# Metronomic Chemotherapy



## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

My Penny is on Metronomic Chemotherapy, she hasn't been on it for many months, so we do not know how much it is doing yet, but she has been very healthy with no major issues from it yet. Wanted to know if anyone else has had any experience with this?


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## Buddy's mom forever (Jun 23, 2011)

No experience just wish you all the best, for your sweet Penny to have successful treatment.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

I'm glad she's doing well on it and I hope she continues to do well. We were about to start it with our Barkley, but we had to release him from his body only six days before he was to start it. 

I'll be interested to read of Penny's experiences with it. It sounds like a very promising treatment. 

FYI, the clinic owner of the veterinary clinic we use had a dog with a cutaneous hemangiosarcoma that went through the full blown chemo and then was doing the metronomic therapy and I believe she was doing well after 2 years. If I can remember I will ask how she is doing next time I see the vet.


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Penny*

Praying that your Penny does well. What kind of cancer does she have.
I will pray for her and you.


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

Penny has fibrous fibrosarcoma. She got it two years ago, had surgery, and now it is back. Surgery was not an option this time around, but radiation and chemo were. Along with a lot of holistic treatments as well.

So sad to read that your Barkley passed. : (. What kind of cancer did he have? I will try and keep you all posted with her experiences with this treatment, I am hoping that it fulfills all of those promises.

I would love to hear how that dog is doing who is on the treatment. I was under the impression this was newly out? It was not around when Penny had the tumor two years ago. Where was the clinic you went too? Maybe it did not make it's way up north yet when the clinic had it. 
Thank you for all of your kind thoughts and prayers.


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## Nath (May 12, 2011)

Hoping for a good response to the treatment. Please keep us posted.


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

Penny went down to NEVOG today for her check up. Everything looked great. Lymph nodes, blood work, and the vets felt the outside of her face, and nothing felt abnormal. So continuing the chemo and will go in for another check up in February. Good news!


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## Buddy's mom forever (Jun 23, 2011)

I am happy to read good news. God bless your sweet girl.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Lucky Penny said:


> Penny has fibrous fibrosarcoma. She got it two years ago, had surgery, and now it is back. Surgery was not an option this time around, but radiation and chemo were. Along with a lot of holistic treatments as well.
> 
> So sad to read that your Barkley passed. : (. What kind of cancer did he have? I will try and keep you all posted with her experiences with this treatment, I am hoping that it fulfills all of those promises.
> 
> ...


Barkley had hemangiosarcoma. The medication for the metronomic protocol was to be shipped from New York and compounded in a human compounding pharmacy for his weight/dosage. Sadly we missed it by a week. It is a relatively new therapy, at least at the clinic we go to, but they already had another dog on it long term (with hemangio, caught very early and by accident) that was doing very well with it. 

I"m so glad Penny is tolerating it well and doing so well!! Continued good thoughts for your girl!!


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

I am very sad to read about Barkley. : (. That must of been so hard for you, knowing that the other dog was doing well on the treatment, and Barkley could not get it soon enough. Thank you for sharing your experience. I hope that Penny has good results with this treatment.


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

Penny went in for a check up last Friday, and everything looked well. So she is all set for another 2 months. Her left eye has radiation damage so they want us to go get that check out. We are very happy that she is able to enjoy life every day without a tumor causing her discomfort.


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## Buddy's mom forever (Jun 23, 2011)

Happy for Penny and you. I am praying for many, many happy days to come.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Wonderful news. I hope her eye can be treated and doesn't give her any pain. She'll be in my prayers that she continues to do well.


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## PrincessDi (Jun 8, 2009)

Definitely good news that she is doing so well. Will continue to keep you both in our thoughts and prayers for much more time!


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## Finn's Fan (Dec 22, 2007)

What wonderful news for you and your girl. Hopefully, the eye issue can be treated and contained. Wishing you many more memorable days, weeks and months with Penny!


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

Thank you everyone! I do not wish any cancer on my dog, but I am thankful the cancer she has is slow and has given me so much more time with her. A reminder we need to enjoy every day to its fullest with our loved ones.

Anyone know of a good ophthalmologist in Maine? Was given the name of someone in Boston, but hoping not to travel far, since Penny has horrible car riding anxiety issues.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Lucky Penny said:


> Thank you everyone! I do not wish any cancer on my dog, but I am thankful the cancer she has is slow and has given me so much more time with her. A reminder we need to enjoy every day to its fullest with our loved ones.
> 
> Anyone know of a good ophthalmologist in Maine? Was given the name of someone in Boston, but hoping not to travel far, since Penny has horrible car riding anxiety issues.


