One month, 20 treatments later and here we are. It has been incredible. The month has truly flown by and Stella has just sailed through her treatments without any complications. As I wrote in yesterday's post she didn't develop burns until the last few days so she's had very little, if any, pain and very little stress (in our opinion). Stella has been so adaptable, forgiving, trusting, and resilient and has remained her loving self throughout.
Today we asked the radiation therapist how they "know" if they got all the microscopic residual cancer cells. The answer is that there really is no clear cut answer to that question. Success is based on historical data of dogs with MCT's, known data specific to the Pug breed (in Stella's case), and time.
For now, the only thing we can think about is how grateful, fortunate and relieved we are.
Today we were given Silver Sulfadiazine Cream 1% to aid in healing. We are to apply a small amount to Stella's burn areas and treatment site 2 to 3 times daily. We will see the radiation therapist in 4 days for post radiation burn care; they said they will shave off any residual dead skin that may develop. We are not to feed Stella 8 hours before her appointment in case they need to anesthetize her.
Stella's discharge summary for this last week states: "There is slight evidence of radiation toxicity at the treatment site at this time. Continue to give the Gabapentin and Tramadol as needed for pain".
Although the radiation treatments are over we will always have to keep a watchful eye out for signs of any new tumors developing. We know this will be Stella's lifelong journey. We hope it is a boring one.
Our summary for Stella's radiation treatments:
- Mileage = 1372 miles
- Highway tolls = $35
- Trips to the hospital and back = 70
- Gas = (approx) $250
We are exhausted.
Do we have any regrets?
Absolutely not.
Time to rest...
...and heal.
No comments:
Post a Comment