Date

Progress Report

Photos

September 5, 2003

Ø       Jack hasn’t eaten much in the past 2 days.

Ø       Today I “prodded” him, pressing his abdomen and arms and legs, so that I could feel where he is uncomfortable and in pain. Sadly, he seems to be in pain almost everywhere, making noises I have never heard him make before. I gave him 1½ pills of Torbutrol for pain.

Ø       The reason for Jack’s outstretched arms in most of the photos is that he must have felt pain in his left shoulder when bending his arm.

Ø       Jack’s constipation is very bad and an enema did not help. He doesn’t have the energy to use the litter box.

Ø       Today I made the very difficult decision to have Jack put to sleep. We went to the vet at 5:00 PM and Jack received an injection of anesthesia. Within 30seconds,  Jack was gone.

Ø       Jack will be cremated.

September 3, 2003

Ø        Jack has gone from being carried to his food in the living room, to having his food carried to him in my bed. He was still eating, if only a little bit. I supplemented his food with Petrocal high calorie supplement.

Ø       For the past week or so, I have noticed an inflammed soft spot the size of a golf ball on Jack’s right shoulder. At first I thought this was another part of the tumor, but was informed it was probably an inflamed lymph node, indicating the cancer has entered Jack’s lymphatic system.

Ø       Jack has lost another pound– he now weighs 10 pounds (down almost half his normal weight of 18 pounds).

August 22, 2003

Ø       Jack has lost another pound– he now weighs 11 pounds.

Ø       I give Jack his medications on an irregular basis. He is now taking: Torbutrol (for pain), Cansema powder, Cansema Tonic III, Cell Forte, and Colace (for constipation).

Ø       Jack’s tumor is HUGE on his left side, and has flattened out on his right side.

August 5, 2003

Ø       As you can see from the photos, the tumor is growing on the sides more now than on the top.

Ø       Jack has lost another pound– he weighs 13 pounds (down 5 pounds from his normal weight) – he feels like skin and bones. His appetite is sporadic.

Ø       After discontinuing all medications, I re-started Jack on Cell Forte every other day and Cansema every other day.

Ø       I give Jack ¼ Torbutrol for pain every other day, when he seems uncomfortable.

July 19, 2003

Ø       Jack spends all day in one spot on the carpet. He rarely moves except to eat and go to the litter box.

Ø       Jack has lost another 2 pounds. He is not eating well. I have been feeding him by hand and bringing his food to him. He is also constipated.

Ø       I gave Jack ¼ Torbutrol every day for the past 10 days. He has been too sluggish, so I have discontinued it.

Ø       I switched from regular IP-6 to Cell Forte (with Inositol) but I think that made Jack constipated.

Ø       I have decided to discontinue all medicines to get a good baseline on how he is feeling.

June 30, 2003

Ø       Jack has had VAS for ONE YEAR now.

Ø       Jack’s tumor is shaped like a football helmet and is getting larger mostly on the sides. It is the size of a small melon.

Ø       He has lost an additional 1 pound. His vet gave him some pain medicine, Torbutrol, for a few days, but Jack didn’t seem to perk up so we discontinued it; he’s probably not in a lot of pain yet (he obviously is uncomfortable, though).

Ø       I have added the Cansema powder back into Jack’s regimen, giving it along with the Cansema Tonic III.

June 12, 2003

Ø       Jack’s tumor is now the size of half a softball.

Ø       He continues to eat; however he has lost 2 pounds in the past 2months.

May 26, 2003

Jack’s tumor has “spilled” over both sides of his shoulders, so that I can no longer feel his shoulder blades.

April 11, 2003

Ø       Jack’s tumor continues to grow unabated.

Ø       Vet exam shows he is doing OK otherwise and probably has at least a couple months of life left.

Ø       He continues to sleep most of the day and the tumor is slightly painful to the touch.

March 31, 2003

Begin gradually increasing the dosage of Cansema Tonic III from the recommended20 drops (50 ml) per day to 30 drops per day (75 ml).

March 23, 2003

Ø       After several weeks of difficulty administering the Tonic III to Jack by eyedropper, I began putting the tonic into empty gel capsules to insure a full dose.

Ø       Jack’s tumor continues to grow

February 27, 2003

Changed from Cansema capsules to Cansema Tonic III.

February 24, 2003

The new tumor is still growing and is now bigger than the original lump felt back in June.

December 26, 2002

Jack begins his 7^thmonth of life since his diagnosis. Since he was only given 4 to 6 months to live at that time, this is a significant milestone.

December 17, 2002

Only a single tumor can now be felt in between shoulder blades. It feels like the original lump felt in June 2002.

December 3, 2002

A second small hard tumor felt in between shoulder blades

November 20, 2002

Another small hard tumor felt in between shoulder blades

October 26, 2002

Tumors are no longer noticeable

September 26, 2002

Tumors seem to be smaller

July 26, 2002

Started Cansema therapy (capsules)

July 11, 2002

Started IP-6therapy

June 25, 2002

Diagnosed with VAS

 Early June, 2002

First felt a lump in between Jack’s shoulder blades