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I just got back from having a rhinoscopy done on my 5 1/2 year old black lab. The vet suspects nasal cancer. Says we will know about next Wednesday for sure, then I'll have to decide on treatment if I do any. I'm not sure what to do. I love her so much, but want to do what is best for her and wish there was some guarantee on how much longer it could give her. Financially I just can't see it if we only gain a year or so.
Lousy thing is that 5 1/2 years ago, just before we got this dog we put our dog at that time, a lab mix who was 10 years old to sleep because of nasal cancer. I can't believe we are going thru this again.
I keep asking what is wrong with our yard, etc, and they don't have any answers for me. We live in town and no one else in the neighborhood seems to be having trouble with their dogs.
It helps to read your letters. I know that you are all going thru the same feelings. I have to admit, the blood issues are really getting to me.
I am sorry for your troubles. If one reads the stats this is not a common illness. But if you are facing this beast stats mean nothing. Having two dogs with the same condition is unthinkable. I will pray real hard that this time around it's not cancer, or a fungus infection. When you feel ok with it would you please list the the symptoms your dogs had. When you say blood read issues are we talking alot of blood..Was the blood only from on side of the nose. If you read this thread recently one would think I am a John edwards fan ( He blieves in contacting the other side) I assure you I am not. Subject to change if things keep going like they are!..
5 1/2 is young..But I lost another dog do to cancer, another kind..
Anyway good luck and feel free to ask questions and vent if you want here. People here are informative and kind...
Rod
Hi, I'm so sorry to hear about your Allie- our Ally also was recently diagnosed with nasal cancer, but it is osteosarcoma. We were told that this is rare to be in the nose, but not unheard of. The vet specialist also told us that we could gain 12-18 months with radiation treatments. We decided not to be out loved one through it, but I am questioning that decision every day and your post makes me question it more. I was ready to change my mind and asked the vet what happens at 12-18 months and he said that the cancer returns, so I thought we would just be reliving this again as terribly painful as it is. I am confused about the number of treatments. Our specialist said 3 x a week for 4 weeks. Jan mentioned that full treatment is about 20 treatments and you are doing 18. We were told that if we did palliative treatments there would be 6. I am now wondering if the 12 treatments would really be the full treatment. It sounds like you are also doing metronomic therapy that Jan also did. I asked the specialist and he said that they don't usually do it with tumors that are as large as my dog's is, but it sounds like your Allie has a similar size one. Our dog is presently being treated for a secondary infection. We had to stop the feldene, the anti-inflammatory because it upset her stomach. I will look forward to hearing how your dear dog progresses. Good luck!!!
Deb, I'm so sorry that this is happening to you again- what an awful nightmare!! I also keep questioning why our dog got this and what I might have done to prevent it. Our dog is also a lab mix who is 10 years old. My thoughts and prayers will be with you.
Jan, I love the pictures of your babies. Their expressions are priceless. Your information has been great and you are too for sharing with all of us!!!
Thanks so much for your encouragement and the advice not to read the old posts. I got tears in my eyes seeing your title for the post on 4/4. I did not dare read it. You have my most sincere condolences- I can tell reading your post how beloved your Hogan was. I just retired in June and was looking forward to being able to walk my dear Ally during the day.
Hi all,
I hate to come on here and find so many new names. This disease sucks.
Virginia10, the number of treatments seems to depend on the protocol followed by the oncologist you use. Scout had definitive treatment in only 10 days. My vet follows a protocol that uses higher doses for a shorter amount of time. It was cheaper and faster, which I think allowed us to be able to do it.
An update on Mr. Scout: He was diagnosed in Feb. 08 with adenocarcinoma, very early stage only on one side with no bone involvement. He's had definitive rad with no chemo. My vet doesn't use the metronomic treatment for whatever reason. He's doing very well. As many of you who have been around a while know, he's lost vision in the eye that was in the radiation field and struggles with dry eye in that eye. We had periods where the bleeding returned this winter, but they have stopped. Not sure if it's due to the humidity now that spring is here or the cottage cheese/flax oil we've been using. He had a period of very long stringy snot a few weeks ago and started a round of clavamox. It cleared up right away, and we are about 2/3 way through the round. I'm hopeful it'll stay under control after we stop the drugs. He still does have some discharge, but I think that's life with nasal cancer. It sucks. I have some days where I feel great about where he's at and then other days where I feel awful. It's so hard to know what's going on in that nose (we haven't repeated the CT scan following radiation).
Anyway, my heart is with all of you battling along with us.
Erica
I just got back from having a rhinoscopy done on my 5 1/2 year old black lab. The vet suspects nasal cancer. Says we will know about next Wednesday for sure, then I'll have to decide on treatment if I do any. I'm not sure what to do. I love her so much, but want to do what is best for her and wish there was some guarantee on how much longer it could give her. Financially I just can't see it if we only gain a year or so.
Lousy thing is that 5 1/2 years ago, just before we got this dog we put our dog at that time, a lab mix who was 10 years old to sleep because of nasal cancer. I can't believe we are going thru this again.
I keep asking what is wrong with our yard, etc, and they don't have any answers for me. We live in town and no one else in the neighborhood seems to be having trouble with their dogs.
It helps to read your letters. I know that you are all going thru the same feelings. I have to admit, the blood issues are really getting to me.
Do you use any pesticides, frontline, mothballs? Do you get yearly vaccines? That is too big a coincidence for both dogs to have this. It's got to be something causing nasal cancer in all these dogs. I read somewhere that a "pollutant-filled" environment causes nasal cancer, but what does that mean?
In the case of my friends dog who had the disease, the dog was older, always got all possibly yearly vaccinations, ate kibble food and canned, used frontline, was exposed to mothballs, and the house was sprayed 2x yearly around the perimeter for bugs.
We have thought and thought about what we could have around that is causing this. We don't do mothballs, don't use pesticides in the area where the dog is, and only animal and child approved ones in the other parts of yard, making sure she doesn't walk in those areas anyway for a couple days after treatment. She has always had updated vaccines.
Both my local vet and the vet who did the rhinoscopy don't have an answer for me. I agree it seems too weird to be just coincidence, but that is what they are telling me it is.
Not sure if I would ever adopt another dog, although I can't imagine life without one.
Thanks for the thoughts. I may start Sadie on the flaxseed/cottage cheese diet you guys mention. At least it is something I can do!!
In answer to an earlier post. The only symptom my dog has is blood from one side of her nose. She sneezes alot and that is what I meant about blood issues getting to me. I am constantly cleaning up spots where she sneezed. Not bad on the hardwood and laminate, but doesn't do much for the tan carpet! She does make this sound at times, which I think might be the reverse sneezing some of you talked about earlier. Otherwise she is her happy normal self, loves to be a lap dog, despite her 79 pound size, gives me hugs by putting her head on my shoulder, and talks to me the minute I get home. Our first lab started the same, although less blood and sneezes, more other yucky stuff from the nose which antibiotics would usually temporarily clear up, eventually it affected her eye area, and one night the tumor seemed to grow double the size overnight at which time we decided to put her to sleep. Both of them have been much loved family members and it is so hard to part with them and to know the right decisions to make and when the time is to say good-bye.
Best of luck to all of you. Thanks, Deb
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