Watson's Chemo

[Deleted]

We made it up to the oncologist today in Phoenix (3+ hour drive one way). They went over his records and decided to start oral chemo for him today. She was pretty straight forward in letting us know that we should expect his sub-cutaneous lymphoma to be a "T-cell" cancer which is often more resistant to treatment.

We're still waiting on the staining results for his tissues to get a definitive answer there. They should be in by mid next week at the latest.  I'm hoping Watson is in the minority and it isn't the more resistant strain. We have a long list of medication for him on a weekly rotation. Some of it has to be given in pill form, which will be new for me. I've given him powder in his ferretone, and now dealt with liquid medication where I have to inject in the back of his throat from the needle-less syringe. Not sure how to get him to take and swallow the pills we get for him.

He has to have blood work done weekly to keep track of his white cell count. If he doesn't seem to be improving on the oral medication we have to switch to IV. 

Hoping we can talk our local vet here into doing the blood draw, and his monthly injections so we can avoid a drive to Tucson every week to our normal vet, but I'm not sure how that will all work out. At least we know our normal vet is working closely with our oncologist so our vet can get and administer any medication we need for Watson rather than having to have us drive to Phoenix weekly if it comes to that.

Please keep Watson in your prayers. He is still doing great energy wise, and personality wise. We'd really like to be blessed with several more healthy years with him and his siblings.

[Heather]

I will light a healing and strength candle for your little one. I hope he responds well to his treatment.
Would you mind posting his treatment and results? I know this is a difficult time and a lot to ask but there is not often when people choose to use chemo as a treatment and we know very little about the process.
Good luck and hugs to you and your little one
ciao

[Sherry]

good luck with wee watson, and fingers crossed he isn't resistant. and yes- if you could just post here on his treatment and how he does with it. the more info the better for helping others decide what path to take.

[unclejoe]

ask if the pills can be crushed. if so they can be mixed with food oils etc

[Deleted]

I wouldn't mind keeping this post ongoing if that is OK.

unclejoe - I asked about crushing up his pills, because they used the word "capsule" when describing his medication. They were pretty adamant about not crushing it up because he needs to get the exact amount in the capsule. They also said the ones he is getting in capsule form have not done well in liquid suspensions so this is the best/only option they have for administering.

Anyone have any successful options for giving pills to ferrets? I've looked up some options, but wanted to ask here if people have had good/bad results with any tried methods.

[Sherry]

Heather haven't you used a piller before for meds?
and if you are going to keep posting his progress/lack of progress here I will sticky this post for others to reference. Thanks @mallison6

[Deleted]

Crushed in oil is the only way I know. So much easier with dogs. I'm not sure how you would give a whole one to a fert. How big are they?

[Deleted]

@libbyw I can't answer that yet. They sent the medication request to a specific pharmacy in another town for them to ship to us, and we don't have them yet. I'll post some pictures once we get them.

[Heather]

Yes I've used a piller. It's the only way to get past those teeth if the pill cannot be broken or split. There are some pills that cannot be split or are time release or if they're crushed they become absolutely vile.
ciao

[Deleted]

Adding in his medication plan that we currently have scheduled. Things may end up being changed along the way depending on how he responds to the medication schedule we have him on. He has to go in for blood work weekly to have his white blood cell count checked. We're also closely watching his weight to make sure there isn't a sudden drop. I'll post weekly updates on his medicine and how things went for giving it to him, and his weight or major changes. I'll also try to check in a few times a week at a minimum to answer questions you all may have as we go. All of the medications are based on his current weight. Not sure how we would adjust them if he starts losing a lot of weight.

Prior to the oncologist appointment she immediately started him on .2ml Prednisolone daily. As far as I know this will continue throughout the whole treatment schedule.

Starting weight 2.1 Pounds (.952Kg)
Initial medication schedule:
Week 1 - Asparginase 360U (Subcutaneous injection by oncologist, only listed once as an initial medication).
Week 2 - Cyclophosphamide 20mg (capsule)
Week 3 - Lomustine 4mg (capsule)
Week 4 - No medication
Week 5 - Cytarabine 20mg (Subcutaneous injection by vet)

We continue to rotate the Cyclo/Lomu/Cytar throughout the rest of the treatment at different intervals.

[Heather]

Thank you.
ciao

[Sherry]

I will sticky this thread tomorrow when on comp,
for reference- or another admin/moderator can if they wish.

[Deleted]

Watson seems to be responding to the medication already. His two bumps he had near his spine are already so small now they are difficult to find, though they are still there. The one in his belly and on his hind leg haven't changed too much that I can tell.

Possible bad news - the pharmacy shipped us the remainder of his medication, but it arrived as liquid form. My wife and I both remember the oncologist saying they cannot do that. Unfortunately the oncologist is closed on Saturdays so I'll have to call first thing on Monday to see what we need to do. If we have to reorder, hopefully the pharmacy will cover the new costs, not only for the correct form but for shipping overnight since his next medication is due on the 18th.

[abbeytheferret6]

Hope your little one gets better.

[Sherry]

If the vet specifies then the pharmacy is responsible for the costs.