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Alessia, We've been waiting the news of Luna's blood work and it sounds like things are going in the right way - and you can use both of the medications. That is a comfort. It has been very hot here and you don't see many dogs out in the daytime. Sleep is so good for healing, too and rejuvenation of her system. Bless her heart, we are so happy with the news xo
I am glad I found a forum for this because my Sheba started a reverse sneeze about 6 weeks ago. Now, I am a veterinary assistant and know that usually a reverse sneeze is no big deal. However, my dog is a large breed (German Shep/Malamute) and is 12 and never done this before. So I was concerned. Within a couple of weeks she began snoring. Then I knew we had something in her nasal passage and took her in for nasal radiographs. We did find a small mass in her nasal passage. I knew it could just be polyps or it could be full blown cancer. I knew that whatever the cause I would not be pursuing any treatment due to her age.
2 weeks ago her eye started to push up, so I took her in for another exam. She was not feeling any pain and was in good spirits. So I went out that night and by the time I had come home she had a whole new mass on the end of her nose. This is what she looked like..
4 days later she looked like this...
She still appeared to be in no pain. After about 3 days the swelling in her muzzle went down and she looked more like she did in the first picture. Now she looks like this...
She is still not in any pain. I palpate her whole face daily. I do have tramadol and deramaxx in case she starts to show symptoms of pain, but in reality I will be euthanizing her as soon as I see any signs of pain. I know this is not going to get better and will only continue to be more painful, so I am electing to keep her from going through all of that.
It is amazing how difficult this has been for me. I help owners euthanize their pets every day and have no problem telling them when it is time. But to choose to euthanize my own dog has become an agonizing process. I got Sheba before I even met my husband and he and I have 3 children now. She has been my most loyal friend for many years and this hurts more than I can ever say. I will be able to relate to owners going through this much better now.
I'm glad I found this forum. I'm sure all my coworkers are sick of hearing about my poor dog. It really sucks we have to have dogs that fall in the 1% of cancer patients to get this horrible cancer. I really do feel for all of you and wish none of us were going through this.
Was reading an article on yahoo today about an animal hospital in NYC. In the article it mentioned a therapy they are doing on dogs with nasal cancer. Not sure how it works but it's done on something called a Tomotherapy machine.
The article referenced that due to this hospital being a teaching/grant
facility the cost for this treatment while still high is half what could be found elsewhere.
Here is the link to the article:
US pet owners paying for high-tech veterinary care - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_pet_medicine - broken link)
Hopefully this might be something that could help someones pet on
the forum.
Sheba is a beautiful dog so sorry that she has to go through this now. It is never easy to say good bye to your own dog and I do not care how many others you have helped do so. Sheba is yours so you do have a huge emotional investment which you do not tend to have with clients dogs. I work in a human hospital and dealing with my mom's cancer allowed me to really understand what so many of our patients and families are feeling. I also had surgery myself and being on that side of the bed rail is SOOOOOO different. I really think all doctors should have to be patient's for a week and see what it is really like.
Feel free to just talk about Sheba here or share photos as we are all here to listen and it does help talking about it. I will send positive thoughts her way in hopes that she has many pain free days left.
jerseykat, thanks for sharing the article here as yes it may help someone in the future that reads it.Keeping this thread up to date on what is hppening with cancer treatments is important so thank you! Jan
Dashdog I went to the Univ of Wisconsin site as they were the 1st vet. school to use this treatment. Their web page is: UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine
From their site it notes:
"TomoTherapy is a unique combination of radiation treatment and a helical CT scanner that offers superior tumor control with much less toxicity.
With TomoTherapy, dogs' and cats' tongues don't get burned when a jaw tumor is treated. Paw pads are protected when foot tumors are radiated. Therapy precisely targets bladder tumors, sparing the surrounding intestines. Nasal radiation no longer leaves pets with painful, dry eyes or, worse, blindness.
With a built-in CT scanner to provide diagnostic images, TomoTherapy gives veterinarians new ways to see how a tumor and surrounding tissue are changing. It allows radiation oncologists to pinpoint a tumor's size, shape and location seconds before treatment begins, adjusting the dose, shaping the beam and ensuring that the tumor is treated appropriately and sensitive normal tissues are spared."
And "We know it works, because pet dogs with nasal tumors were the first clinical patients to benefit from TomoTherapy. Based on excellent results from initial clinical trials in dogs, which were conducted jointly with the UW School of Veterinary Medicine and the UW Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, Tomotherapy is now in use at human hospitals nationwide."
Not sure how many veterinary hospitals are using this but it does sound very promising.
