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This post made me cry,bought back memories of when I had to have my german shephard put down,cancer had spread to her lungs.I stayed with her when it was done,I didn,t want her to be alone and to this day(it's been 10yrs) if I think about it I cry.My heart goes out to anyone going through this.
Today was a sad day for our family our dog Bruce 10 year old labrador was put to sleep he had nasal tumour we could not see him suffer we loved him to much he had been not himself since January with bad breathing nasal mucas and Tuesday he had a bulging eye although he was still happy to be with us we did not want to see him suffer as his condition was taking its toll it was kinder to have him put to sleep
I just got back from my trip to Portland and my niece's funeral. Such a sad event saying good bye to a 20 yr old. Lots of rain while I was there, don't think I could live there .
I want to thank everyone for their concern and Mumstheword so sorry to hear about your Bruce. That is always a tough decision but I agree with you they should not have to suffer. Sometimes death is the kinder option. When my mom decided to stop her chemo it was tough but I knew how unhappy she was feeling so fatigued all of the time and that there was no way she would beat the cancer so we said good bye earlier but she had a peaceful death and that beats the suffering that goes with fighting to the very end. you have my sympathies on your loss of Bruce.
Yesterday after I got home we had our appointment with the Radiology oncologist. I really liked him and he said at their clinic they put comfort and quality of life above going for a cure. I think I am going to spend the money on a Cat scan to see if it has spread and just how large the area is as they can not tell on the Xray as they believe part of the whited out area is mucus trapped in there. If it comes back that it has not spread I may do pallative radiation to buy some time and some comfort. The side effects are not too bad and the big one, blindness in the left eye would not happen for about 9 months and occurs due to a cataract. The vet says when the treatment buys 9 months that is good despite the cataract as many do not make it to that point .
If I was really rich I would go for the more aggressive treatment if the area was small as now they also have a 3D radialogy machine that hits it from several angles with a very fine beam that does less damage to healthy tissue. He said Sugery and that 3D treatments they are seeing dogs living for years verses months and some are well past the 2 yr mark and have a good quality of life.But the sad part is it costs an arm and a leg and then some. I am not sure Dash could endure all that time it would require with the vets. He did not want to come out from under the chair to meet this new doctor as I think he has had enough doctors already. When he did come out he gave the vet some big kisses as if to say it is not you but rather what you might do to me like poke me with a needle.
Anyway if it is still small I may do the pallitive which is 5 days of radiation. Dash is otherwise healthy and I think he will do fine and I will spray the area with willards water each night to try to prevent radiation burns. I also plan to start him on Poly MVA as it should help prevent side effects too. He also gets Cottage cheeze with flax seed and DHA. My goal is to prevent suffering.
The vet said he has always felt that dogs with nasal cancer must be walking around with huge sinus headaches so he gave me some Piroxicam to try as it should do away with inflammation and swelling and let that upper sinus drain so is like me taking a Tylenol for a head ache. Well last night was the first night Dash has slept and he was not even snorting. Nights have been the only time I realized something was wrong as he would pace and change postion and snort. He was so restless that I knew something was wrong and bothering him so last night was a slice of heaven for he, Jazz and I.
I will let you know how the Cat scan turns out and what I do decide and how it goes as sharing the info may help someone else down the road.
I have been looking for answers and stumbled on this site. My "Little Bit" is a mixed shepherd/husky/collie (and probably various others) She had been bleeding from her right nostril three months ago, we had 10 bad teeth pulled and one was abscessed. the vet thought after some antibiotics would do the trick. Well yesturday she sneezed four times, hard enough that had it been me, my brain would have rattled. Anyway blood went everywhere and she bled continually all day (I was so worried, I stayed home from work). The vet has said it is probably a tumor, and would not know without some mighty expensive tests, and then there would be nothing they could do anyway. She is 14 and lived a long and wonderful life, so I am not going to put her through that. She tembles every time she goes to the vet. The vet suggests putting her down, easy for them, she is not THEIR BABY.............Any one have any suggestions or anything that they tried that worked. I am trying to stay stong for her, but I don't wish her to be in pain, which actually she seems pretty at peace. Still is happy when we come home and if you threw a steak on the floor she would be right there, wagging her tail ready to eat. How can I make the decision to put her to sleep, when she still seems happy.