 
Sally's Mom is a vet in Maine. You can message her and I'm sure she would be willing to give you some recs.


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

Haha, Sally's mom is the one who gave me the name of the person in Boston. May just have to end up making a drive down there.


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## Googs (Feb 18, 2012)

My Charlie is going to be starting this as soon as I can find somewhere to fill one of the prescriptions (Cyclophosphamine). This drug needs to be compounded because of the dosage so I'm having a little bit of a hard time finding someplace to fill it (keeping my fingers crossed that I found someplace today). The other drug he'll be on is Piroxicam.

I'll be hoping that your Penny continues to do well and that Charlie does too.

Dallas Gold - I'm so sorry to hear about Barkely!


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

I hope you find somewhere to get the drugs. I get Penny's down at NEVOG in Mass. Please keep us updated on Charlie's progress with the drugs. What kind of cancer does he have, and what kinds of treatments has he had? My thoughts go out to you and Charlie.

Penny has an appointment on Monday with Dr. Cassotis at Port City Veterinary Referral Hospital in New Hampshire to get her eye checked out. I will be driving her down!


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Good thoughts and prayers go with Penny and you on Monday. Keep us posted.


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

Penny went to see Dr. Cassotis at Port City Veterinary Referral Hospital in New Hampshire and things went well. He is really nice, and said that her left eye looks really good for having blasts of radiation at it. Her right eye looks normal. He noticed the presence of non ulcerative granulation tissue on the left inferior lateral paralimbal cornea. The retina did show multifocal areas of per-retinal hemorrhage, but no detachments were noted. So he gave us some steroid eye drops to use in her eyes. This is a great report, I am so happy!

I may or may not have mentioned that Penny has a cyst/wart growth on her left paw as well. (poor girl has all this stuff happening to her) The cyst is in between one of her digits on top of her paw. It fills up like a pimple and she licks it open, it bleeds everywhere. Then it dries up and the cycle starts again. The wart is underneath her paw, in between her pads, and it has gotten so big, it drags a little bit, and bleeds. So I bought a bootie for her, which has helped a lot. I have had a lot of vets look at her paw, including the NEVOG vets, and non think it is cancer. Our holistic vet and one of the NEVOG vets both recommended soaking her paw multiple times a day in epsom salts, which we have been doing. It seems to be helping, I have not used her bootie a lot recently, and her paw has not been bleeding a lot. The growths are still there, but they definitely are a lot better. Has anyone else had experience with growths on their dog’s paws?

How is Charlie doing with his treatment?


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

Nice to hear the Penny update! Hugs to Luna!


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## Buddy's mom forever (Jun 23, 2011)

I am happy for you and your sweet Penny girl, I pray it continues to be good and even better with every new day.


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

So this morning I noticed Penny was showing signs of a UTI. I am no vet, but have been around animals long enough to know something is up, so I called my vet. Luckly, my dad was able to pick her up and got a pee sample. They are there right now. I am nervous, because NEVOG told us that the chemo can cause this.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Thinking of you guys--hoping this is something unrelated to the chemo and also that it's easily treated!


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

Bad news, it is not a UTI, it is red blood cells in her urine. Our vet is calling NEVOG to talk with them to see what they advise to do. It will most likely be taking Penny off of the the cytokine. But what will we do about the tumor trying to come back? I am glued to my phone waiting to hear what NEVOG has to say.


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## hubbub (Jun 28, 2011)

You all are in our thoughts.


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## Buddy's mom forever (Jun 23, 2011)

Sending my prayers. I hope it is not so bad.


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

Talked with the chemo vet this morning, and she wants to do a sterile urine sample (needle in bladder) to determine if this is the chemo or an infection. If it is the chemo, we can take her off it for awhile and let her bladder clear up. We then have the choice of putting her back on it after, or trying another type of chemo. Talking with our vet today to see about the sterile urine sample. Not as bad as I thought, but still concerned that it is the chemo.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Lucky Penny said:


> Talked with the chemo vet this morning, and she wants to do a sterile urine sample (needle in bladder) to determine if this is the chemo or an infection. If it is the chemo, we can take her off it for awhile and let her bladder clear up. We then have the choice of putting her back on it after, or trying another type of chemo. Talking with our vet today to see about the sterile urine sample. Not as bad as I thought, but still concerned that it is the chemo.