Sheba is a beautiful dog so sorry that she has to go through this now. It is never easy to say good bye to your own dog and I do not care how many others you have helped do so. Sheba is yours so you do have a huge emotional investment which you do not tend to have with clients dogs. I work in a human hospital and dealing with my mom's cancer allowed me to really understand what so many of our patients and families are feeling. I also had surgery myself and being on that side of the bed rail is SOOOOOO different. I really think all doctors should have to be patient's for a week and see what it is really like.
Feel free to just talk about Sheba here or share photos as we are all here to listen and it does help talking about it. I will send positive thoughts her way in hopes that she has many pain free days left.
jerseykat, thanks for sharing the article here as yes it may help someone in the future that reads it.Keeping this thread up to date on what is hppening with cancer treatments is important so thank you! Jan
Thanks Dash. I have made the decision to humanely euthanize her at 10:30 later this morning. I just got done feeding her a ton of hot dogs and chicken. Tonight she started shying away when I went to pet her, letting me know she was in pain. Then our other dog Budford, our choc lab, bumped into her making her cry out for the first time in her life as far as I know. So it is time. My face is a swollen mess from all the crying, but she is still in good spirits. I gave her some tramadol and she is feeling better for now. My heart is aching so much.
Dear friends,
It is with a heavy but full heart that I report some surprising news: Scout died very peacefully on Monday morning. His "arthritis" was not arthritis and he went downhill very quickly over the weekend, showing some classic neurological symptoms. We kept him comfortable with pain medication, but he was very sick and doing anything other than letting him pass peacefully would have been unfair. Perhaps the cancer spread, perhaps the radiation was too much, perhaps there was an injury or lesion somewhere on his spine. We'll never know, but the finding out and treating in light of his underlying disease ruled out further investigation.
I am incredibly thankful that his suffering was short (he was hiking a week ago) and not due specifically to the nasal cancer. I am incredibly thankful that I have no regrets about his life or his death--there's no dog who had a better life than he. It has made his passing easier.
Scout was my first dog, but I already know that he was my heart dog--that one very special dog you are lucky enough to have in your life. While the loss of a best friend is indescribable, I'm doing well and very much at peace.
I'm not usually very spiritual, but there are a few things about his passing that struck me and that I'd like to share. Scout was born and raised in the mountains of Colorado. I am leaving on Saturday morning for a week-long backpacking trip with my human best friend (who last week lost her 13-year-old canine hiking partner). Scout died in time for me to bring his ashes along on the trip, leaving a bit of him in the place where we shared so many wonderful hikes. Secondly, on the evening that he died, just as we were remembering him around the dinner table, a thunderstorm blew in (unique for us this summer) and left behind the most glorious rainbow over the back of our house, leading from the top of the mountain into the woods.
Thank you, Scout, and thank you to all of you who have given support and kindness to two strangers over the last few years. It has helped tremendously. I wish the very best for all of you and your four-legged companions in this fight. Mostly, though, I wish that you can find peace in knowing that your heart and life are fuller because of the time you had with your dog.
I read the last two post with a heavy heart . DaiseyTatto4 I hope the day went OK for you and that perhaps you were able to feel that odd sense of relief that seems to come with a death following cancer. I felt it when Dash took his last breath and it allowed me to actually comfort the girls at the vets who were in tears having known him for so many years as they did.Just know in your heart that you did what was best for Sheba and that is all any of us can do.
Erica, I am so saddened to hear about Scout . He put up such a good fight and I was always so happy to hear that he was still out hiking the trails with you and enjoying his life despite his cancer. I know he has left so many wonderful memories with you and hope you can find comfort in them. That is pretty cool that you will be able to leave some of his ashes up in the Colorado mountains that you and he shared good times in. I will be thinking about you next week and hope the hiking helps heal the sadness you must be feeling right now. When you get back let us know how the hiking went as it sounds like fun despite the heavy heart you have. Scout could not have had a better owner. Take care, Jan
We are so very very sorry to read the news of Scout. As Jan said, he worked so very hard. Bless his heart. We are so sorry to read that Daisey Tatto4 was put to rest, but if she was in pain, it is the kindest thing you can do. It is so very hard, to take their pain so they no longer have to bear it.
The final act of love to a beloved friend and dear member of your family.
I am also very sorry to hear about Scout. At least you are comforted by knowing he had a great life.
Sheba's euthanasia went as good as they can possibly go. I had a wonderful vet and my favorite tech there to support me. My husband took it harder than I had thought, but I think that helped me to deal. We laid her to rest on my mother-in-laws property. My heart is heavy, my house seems empty, and I have one really lonely chocolate lab laying by the back door wondering where his buddy is, however, I know I did what was best for her. And yes, I do have a sense of relief I didn't expect to feel. It was so hard knowing it was coming quickly but not knowing exactly when the right time would be. Thank you for all the kind words and prayers, lord knows I can use all the prayer I can get right now.
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Sheba
