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wswoods- my dog Oscar ( a bichon) had that exact type of nasal cancer. I really have no advice, because every dog and case is different. we chose not to do any treatments, but only because Oscar's case was very advanced and he was 13. the vet said more than likely it would buy him time, but not good time. it was more important to me that what time he had left was good. we had to say goodbye to Oscar when we saw the pain was bothering him. it was so hard, he was my buddy for 13 years. that was 2 years ago and I still miss him so.
follow your heart and vet's advice- many people here have opted for various treatments, medications, diets, etc and their pets are responding well to it. there is a ton of info if you read thru this whole topic. I hope your sheltie does well and has lots of good time left, whatever treatments you decide to pursue. I would have done anything for Oscar, especially if the disease was discovered sooner.
Dash did have palliative radiation for his nasal cancer in May 2008, his is adenocarcinoma. The radiation was done using IMRT which is a very focused beam and he had no side effects from his 5 days of IMRT. While expensive it did buy him some very high quality time and did improve his life during that time but the cancer does come back. I was told that chemo would not do much. ( My mom died of lung cancer which was adenocarcinoma and chemo did not help much and it left her very fatigued with a poor quality of life so I am not a fan of chemo and will be glad to see the targeted genetic drugs replace it in the future)
I did have Dash on Poly MVA during his radiation which is a non toxic chemo agent that uses palladium . Because of the palladium it too is expensive but he had no side effects and you do not need a vet to get it. It also helps strengthen the immune system and is an antioxidant. I stopped the Poly MVA when I started using neoplasene as the antioxidant can interfer with it. Maybe squamous cell responds better to standard chemo? Anyway you go with chemo / radiation it will not be cheap. Look into anti angiogentic therapy too ( Dash's was metronomic theraphy using two drugs) as Dash has been on that using perixicam and low dose cytoxin that is given every other day. There are actually alot of different drugs that can be used and they tend to be inexpensive. Yes cytoxan is a chemo drug but it was not being used in a chemo dose so there were not all the side effects.
That said do remember that the different types of cancers respond to things differently and behave in different ways. I think squamous cell cancers tend to be bigger bleeders. I have known people with squamous cell lung cancer that have bleed to death. I can not recall if it responds well to anti angiogenic drugs well or not.
I along with several others here have also used neoplasene and have had some positive results with it but it is not for the faint of heart as it can get messy with the bleeding and sneezing out of tissue and the fact that most of the dogs hate having it put in their nose so it is a battle. I do feel it did help.Dash started it about 6 months after the radiation when we thought the cancer might be back.
There is alot to read in this thread but it paints a pretty good picture of what myself and others have tried. Even diet changes can help slow it down. I am sorry to see you and your dog having to join us as it is a roller coaster ride that is for sure. There will be ups and downs and keep an eye out for nasal infections as those can cause a very fast down turn. If you can afford it by all means look into the palliative radiation as I do not regret doing it at all as I said it did improve his quality of life for about 6 months then he got a very serious infection and the cancer may have become active again we will never really know. Dash is still with me and while he has a very serious bump on his muzzle that did not start until Feb 2009 he seems to be feeling pretty well as long as he does not get an infection.
It is hard for some people to look at him as all they see is the bump and they do question me about putting him down but if they look at him so they really look past that bump they see it does not seem to bother him and he still enjoys eating and going on outings and being loved.. heck he even has a crush on the two black labs human mom at the dog park and runs to her for some loving and then hangs with her while I play with Dazzle. I think the radiation did fry the nerve endings in that part of his nose and I also give him perixocam and Tramadol so he is covered if there is any pain. Until he tells me it is time I will let him live. I am not actively doing treatment anymore except for the hoxsey, power mushrooms and perixicam and diet and exercise and consider this his hospice phase. I have tried to stay focused on quality of life and he still seems to have that. He is one tough old guy and just is not ready to leave me yet. He has tried alot of different things and it is a true blessing that he is still here still happy . I think prayer has alot to do with it as when he has crashed to rock bottom prayer( much of it from others on this board) seems to have gotten him back up..if you are curious I am not a big religious person but I do believe in the power of prayer.