Are you going to get the sample via ladle, then getting a needless syringe and drawing a sample? That's how we do it here, first morning urine. Toby is not the easiest to get because he lifts his leg on a pot outside, then kicks the ladle out of my hands. :doh: Silly boy. 

I hope you get it cleared up soon.


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

You got it. But we are going to make sure she is clean first and are going to sue a sterile container. Do not want to do the needle way if we don't have to. I imagine male dogs are a little bit harder to get samples from!


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## hubbub (Jun 28, 2011)

Lucky Penny said:


> ...she wants to do a sterile urine sample (needle in bladder) to determine if this is the chemo or an infection...


This is how they do all my girl's urine tests (for UPC ratios, possible bladder infections) since her cancer surgery. Until last year, we'd always used the free catch method, but they prefer the needle draw to avoid any "normal" bacteria in the tract. It's called a cystocentesis. I hope they are able to make a quick diagnosis. :crossfing


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Any word on Penny?


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

Not yet. She is off the chemo, and is actually acting like she feels better. All spunky and puppy like. Doing the urine test this week.


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

She has been staying at my parents house, because my uncle is home all day to let her out. Just found out tonight that she pees about every hour and pees a lot when she is out. I feel awful for her. But she is off the chemo, so if it is that, things will start to get better soon.


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

Results are in for the urine test. Again, shows no sign of infection. So it confirms the chemo is irritating her bladder. Just hoping it will clear up soon. Poor thing.


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## Buddy's mom forever (Jun 23, 2011)

Prayers for your sweet girl.


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

Penny goes down this Friday for a check up with the oncologists. I am very anxious. I want them to take a good look at her, but I am also nervous because I am pretty sure the tumor is growing back around her eye. I hope they can help her with this peeing thing and get her back on the chemo. My mind is racing!


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## Buddy's mom forever (Jun 23, 2011)

I wish you all the best from the bottom of my heart. Sending positive thoughts and tons of prayers and hope everything goes great on Friday.


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## hubbub (Jun 28, 2011)

I hope your thoughts are wrong and the tumor isn't growing, but also hope they'll clear her to restart the metronomic chemo. :crossfing


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## GoldenMum (Mar 15, 2010)

Don't know how I've missed this thread in the past, just wanted to add my thoughts and prayers for you and your beautiful girl Penny. May you get a good report.


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## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

Lauren, just caught up on your thread. I am sorry I missed it. Before I had my cancer worries with Thunder, I pretty much tried to stay out of the cancer forum. Too hard!
I am hoping for good news for Penny and that the tumor is not growing back. Keeping my fingers and toes crossed for Penny!
I am so glad that Penny and you are in good hands!


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

Thank you everyone. It is so nice to have support during this process. Penny's appointment went well. Her blood work came back normal, and the doctor measured the bump by her eye to see if it grows at all the next time she goes back. She says she does not know if it is tumor related or not, but will keep a close eye on it.

She says that the peeing thing will clear on it's own, and we could give her a bigger pain medicine so she wouldn't feel like she had to pee all the time. We decided not to do that, since it is good for her to pee, since she is getting all of the toxins out of her body. So we just have to be patient with that. I do think it is getting better, haven't seen blood in her urine in awhile, and she is peeing less often. 

There were three choices of chemotherapy drugs to start her on again. The one we choose to start is, chlorambucil, which she takes pill form every day. She goes back in a month to see how that is working, and we will just see. Taking things day by day. I am happy there are other chemo options for this treatment, I was really upset when she went off of the cytoxan. 

Metronomic chemotherapy starts up again! If there are others out there on this treatment, would love to hear your results as well.

Thank you again for all your support, as many of you know, it is an up and down roller coaster.


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## hubbub (Jun 28, 2011)

Great update! Fingers and toes continue to be crossed for Penny


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## Buddy's mom forever (Jun 23, 2011)

I am glad the appointment went well. Sending prayers for great results with new drug.


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## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

I am glad everything is going well for Penny so far.
Good luck with the new chemo drug, I hope it works without too many side effects.


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## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

Lauren, how is Penny doing? Did you start the chemo again?


