AS LIVER OR KIDNEY FAILURE! HAVE YOUR VETERINARIAN READ THIS WEBPAGE AND CONTACT DR. SANDERS IF NECESSARY! THIS IS A CLINICAL TRIAL, NOT A PROVEN CURE.
November report: We started Smedley on the Navy Protocol today at 11:30 a.m. So far, no signs of a negative reaction, although it has only been 10 minutes. Sorry, I'm nervous. Nov. 2, 2005: No symptoms of side effects. He slept well and ate well this morning. Wanted to play with his stuffed bone. Fortunately for us, our wonderful neurosurgeon, Dr. Sanders, also has a background in angiogenesis and was willing to work with us on getting this trial established. He helped us find a way to get the medications meaured correctly for a dog. And he worked with Smedley's equally wonderful holistic veterinarian, Dr. Obando, to assess how best to support Smedley's immune system without compromising the protocol's effects. (She also helped us strengthen Smedley for surgery.)Whatever happens we thank God that there are people like them in the world. Nov. 29, 2005: Smedley's blood work was "excellent." He now takes a daily two block walk and goes to swim class two times a week. Initially, he floundered around because he couldn't remember how to place his legs and his muscles were weak. But now he is using all four legs in a coordinated fashion. He still has a noticeable limp when he walks, but hey, he wants to walk! He sleeps great and eats good, so for now we are staying the course.
December report: Smedley's swim class is now once a week. His walks continue and his swim therapist gave us exercises to help him walk more normally. He sometimes drags his back leg a bit, so we put on a bootie so he won't wear away his toenails on top. The bonus is that with the bootie, he really picks up that back leg. Maybe he can feel his foot more, I don't know. But he does better lifting his foot and putting it down properly when he's wearing the bootie on his walks. No apparent side effects from the protocol. When he first started limping, we put him on Deramaxx, which seemed to have a positive effect for some reason even though his limp was tumor, rather than pain based. Celebrex is not a dissimilar kind of drug, so hopefully it is helping somehow. Dec. 10, 2005: Smedley made it up the stairs (with our help, but who cares). This has been a great month. He peed like a guy dog and shook water off his coat without falling down for the first time in a long time.
January report: Smedley is still eating, walking, pooping normally and has improved in terms of his ability to go up steps. We are getting an MRI done this month to see how the protocol has affected the remnants of his tumor so far. We'll post findings here.
February report: Smedley's baseline MRI revealed that the tumor is still present, but is very small. Whether this is the remnant left from surgery, or the result of shrinkage due to the protocol remains to be seen. We will do another MRI in six months. His bloodwork continues to look fine. He has started climbing stairs again without assistance, and he no longer needs to wear his bootie on his walk to keep from dragging his rear leg. He is now walking without dragging his back leg. He is going to be participating in the American Cancer Society's annual Relay for Life to help raise funds for cancer research. The event is in June, but Smedley plans to be there. He is walking a mile a day now, and has completed physical therapy. March, April, May: We are still giving Smed his protocol and the supportive supplements. His blood work in April showed elevated liver enzymes (due to the protocol), but after we put him on milk thistle (at the advice of Dr. Obando, our holistic vet), his enzymes returned to normal. He continues to limp, but is doing a good job lifting and placing his legs. Sometimes he curls his right side paws (stands on the top of his paws instead of the pads), but he can now correct it. Before surgery and supportive therapy, he was unable to fix his feet when this happened. We have one more MRI to go to see if the tumor is gone (or at least not growing again.) That will be in early fall. FYI, Smedley is raising money for the American Cancer Society by participating in Relay for Life. If you'd like to help, please visit his pledge page.