News you never want to hear
“Roxy’s a very energetic dog,” says Jim, who works as an accountant. “We got her as a playmate for our other dog Cheetah, and we just fell in love with her. Then right after her fourth birthday, Roxy began to cough, and then it stopped. So we thought perhaps it was allergies. But the cough came back again and was an unusual-sounding one, according to Joe who’s an animal trainer. He said it wasn’t right. On March 21, 2021, we took Roxy to our general practitioner veterinarian at VCA Hollywood Animal Hospital, Dr. Jodi Heim. She ordered an x-ray and that's when she found the lung mass.”
After that, Dr. Heim performed a biopsy, which all hoped was just a polyp or a cyst. Unfortunately, two days later, Jim and Joe received the call that the mass was cancerous.
A rare, aggressive cancer
Dr. Heim referred Jim and Joe to VCA Hollywood Animal Hospital’s veterinary specialist Irene Vazquez, DVM, MS, DACVIM who specializes in oncology. “They got us right in and Dr. Vazquez did some blood work,” explains Jim.
“Roxy is the sweetest, sweetest little girl,” explains Dr. Vazquez. “She was diagnosed with pulmonary carcinoma, which is one of the most common types of lung cancer that we see in dogs. Unfortunately in Roxy’s case, the CT scan showed that the cancer had already spread to other locations within her lungs. It's definitely very rare—something that I’m not used to seeing in a young dog. And it's even more rare to have such an aggressive form of cancer. So surgery was off the table and chemotherapy was our best treatment option. The owners loved Roxy very much, they did so much for her.”
It’s very unusual to find any type of cancer in a four-year-old dog. Dr. Vazquez shared with Jim and Joe that Roxy’s prognosis was likely to be poor, giving her approximately six months to live with treatment. And without chemotherapy, her expected survival was less than three months.
Roxy
“Dr. Vazquez basically saved our little girl, so we can't thank her and the staff enough at VCA. Roxy's current quality of life and future is bright.”Chemotherapy—her best chance at life
Jim and Joe knew about animal chemotherapy but they didn't know what it entailed. “I thought it was just a pill,” shares Jim. “I didn't know it was an actual IV solution where the dog has to be under supervision for hours on end. It was quite a process.”
“Talking to Dr. Vazquez was actually very refreshing,” notes Joe, “because she knows her stuff. She knows what to expect and she guided us through the steps, explaining why Roxy had to be in the office for 6 to 8 hours on those chemo days. She was very honest, but in a kind, warm and gentle way.”
Dr. Vazquez developed a five-page treatment plan that was highly detailed. She walked Jim and Joe through how it worked, and answered their questions. Roxy was put on a three-week cycle. During week one, Roxy received two different chemotherapy drugs, then during week two she received one chemotherapy drug and on the third week she was off all treatments—Roxy's favorite week!
During her chemotherapy, Roxy experienced very few side effects. “Roxy didn't get nauseous, she didn't get diarrhea and she didn't stop eating,” states Dr. Vazquez. “She just kept living her normal life, which is, ultimately, what we want to see in every patient who gets chemotherapy. That's our goal.”
The only thing Jim and Joe noticed was that she was exhausted the evenings after treatment, and the next day she mostly slept. “On chemo days, we'd keep the walks very short and then let her rest,” says Jim. “We had a place set up for her in our house where she rested without the other animals bothering her. She didn’t lose any hair and her appetite remained really strong.”
Complete remission for Roxy
The team at VCA Hollywood Animal Hospital finished Roxy’s chemotherapy several months ago. It was nine months from the time of diagnosis to the end of her treatment. And to everyone's surprise, Roxy went into complete remission.
Dr. Vazquez says there’s no evidence of cancer that she can see on x-rays today, which is how they typically monitor pulmonary cancer. "When I saw the results, I thought ‘this is amazing.’” exclaims Dr. Vazquez after returning to VCA after her maternity leave. "It just filled my heart at that moment. Roxy’s a superhero. She did awesome with her chemotherapy protocol. And being able to share this news with the owners—it doesn’t get any better than that. Definitely something to celebrate.”
Jim says they weren't expecting the outcome they received, and they’re very grateful for it. “Dr. Vazquez basically saved our little girl, so we can't thank her and the staff enough at VCA. Roxy's current quality of life and future is bright. She's a happy-go-lucky dog. Our animals are our kids, and we take them everywhere. Roxy now has a full life ahead of her.”
