I realized it has been a while since I posted!

I thought I would check in and give everyone an update on how Oakley is doing.  This past Monday he had his 2 week post-radiation check-up.  He is doing surprisingly well as far as the severity of the side effects.  Side effects are quite noticeable now and started to become quite visible since treatment has ended.  His left inner eye lid is finally starting to heal, but he's losing more hair around the eye.  Also, he's losing hair under his right eye.  We found out that they radiated him on both sides of his face to make sure they get all of the tumor.  But, besides some hair loss and eye watering, he is in very good spirits.  The doctor said that the tumor should continue to shrink over the course of the next couple of months.  She recommended that we come back in a month so they can do some more bloodwork, and they would like to get a couple of chest x-rays to make sure that the cancer has not spread to his lungs, which is what this type of cancer can do as it progresses.  His lungs were clear of any sign before treatment, so hopefully that is what we will find again.  Three to 6 months after radiation treatment is when we would decide to have them do another CT scan to see just what the radiation has done to the tumor.  It sounds like if it's small enough, they can then go in and remove it surgically, which, if everything went okay, would continue to prolong his life and keep the cancer at bay.  The use of Piroxicam, which he is still currently taking, will also prove beneficial in controlling the cancer; at least I am hopeful.  I've read some blogs from other dog owners who did not choose radiation, but just did Piroxicam and a couple of other drugs, and one owner said her dog was going on 3 years survival.  So, it does give me some hope.

Here are some pics showing some of the side effects of the radiation:

You can see the lighter fur under his eyes - the middle pic is blurry, but I was trying to get a shot of his inner eyelid, but it didn't work out very well.  I just saw today that right above his right eye, he's losing more fur.  It's like it's getting rubbed right off.  Poor guy... :(