Rusty Update

[Chuck Holliman]

Rusty saw Dr. Huber yesterday and had his sutures removed, for which he was very appreciative; Dr. Huber said that his recovery was doing very well and he did not see anything for us to worry about from the
surgery. We then met Dr. Macy, the oncologist, who is very nice; he came
in and said my name is Dennis and sat down on the floor with Rusty. Dr.
Macy discussed the various Chemotherapy options that are available for treating
Rusty (they are all the same drugs as used on humans, nothing has been
developed for canines) and the two specific drugs he felt were the best for
Rusty considering the type of cancer, the aggressiveness of it and Rusty’s
age. We accepted his recommendations and he gave Rusty his first
intravenous treatment; Rusty will receive the intravenous drugs monthly for six
months. He also prescribed another drug that is given orally monthly
every two weeks after the intravenous drugs. They will monitor Rusty’s
blood counts, liver functions along with additional scans and X-Rays to make
sure the cancer has not returned.

Dr. Macy hopes that this treatment plan may eliminate or delay the recurrence of the cancer in Rusty. The odds are against us that the cancer can be eliminated as the pathology reports on the tumor place the
cancer as the most aggressive form possible; their prognosis is for Rusty to
have at least 1 to 3 years of quality life; possibly more. Rusty slept
for 12 hours last night after the treatment, but so far has not suffered any
nausea or vomiting which are the most severe of the side effects of the
drug. They did give him an injection to prevent these side effects and he
has oral medication for the next four days to counter them. His appetite
was good this morning and he is motoring around the house very comfortably,
again very appreciative to no longer be confined to the recovery room; he
hopped up on the couch in my office (with a little difficulty, but surprised
both of us) where he is now fast asleep. Jan and I were back in our
bedroom and our wonderful bed after sleeping on the couch and recliner in the
recovery room the past two weeks.

Our hopes are now in the miracle of medicine, Rusty’s strong determination to have a normal life and all of the well wishes and prayers his many friends and supporters have offered for him.

Chuck & Jan

[LINDA & TEDDY]

Just caught your latest update. I am quite the Rusty fan and have kept him, you and Jan in my thoughts and prayers. I just have to think that your little guy will be around to spread the joy for a long time. Don't forget to keep us posted, you know Rusty has lots of friends here.

[Leslie J]

Sounds like Rusty is coming along well... I'm sending lots of wishes that he continues to recover. What a sweet little face he has :) he must be one precious boy.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Thanks for the update. I hope Rusty continues to have no or few side effects and is able to enjoy life to the fullest.

[Kyoko]

Rusty is a trouper.... our continueing prayer is with Rusty, you and your family.

[Tante & Jordan & now Annie!]

Thank you for the update on Rusty. I will continue to keep your family in my thoughts.

[Rose]

I'm glad to hear Rusty is doing well. All of you are in my prayers.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I hope the progress continues smoothly.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

So happy to hear that he is doing so well. We keep all of your in out thoughts and prayers and wish for nothing short of the best of all possible scenarios for Rusty!

[Pat & "Tucker"]

Rusty is so so lucky to have two wonderful parents. So glad he is feeling good after the chemo. Thanks for the update and we'll keep praying for all of you! Hi Rusty! Hugs and Kisses.

[Kathy Spyker]

Rustys been through so much, I hope his chemo continues to go smoothly for him..Thank you for keeping us updated.