Nasal cancer (kennel, sheltie, puppies, breathing)
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woofers...it sounds like the beagle was ready to go after a long struggle. still very sad. did you, by any chance, follow up with the question about the liver and bladder cancer being metastasized from the nasal cancer ? it will be helpful for those of us on this thread to know if the nasal cancer did spread there - an unusual occurrence as far as we know - or was it another cancer altogether? thanks.
Well, guess what? The beagle is coming home again today. She spent another day at the vet. And the vet told my friend the dog has more time.
The dog is so sick. It's gut is getting more distended by the day. It wouldn't eat this morning. When at home, it just lies down and sleeps and breaths funny. Quality of life is zilch...
Anyhow, to answer your question, the vet said the nasal cancer spread, but who knows? The only way to know for certain is to do a biopsy, and that isn't going to happen. Your guess is as good as mine.
W.
Last edited by Woof Woof Woof!; 02-09-2009 at 01:32 PM..
I feel sorry that I was convinced by my vet at VCA Sepulveda in Los Angeles to do an aggressive radiation therapy. My total bills amounted to more than $10,000 and my dog died within 6 months of diagnosis ( usually the case without treatment) and she suffered a lot of horrible conditions I cannot even talk about yet. Please be careful.
Dlfey - Thank you so much for your warning. I was so sorry to read about your beloved dog. I just wanted you to know that your post convinced me that my decision not to put my dog through radiation treatment was the right one. She has other health issues as well, and I didn't want to take the risk of it having the opposite affect, and whatever time she might have remaining miserable.
I am very interested - Has the therapy worked? My little 12 yr old Lapsa was just diagnosed last week with a nasal CA last week.
Julie,
As the previous post stated, it is very expensive and the side effects can be pretty serious. For a 12 year old dog, I personally would not consider it. I think most of the poster here who have done it, have much younger dogs. I'm sure they can tell you more.
Julie and company,
My Golden had aggressive radiation for nasal cancer about 10 months ago. He is a very strong then 7.5 year-old. It was very difficult for the three weeks following radiation. While I think every dog is an individual and should be considered as such when choosing treatment, one of my main reasons for going ahead with the radiation was Scout's young age. Please let me know if I can answer any questions about the treatment.
Erica
I am so sorry to hear about Dakota. Dakota was such a lucky boy to have you and your family. He lived life the way all dogs should be able to live and he died in your arms knowing how much he was loved.
My friend's beagle was finally put to rest today. The dog reached a point in her illness where my friend finally felt sure that it was time. The dog was never in any pain. She was well enough to still walk around the vets office and get a hug from everyone. They gave her a sedative and she was surrounded by all those who loved her as she passed out of this world. The ashes will be split three ways.
There is an alternative to aggressive radiation and that is palliative radiation which is usually only 5 days. Palliative is more about comfort then control and can buy some good quality time without alot of side effects. If you can find IMRT it is even better as Dash who was 11 at the time had palliative IMRT done and his only side effects were he has mild dry eye and the hair that use to be black is now salt and pepper in the area where the beams hit ( like an old dog would get). He does get frequent nasal infections and has a frequent dripping nose. He could develope a cataract but so far we are not seeing that and this is about the time period when it might develop. He had the IMRT in May 2008. The side effect to you is it is expensive!
Having said that you also must look at the dog as if it has other health issues I would think twice about it as the dog has to be put under for each of the 5 doses and for a CT before so it does have risks and death is one of them. I also would take the age and temperment of the dog into consideration. My other dog who will be 13 in May had a nerve sheath sacroma removed in Oct. We think we got it all but it could come back . I could have been more aggressive in treating it with radiation but I decided against it. While she is my once in a life time dog so very special to me and she is in great shape and people think she is about 6 or 7 when they meet her I decided the surgery was all we would do.She has fear issues and having to deal with vets is very stressfull for her and she does not handle drugs too well so I think in her case not doing anything more is the correct choice. Dash on the other hand has the caste iron gut and tolerates medicines well and he does not have the fear issues.
At this point he is tired of vets and never is happy about having to see one now so though I could do more IMRT I have decided not when the time comes as it would not be fair for me to expect him to deal with it all again. Instead I will be thankful for the quality time it did give us. He is on metronomic therapy and gets neoplasene so I am doing all I can and when he does die I will know I did just that and will be OK with it. I am comfortable with the choices I have made as they were the right ones for Dash and I.
Dogs are individuals and will respond to things as such. And there are no guarantees as Dlafey proves in her post. The decision to do any treatment is yours alone to make as you are the one that knows your dog, your financial picture and knows what you consider to be imortant in terms of quality of life.Go with your gut on this one and do what you feel is best for you and your dog. Sorry you are finding yourself faced with these decisions, Jan
Woof, I'm sorry that your friend's dog had to go, but it sounds like it was the right thing to do and it was peaceful. Your friend is lucky to have you.
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