Kudo is rocking 2024!

Today marks 14 months since Kudo’s diagnose of stage 3 lymphoma. When we began this journey with Kudo, everything was based on quality of life and still is.

Kudo’s drive for adventure continues to impress us. It’s been cold over the last few weeks in northern NH. One of Kudo’s newfound activities is hide and seek. This game consists of me running all over the house and hiding before Kudo can catch me. I often lose by getting caught prior to hiding, resulting in Kudo receiving his reward. Cookies!! Occasionally I get lucky and find a hiding spot that earns me a 2 second break from running, but Kudo always finds me. Kudo’s excitement each time he finds me worth all the breathless laps around the house.

Kudo also decided that he was ready to try riding a skateboard at 12.5 years old.

Kudo loves spending time with his best friends.

Over the last couple of months, we tried a couple of treatments that did not work to keep Kudo in remission, 2 weeks ago in early February the lymph nodes in his neck became very swollen within just a couple of days. They started to swell a few days prior to Kudo’s appointment and continued to swell over the weekend with his appointment scheduled for Wednesday. We watched Kudo closely during this time for any signs of distress, caused by these swollen lymph nodes. Kudo’s routines remained normal, his appetite remained strong, he continued to act like himself. We even contacted a specialist outside of Kudo’s team to ensure that his quality of life was still being maintained, she assured us it was and provided us with additional detail on the progression of lymphoma.

At Kudo’s appointment on February 7th his lymph nodes were very swollen, his oncologist recommended that we try a new medication called Elspar. This drug is known for kick starting remission, it basically attacks the unhealthy cancer cells at a rapid rate, the healthy cells are able to process this drug, leaving them less affected. Kudo’s oncologist was surprised that we hadn’t used this drug yet, but also grateful as Kudo really needed something to bring the swelling down in his neck and hopefully keep the cancer from spreading. Within a few days of receiving the Elspar the lymph nodes were small, soft and squishy, AKA wonderful.

Kudo received treatment today on February 20th, another new drug Tanovea, this drug is FDA approved for canine lymphoma. Tanovea activates once it’s in the dogs’ body and begins to attack the rapidly dividing cell, by building up in the cell and causing the cell to die.

Here’s to more amazing adventures with Kudo the dog!