Day One

Chris and I are loving parents to one: Sheba Las Vegas, Sheba, Sheebles, Sheebs or whatever we feel like calling her. This blog is to record our journey as a family with Lymphoma, I will include information on her chemo, the costs and alternative treatments such as her new diet.

A week ago, we noticed Sheba had swollen glands on her neck that didn't seem to be bothering her but weren't going down either. So we took her to the vet. 

After feeling her neck and other lymph nodes areas (shoulders, stomach and back of the the legs) the vet referred us to an oncologist. There we spoke with Dr. Kane, a very kind and thorough vet who answered all our questions before taking Sheba in the back to draw a small amount of the lymphocytes from her neck (with a very small needle, she did not cry) to be tested. 

We know she has Lymphoma, most likely Stage III without clinical symptoms, meaning she is eating well and is active. We are currently waiting for a call from Dr. Kane to determine whether it is Small or Large Cell Lymphoma. 

The difference is, small cell requires less aggressive treatment, so that's what we're hoping for. 

Today Chris and I went to the grocery store to buy Sheba food for her new diet. I am roughly following Dr. Pitcairn's diets for whole, unprocessed food mixed with high quality kibble. It took a while (and help from the butcher) to pick the right kind of chicken, Chris and I are vegetarians you see. We wanted a fatty chicken so we decided on the legs. For lunch Sheba had:

1 cup raw chicken

1/2 cup Natural Balance L.I.D Sweet Potato and Bison Formula kibble

1/2 cup raw broccoli

2 raw Shitaki mushrooms

1 smashed garlic clove

She took about ten minutes to eat but ate it all! I was worried for a minute since she took the broccoli and mushrooms out of her bowl and lovingly dropped them on the floor...but she went back for them later. I guess saving the good stuff for last. You can see some examples of Dr. Pitcairn's recipes here.

Additionally, I have decided to give Sheba a few vitamin supplements including Omega-3s, MaxGXL, Grapeseed Extract , L–Arginine, and Cat's Claw. I will vary what I give her daily based on her reaction to the supplements. The last thing I want to her to do is stress about eating vitamins. I found a great website belonging to a holistic vet that recommended these supplements along with in depth explanations of what each one does and his experience with them. 

If you have any suggestions about other supplements, diets or alternative treatments I would love to hear them!

Costs:
Original pre-diagnostic checkup: $25.00
Oncology Consultation: $110.00
Cytology: 137.50
TOTAL: 272.50

UPDATE: After talking to our vet we are currently only give Sheba Omega-3s via Fish Oil