Rags' Remarkable Journey: 3 Years Surviving Lymphoma Against the Odds

Rags Dental 9-23-08 – On September 23, 2008 Rags went in for yet another dental. I say this because he just had a dental on April 22, 2008. I had called Claudia Barton of Texas A&M University last week to thank her for her help in developing a chemotherapy protocol for Rags’ Lymphoma. In December 2005, the doctors had only given him 4-12 months to live if he had chemo (only 4-8 weeks to live if he didn’t) and it’s been nearly three years—so she must have done something right! So I called to thank her and then told her about him pawing at his mouth (you can watch theyou tube video where he does this) as I wondered if it was a side effect of the chemo drugs at all. She said that is was probably Feline Oral Resorptive Lesions (FORLs) that were causing him to do this and cause this discomfort. So I got in contact with Rags’ vet at the time, Mariposa Veterinary Center. Dr. Chappell recommended that I call Companion Animal Dentistry of Kansas City and talk to Dr. Susan Crowder. Dr. Chappell recommended a specialty clinic for Rags because of his age (he’s 19), his problem and because Dr. Crowder uses a gas anesthetic to put animals under, which is a much safer anesthetic than other ones (because it is easier to bring them back if something should go wrong). Dr. Crowder was kind enough to let me come back in the back and watch some of the procedure and take some photos. She was also kind enough to send me the jpegs of the x-rays she took, showing his lesions. Thanks to Dr. Crowder for making this webpage a bit more interesting with pictures! Dr. Crowder first took x-rays of Rags’ mouth to find out where he was having problems and to figure out what teeth to extract for Rags Dental 9-23-08. Here are photos of Dr. Crowder scraping away plaque and other nasty things growing on Rags’ teeth during Rags Dental 9-23-08. I decided to take a photo of Rags’ heart rate monitor while he was under. This continued to fluctuate and Dr. Crowder towards the end of the procedure wanted to hurry up and recover Rags because of hypo-tension or low blood pressure. These are photos of Rags Dental on 9 23 08 after the extractions. I wasn’t able to stay in the room and take photos of the extractions. Dr. Crowder wanted to work quickly because of Rags’ age and asked me to stay out of the room. Probably it was best that I did as I would have asked too many questions and would have been distracting, but I would have loved to have seen the teeth extracted too. Look how limp his body goes when under anesthesia. His body is so stiff from arthritis these days that it is weird to see it this sprawled out. One he started waking up and trying to swallow, Dr. Crowder pulled his trachea tube and he started breathing on his own. Area of Previous FORL resorbed-left PreMolar Present Lower incisors pre-extraction Rad of area of FORL-right side-premolar present Rad of area of previous upper right canine 104 Upper Left Canine with Type II FORL

How to Prevent Dentals like Rags Dental on 9-23-08

This is Floppycats.com’s Caymus getting his teeth brushed for the second time! This is the toothpaste I use in the video that Caymus loves: C.E.T. Toothpaste Poultry Flavor 2.5 Oz Poultry flavored enzymatic toothpaste for use with dogs and cats as part of an essential program for the pet’s oral health. More Dental Information on Floppycats.com

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