Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone!

I'm starting out the new year pretty well. I do have to go back on antibiotics though because my skin lesions are coming back. I was hoping I wouldn't have to but it looks like I will have to stay on them along with the prednisone. I feel good though and have been having fun playing in the snow. I love to plow snow and make snow angels.

I hope everyone has a wonderful 2013. I am planning on giving this cancer a run for its money. I have quite the fight and hope I can beat it down for quite awhile. That's my plan for the new year!

Cheers,
Chester

DDP and pupdate on skin

How pawsome! DDP again! Thank you Dogster HQ

Since starting the antibiotics and the medicated baths for the skin condition that flared up when I started the prednisone, we have noticed a tremendous improvement. My skin is no longer bright red and itchy and no new spots have popped up. Also, the ones I had are all healing and the scabbing is already gone. I will soon be out of antibiotics though so the vet said if they start to crop back up as soon as the medication is gone, we will have to go back for more and I will have to stay on them. Mom is hoping that isn't the case but I don't care. Pills equal treats for me and I LOVE TREATS! Woo Woo Woo! BOL!

As far as the cancer goes, I still feel great. My boy will be home in a few days too and I can't wait to see him. He will get to see me as the same happy woo woo boy that he loves so much. We will have a great Christmas together.

Cheers,
Chester

PS- thank you for all the wonderful condogulation and get well pressies. And thank you secret Santa :)

Recipe

If anypup is interested. Here is the recipe for the biscuits we made yesterday. We did add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon for extra flavor to the recipe. We also flip the biscuits over half way through and recommend keeping a close eye on them to prevent burning. Enjoy :)


Ingredients

3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups oats
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon baking powder


Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease two cookie sheets. Next, just mix all your ingredients, stirring until they’re well-mixed and ready for kneading. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface. Depending on the oil in your peanut butter, you might have to add a teaspoon of olive oil if you find the mixture is a little too crumbly (I did).

Roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thickness then cut the dough in desired shapes and place on your cookie sheets.

Pop the cookie sheets in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes until lightly browned.


Let the doggie biscuits cool completely before serving them to your dog or refrigerating them.

I smell BISCUITS!

I'm drooling over the smell coming out of the oven right now! Holy smokes Batman, mom is making homemade biscuits! PB and oat biscuits! :)

I can't wait to get some. I hope they are done soon.

As for my skin infection......it is looking much better. It is dryer and healing now. I have had two medicated baths so far besides the antibiotics. I swear I heard mom say something about a comfy cone though just in case I try to lick again. That doesn't sound good, I will try and be a good boy.


My sissy Mia is still doing well too. I don't understand why she doesn't eat. The pawrents are offering her really great stuff. I WANT IT!! BOL! I am getting extra treats these days so I shouldn't complain.

Have a great Thursday!

Cheers,
Chester

Pupdate - Skin infection

So the lesions popping up all over the place appear to be a nasty skin infection. The vet shaved off some fur around one of them and took a sample to check under the microscope. There wasn't a large number of lymphocytes detected so they are treating it as a skin infection. I am now on antibiotics and medicated baths(every other day). Hopefully there will be a quick improvement. All I want to know is why last time all I had to do was hop on the scale and I got an Arby's roast beef sammy and this time nada! Nothing! OK, mom did stop at the grocery store and buy me a package of turkey franks but it isn't as exciting as going through the drive thru!

I also just had my bath so I am not too happy right now. Not to mention, mom made sure to keep massaging in the shampoo for the FULL 10 minutes. It says 5-10 minutes mom! 5 would be plenty. Because it is cold I even had to endure the dreaded blow dryer. She won't even let me go out right now. This is gonna be a long skin recovery. The vet says if it improves but then comes back after the antibiotics are gone, I may have to go back on them long term. We just aren't sure what is causing the skin issues right now. The vet also said my form of epitheliotropic lymphoma will spread internally. Mom needs to watch for swollen lymph nodes and changes in behavior. Thank goodness I still feel fine for now.

Cheers,
Chester

Going to the vet

We are heading to the vet in a couple hours. Chester has multiple spots cropping up, but since yesterday they are getting worse. Nearly the entire base of his tail is now affected. Whether it is the cancer or some secondary infection due to the cancer, it is spreading and spreading very quickly. Keep him in your prayers. I am almost hoping he has an infection because if the cancer is spreading this quickly that has to be a very bad sign.

OMD Diary of the Day!!

Oh pawsome!! Diary of the Day! Thank you Dogster and thanks fur the pressies, congrats, and POTP.

I am an excitable springer and I'm woo woo-ing with joy. Things like this almost never happen to me. Being Diary of the Day is pawsome

Another exciting thing also happened to me yesterday. My boy went online and ordered a NEW FLYING SCREAMING MONKEY for me and it just arrived!!!! He is in college but the pawrents told him about the cancer and he felt so bad for me and wanted to do something special. I am glad he did because I love it so much. I broke the voice box on my last one a really long time ago.

I'm still feeling well but my family noticed several new cancer spots on my back. I guess it has been spreading. We really do hope the prednisone will work to slow that down. It seems now that we know though, the faster we seem to find them.

Thanks again everyfur! Sending much love

Cheers,
Chester

Yesterday's road trip

Yesterday I got to go for a ride with mom in the car. I didn't understand why I was the only one, I mean it isn't my birthday or anything.

We took off late morning and rolled into the vet's office. Darn it! And it was going so well. But wait, mom is going in without me. It seems I don't have to see the vet after all. I just got to go for a ride. After mom picked up my medications she came back out to the car and took me for a potty break. Then she DID take me into the vet's office but just for a weight check. I lost a pound. I'm 35 pounds now which mom can't understand because she says I eat like a pig. BOL

After we left the vet's office we rolled into Arby's drive thru and mom got me a roast beef sandwich. OH YUM!! The first bite was crunchy, I think she might have slipped my new pill in there but I didn't really taste it.

What a great trip, just me, mom, and a roast beef sammy.

Cheers,
Chester

The results are in :(

I feel like I have just been hit by a train head on. I don't think things could get much worse around here. Yuki is having great difficulty moving around these days and every day is a struggle for him at 15 years of age, Mia is in heart failure, and now Chester's biopsy report came back with the worst possible diagnosis.

Chester has cancer. A form of Epitheliotropic Lymphoma. Prognosis is very poor, usually only months after diagnosis.

Next step will be to start and keep him on prednisone and hope we can further slow down the progression. I'm living in a nightmare and I can't wake up.

Denise

Weekend and test results soon

My biopsy report should be in tomorrow or Tuesday!

I'm hoping for good news. I'll post a pupdate when I know more.

I had a terrible weekend. I had my ears cleaned and got a bath. I smell terrible now and don't know why the pawrents think I smell better.

Also, my boy left to go back to college today. I love when he visits me, he is my favorite person in the whole wide world! Every dog should have his or her own human.

Cheers,
Chester