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Lucky Penny*

Lucky Penny

SO GLAD to hear that Penny is doing well!!!
Have you found anyone else who's pet has gone through it?


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

Penny is better. She is a little tired. She is on the new chemo drug, and I have found a few people who are also doing metronomic chemotherapy. She has a check in on Aug. 10th. I have a lot of questions to ask. I am unsure if this new chemo is working, there were other opinions, so wondering if we should try another one.

When we had to take Penny off the first chemo, because of the bladder irritation, the tumor started growing back by her eye. It is hard living with her everyday to make a honest thought, so it is hard to tell if it is still growing, or has stopped with this new chemo. The other day she got a nose bleed while eating her food. I was beyond shocked and emotional. The last time she got one was before her radiation last fall. 

So I want to find out if 1. they think we should switch the chemo, or if they think it is working 2. if we should do another round of radiation (which awhile ago they said was an opinion).

Lastly, she has this growth on her paw that the dermatologist wants us to get removed. I want to get it removed, but I also want to get her cancer squared away first. She is a grab bag of health issues, and a lot of work, but worth every minute of it. She is truly a once in a life time dog to me, and I love her deeply. 

Thank you for asking, it is comforting having others out there thinking of Penny and I.


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## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

Thank you for the update, Lauren.
My thoughts are with Penny and you and I wish you all the best! Penny could not have a better mom!
Please keep us posted!


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## Buddy's mom forever (Jun 23, 2011)

Sending healing vibes and prayers. I hope that nose bleed accident is just that, one time thing. I've just looked at her pictures on Luna's thread, she is beautiful. As for "She is truly a once in a life time dog to me, and I love her deeply", you made me cry.


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## hubbub (Jun 28, 2011)

I'm sorry to hear about Penny's nose bleed, but hope it's an isolated incident. Have you been able to talk to the Dr about it? 

Which metronomic chemo is Penny taking now (I wondered if it was one of the ones we were offered)?

I agree that it's hard to notice changes since we see them daily. I have to remind myself that I can't notice everything which frustrates me. Right now, we're dealing with poor appetite and I *know* when things started to get "bad" but can't recall when I noticed (before the "bad") when she seemed less interested in food, although I'm sure she was, but don't know when it started. Again, I have to remind myself that my frustration doesn't help, which sometimes makes me frustrated with myself for needing a reminder. LOL!

You are doing fantastic by Penny!


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

Thank you everyone for your thoughts! (knock on wood) Penny has not had any more nose bleeds.

Penny is on chlorambucil right now. She was on cytoxin but it got in her bladder and irritated it, so we had to stop that. She has only been on the chlorambucil for about two months now. What chemo is Hannah on, and how is she doing? I as well get frustrated all the time, it is so hard. I am happy to read I am not the only one!


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Penny*

Glad to hear that Penny hasn't had anymore nose bleeds!


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## hubbub (Jun 28, 2011)

Lucky Penny said:


> Thank you everyone for your thoughts! (knock on wood) Penny has not had any more nose bleeds.
> 
> Penny is on chlorambucil right now. She was on cytoxin but it got in her bladder and irritated it, so we had to stop that. She has only been on the chlorambucil for about two months now. What chemo is Hannah on, and how is she doing? I as well get frustrated all the time, it is so hard. I am happy to read I am not the only one!


So glad to see it was an isolated event. 

I opted to not pursue chemo with Hannah at this time. She often experiences the "extreme" side effect to medications and is overall (except for the current lack of appetite) doing so well, that I wanted her to enjoy the quality she has. Also, they prefer her to take a NSAID with the chemo and that would be tricky because she is on lose dose steroids for her allergies. I reserved the right to try it in the future, but for now - we're in "surveillance" mode.  

They had suggested chlorambucil because of the lower risk of bladder irritation. Although the cytoxin (cyclophosphamide) was also an alternative to us. There was a third, but I can't recall the name of it. 
 
Fingers and toes crossed that Penny continues to do well and enjoy every moment! :crossfing


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

Okay, Penny went down to the oncologist on Friday. The decision was made to stop the metronomic chemotherapy. The tumor has grown, which means the chlorambucil is not working. I do believe that when she was on the cytoxin, it was working. However, she can not go back on that again, because of the side effects. There are a few other chemos out there to try, but the oncologist believed that radiation was the best next step. 

