Treatment Info and Scheduling

I forgot to mention in my earlier post that although the Mast Cell Tumor itself was removed, the "dirty margins" meant that Stella had microscopic residual disease.  This is what the radiation therapists will be radiating.

We were told Stella's radiation therapy treatments will be 20 sessions, Monday thru Friday, for 4 weeks straight.  She will have to be anesthetized each time, to stay completely immobile, so she can not be fed within 8 hours of treatment.  Unlike the deep anesthesia she had a few weeks ago the oncologist explained that they will utilize a "quick wake-up" anesthesia.  Stella will recover quickly and should not be loopy or groggy.  We were told the whole process will take about an hour.  10 minutes to prep her and administer anesthesia, 5 minutes for the actual radiation, and then about 45 minutes in recovery.  Pugs, being a smushed face breed, recover just a little slower than other breeds.

Dr. F. told us Stella probably won't have too many side effects but at the halfway point (10 weeks in) we will start to see a burn on her arm.  This is unavoidable.  We were told not to apply anything to the area unless instructed to do so and not to attempt to alleviate this burn in any way.  Dr. F. said they will keep a close watch on the area and will dispense pain killers as needed. 

With us being 9 to 5er's (well, 7am to 3:30pm'ers)  and because the treatments are only done on the weekdays during the day we thought we would have major problems trying to schedule the treatments, which have to be consecutive.  Luckily the specialty center is also an animal ER so they are open 24/7.  We can drop Stella off early in the morning and then pick her up after work.  A slight inconvenience as we live and work an hour away but definitely manageable.  We did adjust our work schedules somewhat so that Stella will not have to stay 12 hours for a 1 hour treatment every single day.  Twice a week we will be able to take her in for her appointment and then bring her home right after the treatment.  The other three days she will have to be boarded at the hospital for 10-12 hours.  On those days we will bring a baggie of her food and they will feed her.  Although we worry about her stress level we know Stella will adapt very quickly - she always does.

On the weekends Stella will have her "Get Out of Jail Free" card.