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On September 19, 1992, I adopted a Siberian Husky called Max from my local shelter, the SPCA of Westchester in Briarcliff NY. “Max” became “Bullet” (as in faster than a speeding...) because of his great love of running. His friends call him Bully because of his great love of growling. Bullet taught me how to train an untrainable dog (according to local trainers), but he did much more than that. He inspired me, for example, to learn to knit in order to make sweaters, vests and scarves from his fur. He taught me to mush on dog sledding trips in Lake Placid, NY. In June 2000, I detected enlarged “glands” in Bullet’s neck, just where a doctor will feel your neck for swollen glands if you complain of a sore throat. Allergies were suspected and antihistamines were prescribed, but the glands remained. On Tuesday, July 17th, 2000, In order to rule out lymphoma, Bruce Hoskins DVM at the Croton Animal Hospital in Croton, NY attempted a fine needle aspirate of a lymph node. Unfortunately, the fluid extracted did not contain lymph and so a surgical biopsy was performed. Dr. Hoskins called the next evening to say that the lab report was positive for canine lymphoma. He provided me with the names of a few veterinary oncologists within an hour’s drive and also of a nearby vet who provided cancer treatment but was not board certified in oncology. His name is Paolo Porzio, DVM, and he agreed to see Bullet and start chemo the next day, July 18, 2000. His office was a half hour from home. I decided the most important thing was to get Bullet started on chemo right away, and so I chose to see Dr. Porzio based on location and availability despite the fact that he was not board certified in oncology. This has not been an obstacle in any way. Fortunately for Bullet and me, there was no resident oncologist where Dr. Porzio had completed his residency, and so the interns were taught to provide cancer treatment. The locale of Dr. Porzio’s residency, Saskatchuan, also appealed to me because it meant that he would be familiar with the idiosyncrasies and antics of the breed (and there are many). During our first visit, I knew that Paolo was a great choice. He was wonderful with both of us, providing me with a great deal of information about cancer treatment and taking the time to answer all of my many questions simply and completely. He was gentle and very attentive to Bullet. Showing great flexibility and respect for his client’s wishes, Dr. Porzio agreed to use a chemotherapy protocol (treatment plan) that he had not previously used—one that I chose after a telephone consultation with Dave Ruslander, DACVIM (Oncology), DACVR (Radiation Oncology), Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Sciences at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine in Raleigh.
During the following 75 weeks of chemotherapy, there were a number of setbacks and secondary issues. Several times I thought I might be losing Bullet, but Dr. Porzio was always available and eager to solve the problem. On March 15th 2003, Bullet will turn 12 with two years and eight
months in remission from lymphoma. Dr. Porzio has given me the gift
of being able to see Bullet through his twilight years and I am
very grateful. |
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(c) 2005 Porzio Veterinary Professional Corporation |
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