I hope this has helped you and will allow you to ask the vet important questions. Knowledge is power.Sending prayers your way in that you make the decisions that are right for both you and your dog. All of us are here to help you in any way we can be it advice or hand holding/ listening to a rant. It is easier when others understand what you are going through. Jan
WS WOODS Hello,unfortunately our dog Boomer died of squamous cell carcinoma of his right nostril yesterday.We too weighed the options for radiation etc. but we were told that squamous cell is so aggressive that really nothing could buy us quality of life.we did change his diet to more protein and gave him some capsules every day-i can't remember what exactly but they were some type of omega 3 oils and that seemed to slow the process down somewhat.I spent endless hours researching our options and there seemed to be some things available but at the end of most research articles they mentioned that these were not really effective for squamous cell or transitional cell cancers.We chose to give him pain medication and let him live his life normally as we knew it would be short for him w/his most aggressive form of this disease.We don't regret that now as he really didn't suffer until last week.be prepared for big nose bleeds especially after sneezing.They just resolve after you calm down your dog and yourself!!This is a very locally invasive disease.The vet was really surprised to see how big Boomer's nose was when we put him down yesterday.It was so ulcerative open and raw and the pain got to be too much for him.I don't want to scare you but I have just been thru this ordeal since march and i can honestly say that I don't regret letting him just live what time he had w/pain meds and diet change.He hated the vet and his time was very short no matter what we did so this was our choice .I hope nothing but the best for you.I hope I have helped some but you have to make your own decision after discussion w/your vet/oncologist.If boo had a different form of this disease then I would have opted for a different plan for sure.There is great support here,so keep everyone posted.
Jan,Iam so glad to hear that dash is a happy boy and feeling good.He is lucky to have you.Take care all
Thanks everyone for your input. Given that my special little guy is 12, has suffered from Dermatomyositis his entire life and has been battling hemangiosarcoma for the last year, I have decided to not treat the nasal carcinoma; just treat for pain and to relish the time we have left. This has been a really difficult decision, but one I feel is in the best interest of my little buddy. Toby is my first dog; the fur child of my heart and I won't ask any more of him. We will be taking lots of slow walks, scouting out rabbits and squirrels to bark at and enjoying the time we have left.
Our first airedale Fancy was diagnosed with an aggressive osteosarcoma of the hard palate at age 12. Based on the kinds of other health issues that she had (like Toby) we decided to control infection and pain and relish the time we had left. Some times that's all you can do. Keep posting if you need to.
Thanks everyone for the support. We had an interesting visit with the holistic vet this afternoon. No more processed food for Toby; he is on the BARF diet...and definitely no beef products. Apparently his corn allergy extends to corn fed beef.... No more steak leftovers. In addition, we have started 3 chinese herb supplements; Wei Qi booster, Max's formula and Isatis. Toby's tumor is at the end of his nose, just bumping out his whiskers on the left side. I have noticed a clear discharge on his dog bed and lots of sneezing when his activity level goes up
Hello everybody! We just returned from a week at the beach in Maine--one of Scout's least favorite things to do with no hiking around. I think he appreciated a break, though, because I've been training for a triathalon and he's my training partner. He's on another round of antibiotics because the last batch didn't quite clear up the last infection, but other than that he's doing well. My vet mentioned keeping him on a maintenance dose of antibiotics, which sounds like a good idea to me. We'll decide before I finish this 3-week cycle. I found that Rite-Aid beat all other pharmacies by about $100 for the clindamycin and was thrilled!
I wanted to share something that one of my neighbors at the beach said this week. She met Scout last summer when he was six months or so out from radiation and we didn't know whether he was "cured" or not. Well, seeing him this year she said, "Well, it's been 7 years in dog time, so he beat the 5-year remission mark! Let's consider him in remission!" Sounds like a plan to me.
I am glad that you and Scout had a break and got to spend some time on the beach in Maine. I don't know what beaches in Maine are like but all of my dogs would rather spend time at the local beach then go hiking as I seem to have a group of swamp hounds.
When and where is the triathalon? I am glad that Scout is still able to help you train.
Those darn antibiotics do get pretty expensive but if they seem to be helping it is worth the cost.
Dash was out sleeping on my patio the other morning and I decided to make some whole grain pancakes for breakfast before that first pancake was ready to be flipped I looked down to see him grinning up at me...." Is that mine? I hope that is mine". Don't know how he knew as I seldom make pancakes and he was really asleep.My guess is the pancake Gods must watch out for him and alerted him. He loves and I do mean loves pancakes! Now that I have his nose draining some he is back to making alot of snorfing type noises again. The bump has not grown any more and may be a tad smaller and while I am use to it others get upset when they see it and he just looks at them like " What???"
Hello,we picked up boo's remains yesterday and brought him home.It was a good feeling to have him here although I don't feel him here so much anymore.I think he is on his way where he is supposed to be running w/no pain etc..He might check in on us every once in a while but I really feel he is at peace.We will treasure every memory of him and love him forever.Good for Dash and Scout!!I am so glad they are doing well and enjoying life.Thanks again for the wonderful support here.take care.
Ginger seems to be in a period of stasis. Bloody serous fluid comes out of her nose slowly but she seems to be pretty happy and is sleeping well most nights. We are trying to keep her calm to avoid the big bleeds and are taking it one day at a time.
Cathy
aka Ginger's mom
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