Jezebel's CT Scan Results

Jezebel had her first radiation therapy, today. We left the house at 5:30 a.m. which allowed me to use the HOV lane. That worked out well because the main lanes were jammed. I did NOT miss my turnoff, this time, and got to the hospital early. On Tuesday when we went, she really didn't want to go inside. This morning, she got out and pulled me towards the door. She clearly knows the routine, now, and like most of us, is happier for it. She walked in and sat on the scale without being told, and loved on the staff who are all her new friends. She didn’t seem upset when I left and they tell me she was quite relaxed the whole time she was there. I sure felt better about having to leave her.

I was able to pick her up 4.5 hours later and drive her home. Evelyn was glad to see us and I expect the neighbors were, too, since apparently she howled the whole time we were gone, poor thing. This is probably as hard on Evelyn, emotionally, as it is on any of us. I know the following is kind of hard to look at...


The doctor was VERY pleased with the CT scan results. The tumor is small and confined to the planal (the black part). Here is a picture of Evelyn modeling the planal.


The tumor did NOT enter into the bone or back into the nasal cavity. This is huge because the planal is a different organ, entirely. The nasal is full of vasculatures that aren't in the planal. Plus, the vaccine appears to work better with smaller tumors if I understood the doctor, correctly.

Not only does the small size and location potentially slow down matastasis (although there are no guarantees), it has reduced the area that will need to be radiated. Her eyes and nasal cavities should not be affected. This is obviously a very big deal in terms of quality of life. The tumor runs along the top of the planal and very, very slightly to one side – but it is small. Here is a picture of Jezebel with new lines drawn. The tumor does not go all the way to the lines. See where the curved dark black on the smooth nose first meets the lighter black on the top of her muzzle? The tumor does NOT cross that line. It stops short. These lines just help adjust the radiation machine so it can be set to where it needs to be.


Happily, the doctor said that although the median survival time without treatment is about 5 months, she’d bet Jezebel would likely be able to go a year before metastasis even without the vaccine because: 1) the tumor is small and 2) its location is outside the nasal cavity and bone. So that is fabulous. But also just an educated hunch, of course.

With the Merial vaccine, the vet was willing to go out on a limb and say Jezebel has a 70% chance of surviving 1.5 years with good quality of life. That is not the same thing as saying she will die in 1.5 years. She is saying that there is a 70% chance that she will still be with us in 1.5 years. If you are interested, here is a link to an article about the new vaccine: http://tinyurl.com/64pnk4

Had the tumor been slightly smaller, surgery would have been an option. Not much of an option, however, since they’d have to remove the entire nose and you can imagine that dogs don’t do well without a nose. We wouldn't have allowed them to do that.

The damage from the radiation should not be too bad, all things considered. She could have her nostril change color, perhaps just the one side, and she might lose the hair a half inch (plus one centimeter) beyond the planal along the bridge but that is about it. The skin in that area is already black and a little thin so maybe it won’t be too noticeable (as if we care at this point). Her nostril may get cracky and dry, permanently. The vet says that doesn’t seem to bother dogs too much and we can put ointment on it.

See where they drew the line right above the black part of her nose? That is about where any hair loss would end. The rest should grow back, just fine.


Jezebel goes back next Thursday for her next radiation therapy. They don’t expect too many side effects or discomfort, this go-round. She doesn't look too great but she is just sleepy. She is getting around fine and not demonstrating any discomfort. In fact, she is a lot more chipper than she was on Tuesday.

So am I.

So that is the scoop. Again, so far, so good.

Oh, and here is a picture of Evelyn taken right after we got back. I am not sure even a miracle vaccine could fix THIS: