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Dear Graceleyn and Lucky, we are glad that you found your way here, there is alot of good information and support. I know we were not ready to hear the news, our Rocky was a little over 12, a black lab. Darbi and Rocky
[quote=AustinLuckyDog;14448273]To Jan and everyone who posts here,
I'm sorry if this post is so negative. The pain is so fresh that is hard for me to be anything else.
All I ask for now is time. Quality time.
Gracelyn, I am sorry to hear about Lucky, it is never easy to get any bad news about our Dogs and that word cancer does overwhelm you as I told Alessia that very word mentioned in the diagnosis of a loved one ( pets included as they too are our loved ones) paralyzes your whole thought process we eat , breathe and sleep that word cancer as it kicks off the grieving process for us.I don't think you can ever really be ready to hear that word " cancer"
The trick is to learn to take the power or control back from the cancer and learn to accept and live each day as it comes. Not easy to do and for some people it takes a very long time if they ever can do that but somewhat necessary for the time to be quality time for both of you.
I found talking about Dash helped me alot as did having the support I found here.
Your post is not negative you are telliing us something most of us have gone through so we know how you are feeling and that is a very normal way to feel. I myself would like to hear more about Lucky and your life together.What type of Dog is Lucky and how old is he? Any dog with the name Lucky must have a story to go with the name. For now I will send some prayers and positive thoughts your way and hope that Lucky gets some more quality time that you both can enjoy.
Hello to Jan and all you that are new to the forum. I haven't been on for several months. Times goes so fast lately, and I so wish I could slow it down. Kisses is still doing well, 9 1/2 months post radiation. His blood work last week was good, and he's definitely a trooper for a 16 1/2 year old dog! He continues to eat the Hills Rx Kidney diet food and lots of raw veggies. I've also been giving him a DHA 200 mg. daily (algae based EFA) but nothing else in the way of herbal supplements. He is almost blind, is on medication for KCS dry eye and the hearing is going, but he still has a lot of life and seems happy.
Wow 16 1/2! Yeah Kisses! I am so glad to hear he is still doing well. I think I have said before that I do think Cyber knife holds alot of promise in cancer treatments hopefully some day it will be more common and not require a trip to Colorado State for animals. It is becoming more common in some areas for human treatment which is good Give Kisses a big smooch!
I'm so Sorry for you Austin... it's sorry to know there's another dog fighting against this horrible desease and another "dad" grieving... but I'm happy that you, as I did, found this forum for support and help.
Here is my update: Luna got her 4th treatment, last one will be next monday... immediatly after that we'll be heading home.
citolgy results: the sample taken for the citology was not diagnostic (they had told me that this can happen) and so they did another one during the fourth treatment.
I have my end-of-therapy appointment today (I asked it not to be on Monday so that they have more time to answer my questions as on Mondays, beeing the first day of therapy for some, it's always too crowded).
I'm going there in less than an hour and hope the re-done citolgy can tell me something this time. Hopefully good news... I can't bear other bad news in this moment... so please send us all your positive thoughts and prayers as you always do... Luna and I need them desperatly!
Hello Everyone, its nice to see so many dog lovers, I've been reading everyones comments and its both informative and sad at the same time, my dog Riley 12.5 yrs old is a black lab/border collie, he hasn't been diagnosed yet but I have a feeling he has a nasal tumor.
Back in March he started sneezing just clear snot with a bit of blood, we put him on antibiotics in case of something lodged or an infection and his nosed dried up but then when we were done it came back, he didn't have an infection and there was no blood for awhile and the sneezing became less but I tried benedryl at the Vet's request thinking ok he's got allergies, he eats, drinks, jumps, walks is totally normal, his nose looks totally normal too.
But 2 weeks ago we saw some blood (not a lot) on the floor and this last week he seems to be sneezing more, clear, sometimes some white and little bit of blood mixed with it but not every time he sneezes. I'm really trying to be positive and we are going back to the Vet this afternoon and I'm very nervous. How did your dogs get diagnosed? xray? blood test?
Even if he does have cancer I'm not putting him through any surgery or radiation, he would not want that, as I said he's fine so he must be at the early stages of what is happening....I can't put him down because he's sneezing a lot with a bit of blood??!! I love him more than everything and this is agonizing beyond words I find myself having to step back and take a deep breath!
