Barley continues to feel pretty good! We’ve been swimming every day, taking long walks, and playing plenty of ball. His appetite is good and he continues to gain weight — he wasn’t skinny before, but his fieldwork weight doesn’t give much room for weight loss and we want him to have padding for the future. He is loving “fat camp,” especially the King salmon scraps I brought to Oregon from Alaska. Our plan, which the oncologist supports, is to let him try a short day of work on the Dune Marten project next week.
Barley's 19-week CHOP protocol for dealing with lymphoma involves three different drugs, with one being administered at a time. Next week's drug can have cardiac side effects, we ran some tests today. Because a couple of Barley's levels were off (and today's dose could worsen that) we did not do chemo today.
We should hear more by Tuesday about how we’ll adjust his plan going forward. There are a couple different ways his treatment can be changed to accommodate his needs, and there's a good chance his levels will even out and we can get back onto the original plan. They sent us home with some antibiotics to keep him safe while white blood cell levels are low. We are going to watch him closely for signs of infection, but for now, the oncologist isn’t worried.
Barley was able to see an oncologist today in Springfield, OR. It's about a one hour drive each way, but they have availability and were able to start chemotherapy today. They reported that he did "great" with chemo and he is on his way home now to rest. I (Kayla) fly to Oregon on July 14 to be with Barley and my partner Wynton for 11 days before returning to my field site in Alaska. We should get more test results on Monday or so, which will inform stage and cell type affected.
Based on his x-ray and ultrasound earlier this week, Barley does NOT have additional masses.