Gabi Update – November, 2006
Gabi wants to thank everyone for their continued support with her recovery and efforts to remain cancer free. She has reached a lot of people with her story and has helped out numerous families with the cancer there puppies have encountered. She hopes to continue to help in anyway she can if your loved one, or anyone you know, is inflicted with this disease.
Gabi remains bright and alert with tons of energy. My girlfriend’s dog, Dakota, and she have been playing hard and keeping each other in shape. Gabi still enjoys and relishes the opportunity to greet everyone when you come in the door.
Last September, I discovered a bump on her muzzle where the cancer had been. It was a few days before she was scheduled to see Dr. Prescott in Columbus for her 8 month post radiation check-up,needless to say, we did not wait those few days to go, we went the next day. Dr. Prescott and Dr. Schertel, Gabi’s surgeon who removed the mass tumor from her, thought it was what they called, remodeling associated with surgery and post radiation effects. The surgery and radiation are continuing to create new “things” inside her, not a bad thing, just something to be aware of. Her latest check up last Wednesday before Thanksgiving showed the bump to be the same size as before. Her latest chest X- Rays showed the cancer has not spread to her body cavity. Her next appt. is in two months which will be the one year anniversary of her last radiation treatment. I am considering that date to be her cancer free point, 1/20/06.
Gabi’s holistic doc in N.Y., Dr. Alex, just ran another blood nutrition analysis and shows her to be in good, stable health with no major problems. She still shows signs of weaknesses in her metabolism and immune system but those do show signs of improvement. The Dr. even informed me that Gabi has some arthritis which I have noticed her moving a little slower since the weather turned colder. I am amazed at what they can do with reading bloodwork and advising on simple supplements and basic nutrition. They are focused on curing the body of illnesses and returning the body to a healthy state rather than just focusing on treating symptoms while disregarding the underlying problem. Gabi is very lucky to have these two doctors along with the loving staff and Dr. Kunkler at the Stony Creek Pet Clinic. Her illness would have had a different outcome to this point without their help and dedication to our pets.
In October I met a group in Chicago at a trade show who is doing fund raising work for animal cancer. They have designed an orange collar similar to Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong Foundation but these are dog collars for your dogs. As I discussed Gabi’s story and what we had gone through, they discussed the idea of using Gabi in their publicity releases and advertising. They are a great group and are trying to help out us pet owners when our pets come down with cancer come up with information we can use to help them out along with trying to find a cure for the disease in cooperation with the human cancer clinics. You can find them at http://www.pet4pets.com/ and you can also get the collars at DogDayz.
Gabi hopes to see all of you in the near future, she needs all the petting anyone can hand out. And be sure she will push you to give it if you ignore her while in the lobby. Remember, she runs the joint, we merely take up space in her world.
Thanks,
Gabi’s Dad