Penny had three treatments of radiation done a year ago, and we were pleased with how much the tumor shrunk. So, going with what has worked seemed like the best option, rather then experiment with the unknown. Penny has a lot of spunk and life to her. She is still fighting. If she did not have this spunk, I would question doing the radiation, but I can tell she still is enjoying life and wants to be here. So I will fight as long as she wants to. I am praying that the radiation gets in there and shrinks that tumor. 

So these are my results for metronomic chemotherapy. Thank you everyone for your support, and I hope others will still post their results, so we can continue learning about metronomic chemotherapy. Who knows, maybe Penny will go back on it one day. I am going to start a new thread in a a couple days for those who want to stay updated on Penny.


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## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

Thanks for the update, Lauren. 
I am sorry that the chemo is not working for Penny. I so hope that the radiation will shrink the tumor. Penny is such a brave girl und such a trooper!
Please keep us updated! You guys are in my thoughts, good luck and sending some cyber hugs your way!


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## Buddy's mom forever (Jun 23, 2011)

I wish you got better news on Friday. I am praying too that the radiation shrinks that tumor. Best wishes in keeping fighting for and with your sweet Penny. The story how you gave her the name always brings smile to my face.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Thank you for the update and best wishes for a successful radiation therapy for Penny.


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## hubbub (Jun 28, 2011)

I'm so sorry that the news was not better at the oncology appt. All our fingers are crossed for success with radiation. You are doing a great job monitoring her quality and zeal for life and are a wonderful advocate for her.


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## KathyL (Jul 6, 2011)

Lauren, you mentioned Penny will begin radiation again. What is the schedule like. Isn't it usually 3-4 days a week over a month or so? Thank you for responding to my last post on Harley. As I mentioned in the post, both lung tumors seemed to have grown 1 cm in the month that he was on Chlorambucil. I am probably more concerned about the large tumor on his front limb. At this time they are not considering amputation and I wonder if radiation would help. His bad leg is about 3 1/2 wider than the normal leg (circumference). I'm so worried it will be his leg and not the lung tumors that take him. 
Kathy


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Penny*



Lucky Penny said:


> Okay, Penny went down to the oncologist on Friday. The decision was made to stop the metronomic chemotherapy. The tumor has grown, which means the chlorambucil is not working. I do believe that when she was on the cytoxin, it was working. However, she can not go back on that again, because of the side effects. There are a few other chemos out there to try, but the oncologist believed that radiation was the best next step.
> 
> Penny had three treatments of radiation done a year ago, and we were pleased with how much the tumor shrunk. So, going with what has worked seemed like the best option, rather then experiment with the unknown. Penny has a lot of spunk and life to her. She is still fighting. If she did not have this spunk, I would question doing the radiation, but I can tell she still is enjoying life and wants to be here. So I will fight as long as she wants to. I am praying that the radiation gets in there and shrinks that tumor.
> 
> So these are my results for metronomic chemotherapy. Thank you everyone for your support, and I hope others will still post their results, so we can continue learning about metronomic chemotherapy. Who knows, maybe Penny will go back on it one day. I am going to start a new thread in a a couple days for those who want to stay updated on Penny.


Thank you for the update on Penny and please keep us posted-she is in our prayers!!


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## dborgers (Dec 7, 2011)

Our boy, Andy, had a bad reaction to Cyclophosphamide and threw up for a solid week (we didn't know .. he was doing it in the bushes outside, but was losing weight. He had a bad oncologist then that didn't really care, and was fired) 

The next round we administered Cerenia the day before, day of, and two days afterwards and no problems with nausea and GI upset. Thought I'd share that so you'll know adverse reactions are possible and can suggest a shot of Cerenia and a box of pills to have on hand just in case. 

All the best 


Googs said:


> My Charlie is going to be starting this as soon as I can find somewhere to fill one of the prescriptions (Cyclophosphamine). This drug needs to be compounded because of the dosage so I'm having a little bit of a hard time finding someplace to fill it (keeping my fingers crossed that I found someplace today). The other drug he'll be on is Piroxicam.
> 
> I'll be hoping that your Penny continues to do well and that Charlie does too.
> 
> Dallas Gold - I'm so sorry to hear about Barkely!


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## Buddy's mom forever (Jun 23, 2011)

Keeping sweet Penny in my thoughts and prayers.


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

Hi everyone. I wanted to share with everyone the new thread I have started about Penny and her fight with cancer.

http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...trievers/119632-pennys-story.html#post1794193


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