My heart is breaking, any recommendations would be great to keep his quality of life the best that I can, do these symptoms sound familiar to anyone? I keep picking away when some dried snot is around the nose so maybe I am causing the bleeding?? Like I said its not a lot of blood like how some of you on here have posted....ugghh
Darbi, I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope that sharing your love for Rocky will help him live on in your heart.
Jan, Thank you so much for your words of encouragement. You are right. I need to take back the power I have given the cancer and focus on "life". Lucky may not have a great deal of time left but I can squeeze every bit of joy and love into what time he has left. I'm going to love him "just that little bit more". As you said, not everyone gets that opportunity. I guess it is a blessing that I can take advantage of. Lucky is a Dalmatian. Like Rocky, he is a little over 12 years old. I came to know him when a friend who volunteered at our local shelter came back to work frantic because a Damatian pup had been dropped off with an open wound from shoulder to tail. The shelter was going to "put him down" because they didn't have the staff to nurse him. I dashed down there and asked if I could foster the puppy. (We were just not ready for another on a long term basis) He healed slowly and we fell in love. I knew it was a "done deal" when my son said he was going to call him Lucky. He is a beautiful dog, one brown eye and one blue. He is soooo mellow. (except for when he hears the mail truck) He's really too big for a lap dog but nobody told him that! He now has arthritis and lumps and bumps but he is still so beautiful and sweet. He can't walk very far without getting out of breath but only half his nose is open and I'm worried that it is invading the other side. Everyone keeps telling me "he's old". I know they mean well and he is for a larger dog but he started off with some "hard knocks" so he deserved a little softer landing late in life. The one saving grace is, he doesn't know the word cancer and what that means. He doesn't have to fear what is in store. All he knows is that we love him and when these episodes happen, we're there.
I'm so sorry that so many have to suffer through this. Most of the sites on the web say that this cancer is not very common. I'm not sure I believe them. I'm sending my thoughts and prayers to each of you. And thanks for this forum to share and support each other. Talking with others that have such huge hearts really helps.
Hello Everyone,
Sorry I havent posted in a few days, I have had a hectic week although I still come on here every day to check in, especially Alessia and Luna as I think of you daily and am glad that things are going well.
There are two things I would like to bring up as I know Alessia you are now struggling with the beginning stages of grief, as soon as you heard the word CANCER. Jan is absolutely right, once you hear that word your whole entire world begins to look different and it can honestly eat you up inside. I lost my step-father to lymphoma, my sheldon to nasal cancer, and my uncle is currently battling lung cancer and a brain tumor ( he just stopped all treatments). And yes its all you think about. You think, How can I relax knowing that my dog has cancer? How can i leave and go to work and act normal when i know my dog is home alone with cancer? You begin to treat your dog ( or your a family member) like glass, in fear that you are going to break them, just by doing everyday things. You also begin to behave (subconciously sometimes) differently. Just like Jan said about her mother not wanting to be treated different ( i.e. was fully capable of washing the dishes) I remember being with Sheldon one day and just laying there with him not wanting to go outside because "he was sick" even though it was a beautiful day out and besides his runny bloody nose he was fine! So i brought him outside and he was the happiest rottie in the world! he was running around and spinning and sniffing anything and everything. Dogs have the luxury of not knowing what cancer is. Because Sheldon was a big rottweiler he carried the stigma of being a "bad dog" and when we would walk in the public park people would actually go the other direction because they would be afraid to walk by him ( mind you he wouldnt even hurt a fly, like literally he never did ) and I would think to myself how lucky it was to be a dog and not know about prejudice and stigma. He had no idea. Just like he had no idea he had cancer. Towards the end I kept that in the back of my mind and still acted like ( even though i wanted to cry and yell and scream) that he was just Sheldon, not Sheldon with cancer and put a smile on my face when I was with him because Alessia dogs are so in-tune with our emotions so Luna will pick up on your fear of her illness.