Since I am sort of looking at the same issues with a younger dog I will share my feelings with you. I will probably do pallitive radiation to buy Dash a bit more time as he is only 11.The oncology vet said the tumors usually spread into the brain and the dogs start having seizures but even then they can control them with medicines for awhile.
Dash was put on Piroxicam yesterday it has to be made up at a pharamacy that does compounds so not all pharmacies or vets have it. It is a non steroid pain reliever and what a difference as he slept last night. The oncologist said he feels dogs with nasal cancer have bad sinus headaches and that was why Dash was restless at night. You might want to see if the vets can get you some to help with pain.It is a once a day pill which makes it nice.
Little Bit has had a good long life as 14 is a pretty normal life span for alot of dogs. Twelve years ago I had to make the decision to treat or not treat lymphoma in my previous dog. I looked at her age 14 and decided no I would not treat it instead I would just let nature take its course and my vet told me the dog would let me know when it was time. Well he was right I wrote down the things she loved to do and the list was topped with eat as she was a chow hound. One by one as the months passed I checked things off the list and the day came when I fed her and she stood over her food looking at me. She acted like she wanted to eat but just couldn't and when our eyes met I just knew it was time to say good bye. I think I wrote about it in an earlier post.
It is not easy to say good bye but it does help when they have lived a good long life and you need to try to focus on that. I also have found it helps me to think that if dogs lived as long as we do I would not have known all the wonderful dogs I have in my life time. That would be sad in itself as I have had some great dogs and enjoyed each and every one.
I would not put Little Bit down if she seems to still be enjoying life. Remember you know her best not the vet. If she starts to act like she is in pain such as being very restless or whining alot and I can not control it with medicine then I would say good bye as she should not have to suffer for my selfish needs of not wanting to say good bye. As I said I think most people know when it is time as the dogs do tell you if you pay close attention and do not let your feelings restrict the view.
I also had a cat that had oral cancer, when we discovered it the vets thought it would be quick (as in days or weeks) but she went on for at least 6 months and one day I noticed the tip of her tongue was turning black. It had become necrotic (dead) from the tumor restricting the blood supply. She was still running around, purring and playing . Dash and Jazz ( dogs) would groom her and I would spoon her food into her mouth as she could not lick. So she did not appear to be suffering but seeing that necrotic tongue tip I decided to prevent any suffering and put her down. I made Catnip tea and got her "high" so when we saw the vet she was purring away happy as can be and she got the injection and the purring stopped. It was a beautiful death and boy that made it alot easier to say goodbye.
We should all be allowed such a pleasant end to our lives.
All my friends say that when they die they want to come back as one of my dogs. My dogs are dogs and I do not think of them as people. I joke that I grew up in the whelping box as that is where I am in some childhood photos the others I tend to have a puppy in my hands.Thus I speak their language and find dogs bond to me fast. I learned to be a responsible pet owner from my parents. When people say it is just an animal it bugs me as I feel we are all gods creatures and that animals deserve to live happy healthy lives just as I do. The earth belongs not only to humans but to every living creature as well.
I got the news that my sweet Guy has nasal cancer yesterday. It is in the left side of his nose, has not spread to his brain or other organs that they see. I bit the bullet and had the CT scan.....Am waiting on biopsy results to see what kind of cancer it is but I don't want to give up.....don't want to put him through painful treatment but don't want to lose him......tell me more about blackroot and anyone who has done radiation....tell me, tell me...my three boys are just devastated and I have cried buckets of tears!
Jan, I am a new member.....with an Australian Shepherd who is 11 and was diagnosed yesterday......let me know what you decide please.......would love to walk this with you. My dog's name is Guy, the cancer is in his left nasal passage under the eye. LuAnn
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Sad Day
I am not sure Dash could endure all that time it would require with the vets. He did not want to come out from under the chair to meet this new doctor as I think he has had enough doctors already. When he did come out he gave the vet some big kisses as if to say it is not you but rather what you might do to me like poke me with a needle. 
