Bynx
Bynx’s Intra-Arterial Chemo
By Lisa
November 2013, we were crushed to find out our big loveable dog had prostate cancer. Bynx, our 96 pound German Shorthaired Pointer was the big baby of our family. He was a big German Shorthaired Pointer, but his size was nothing compared to the loveable dog that he was.
Our family vet, Dr. Bill Whittaker, referred us to Dr. Craig Clifford at Hope Veterinary Services in Malvern, PA. After going over many things with us Dr. Clifford said if we chose to do nothing for Bynx he would have maybe 3 months to live. He said there was no cure for his cancer and an operation wasn’t going to help either. Chemotherapy would help reduce the size of the tumor and keep it from spreading. We were so upset. Dr. Clifford gave us some options and one of them was a study funded by the Puppy Up Foundation. It was titled, “Intra-Arterial Chemo versus Intravenous Chemo.” He told us it was a free study as long as Bynx met the criteria. We would have to take Bynx to New York City to be seen at the Animal Medical Center. We would also have to do other chemo, blood tests, and ultrasounds in addition to the chemo he would be getting in New York City. We met with Dr. Chick Weiss in New York City and Bynx met the criteria. We had to take the chance and see if this would help our Bynx.
We took Bynx to New York City the Monday before Thanksgiving in 2013. Our normal 3 ½ hour drive took us 5 hours. Traffic was crazy going through the tunnel, but we did not care. Bynx was our main concern. We had to leave Bynx at the Animal Medical Center overnight. They were going to do the procedure the next day. They put Bynx under general anesthesia and made a small incision in his neck. The chemo was put through his carotid artery and directly into his prostate. He did great through the procedure. They kept him overnight for observation and we got to pick him up the next day. We drove back to New York City on Wednesday and got our pup! He slept most of the way home but he was doing great. He never got sick, lost his hair, or acted any differently than our normal, loveable Bynx.
Three weeks later we had to take him to Malvern, PA and he received chemo intravenously. He had to have a few sessions of that chemo but he always did well. After that we had to have an ultrasound done and we learned that his had tumor shrunk more than 30%. The doctors were thrilled and so were we. We had to continue to do blood work, chemo, and ultrasounds, and every time we got good news…his tumor was staying stable with no growth! We were extremely happy. In March of 2014 they offered to do another round of chemo in New York City for free. This time they went through his groin into his prostate. Again, he did great. If we had seen him suffering or reacting badly to any of this we would not have put him through that. Each time he handled it without getting sick or acting any differently.
Again, the chemo, tests, overnight stay and everything in New York City were free. We did have to pay for the intravenous chemo, blood tests, and ultrasounds in Malvern. But it was worth it! We got to have an additional 1 year and 2 months with Bynx. We just had an ultrasound on January 10, 2015. Again, we received good news! Everything looked good and no change or growth with his tumor. Then almost 2 weeks later on January 26, 2015 we lost our Bynx. He was playing in the snow with our son and our other German Shorthair. He just went and laid down in the snow and passed away. Without any tests done they think he had a heart attack. He was doing so well with his cancer staying stable. We never thought something beside his cancer would take him from us.
He was an awesome dog and we are so glad that we agreed to the study. We are sure that the extra 1 year and 2 months that we had with him were because of the study he was in, and the generous PuppyUp Foundation for funding the study. For us it was worth it!!
