Just wanted to give an update on this. I visited the oncologist on Tuesday and it went about as predicted. She recommended several treatment options all of which included chemotherapy. Costs ranged from $4,000 to $9,000 with the most expensive being the "Madison Wisconsin Protocol."
During this time, I continued to feed raw food to my dog (beef, chicken, veggies) with the exception being boiled eggs (two per day).
After much thought, I decided to scrap all forms of the chemotherapy and stick with the raw diet.
A friend recommended a dog food shop that specializes in "holistic" treatment for dogs with cancer. I reviewed the foods they had available and decided upon Nature's Variety Instinct Raw which is 8-oz patties of raw meat (95%) with the remaining 5% a mixture of blueberries, apples, carrots, sweet potato and other natural produce. 0% grain.
The dog food I've been using all these years (Iams) had a high amount of grain.
It come in several varieties (beef, chicken, rabbit, lamb, duck) and is pretty expensive - between $40-45 for 12 patties (my dog has two patties a day). But much cheaper than the chemo options. I supplement that with at least two hard-boiled eggs a day and some cooked meat from the table!
Dixie is definitely feeling much better and seems much perkier. We have done several long walks this weekend. Will see how she does in the long-term. When I first got the diagnosis a couple weeks ago, was told that she had 4-8 weeks to live unless we started the chemo. At that time, she was sluggish, had no appetite and didn't even want to go outside. So big improvement. Will update this thread as time goes on.