Another thing I'd like to follow up on what Jan said is that it is true that we never know when its "our time" to go. After my step-father passed away my mother was devastated and struggled with the anger of "Why me?" She was a good catholic, a good person, a good wife, so she always would ask, Why me? It wasnt till she saw a special on tv where a group of missionaries took a bus trip to a holy place in France ( sorry dont remember the name) to pray and worship. Well that bus crashed and everybody died. My mom came to me and said those people were on their way to pray, and they died in a bus crash! She then realized that it isnt about Why me, its about there is no rhyme or reason to when we are taken from this world. I still struggle every day with the loss of Sheldon and ask Why me? He was only 6 god-dammit! Why him? He was a good dog, he didnt deserve it! But at times I find peace and am greatful for the 6 amazing years I had with him and that there are some people in the world that will never find the happiness that I had with Sheldon. So thats what keeps me going, Not that he's gone, but that I was so lucky to have him....
Icequeen, I am so happy for you and Kisses! Keep on going girls!
Darbi, How are you doing? I have a feeling that Rocky and Sheldon are good friends, they some how know that we have found each other on this site and they are watching down at us...
Riley, I am so glad you found this site. I was once in your shoes so desperate for information and I found most of it, and never thought i would find the support that is offered here. Normally unless there is a mass or suspicion of cancer somewhere else the vet will recommend a CT-scan ( head x-ray) and/or a rhinoscopy ( a scope that goes into the nose to check for a mass or remove tissue to biopsy it) to determine if there is nasal cancer. There might be other methods to diagnose but I am unaware of them. Sheldon had the same symptoms as Riley in the beginning, he would respond to antibiotics but soon as he was off the symptoms would come back. I also thought Sheldon had developed allergies and changed his food to rule that out but it didnt work. I dont want you to feel frightened as you read this as I am not a vet so the only one who can really diagnose him will be the vet. There could be other reasons for his symptoms ( a fungal infections, a foreign object, etc). As for the crusty snot ( i know its gross) Sheldon had that too and I would have to clean his nose because he obviosuly couldnt do it himself. Try using a soft warm washcloth to gently blot his nose and it should come off easier without irritating him too much. Ask your vet if its causing bleeding but just think of human and when they have a really bad cold your nose kinda get crusty and can sometimes bleed just from being dry and sneezing alot. Just know I wish you the best of luck and hope you come back here and update us and find support if needed.
Gracelynn and Lucky, Welcome. Im sure you did not come to this site in happiness but know that you are in good company. Lucky sure is a Lucky dog, not only for his great qualities but also for finding you and your family to give him a great home. You are right, my vet says nasal cancer isnt common but I dont believe it. Just by being on here or reading articles online I think this is more common then we think, which saddens me.
It has been almost a month since I have been here and I have been thinking alot about everyone. I have been meaning to check in and see how everyone is doing but my heart breaks when I come here. I am sad to read more dogs and owners are going through this horrible battle. I am so sorry about Rocky. I am sure Buddy and Rocky are great friends. I am happy to read that the treatments for the other dogs are going so well. Just want everyone to know that I am here praying and sending hugs to you all. I miss Buddy, I love talking about him and looking at pictures but I still wish he was here with me.
Riley-Sounds like Buddy's symptoms. He was fine eating (well he never stopped eating, playing, sleeping all the normal stuff. Then one day he sneezed and it was pink. I didn't think anything of it (you know something irritated his nose) then about 3 weeks later he woke up fine. Then he walked into the kitchen later in the day with a lump between his eyes. I told my husband about it and he said it was probably nothing. I watched it grow very slowly for about a week and then I couldn't watch it any longer. I called the vet and went in. The vet walked in and looked at him and said "oh, well lets sample it" I remember knowing in my heart what it was but not wanting to believe it. She came back in a couple of minutes later and said it looked like cancer but wanted to send it off to be sure. We got the news the next day that is was nasal cancer (don't remember the exact name). With his age we decided to just make him comfortable and not do any treatment. I hope your outcome is better than ours was. I will have to say though this site really really really helped me get through it all. It was nice to come to a place to get answers or just advice on how to deal with whatever may have come my way. Someone here had definently experienced everything that happened to us and gave great advice.
I hope I didn't ramble on to much. I will check back on everyone soon. Thank you all again. I feel like you all are part of an extended family.
Hugs to you all,
Sarah, Buddy's mom
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Yeah Kisses! I am so glad to hear he is still doing well. I think I have said before that I do think Cyber knife holds alot of promise in cancer treatments hopefully some day it will be more common and not require a trip to Colorado State for animals. It is becoming more common in some areas for human treatment which is good
Give Kisses a big smooch!
(they had told me that this can happen) and so they did another one during the fourth treatment.
