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I agree 7 is too young.There have been a few others that were 4 or 5 and I just don't get it why dogs that young are getting nasal cancer? The girls at the front desk of my vets and I were just talking about that..what is it is our environment that seems to be causeing cancer at such young ages as it seems more common now or is that just we are better at diagnosing it?
I love your" little plaque to mark his grave that says "Being well behaved is over-rated" I have a soft spot in my heart for the bad dogs out there! My own Jazz was very slow to mature at 5 at an agility event someone asked me how old my " puppy" was and when I said 5 they said" really? she is so immature!" This person bred border collies. Jazz was well trained and obeyed commands but she was just so crazy and wild when I was not working her. She is 13 now and finally has slowed down but oh how I miss the wild Jazz beast.
My sister had a Bernese mountain dog and they were told 3 years of puppy. 3 years of good dog,3 years of old dog( most die from cancer around age 9 or 10) well my sister feels cheated as she never got the 3 yrs of good dog as she reamained much like your Probert but what a love she was, really sweet dog.
Barb Parks, Sorry your Doxie is not doing well and because I am now at the point of calling it quits unless we have some miracle in the next few days I know how you must be feeling.
As for chemo I agree it is not worth it so we did not even try it. I don't know if I agree about radiation as some of the dogs that have had radiation have made it pretty long and with the newer radiation like the IMRT Dash had or the gamma Knife type that Kisses had at Colo. State I think the chances of seeing longer life and even no return if it is an older dog are there. And side effects rare with those two. They are pricey but for both human cancers and animal cancers I think they wil play a major roll in treatment and with much better results then standard radiation of the past. Keep in mind Dash had his IMRT back in May 2008 and it was just palliative ( 5 days worth) had I done the full 15- 20 days he may still be symptom free.Despite what is going on now his breathing is quiet and easy and if it was not for that swelling most would not know he had anything wrong with him.
I had been told that the surgery is a dangerous surgery and wasn't really buying that much more time then radiation alone. I think part of the problem with cancers are you can try to get rid of it with the above treatments but in most cases you have not gotten rid of the cause. Like most disease we treat the symptoms but not the cause so it does come back.Treatment is aimed more at control then cure of too many diseases. Is it the drug companies and the fact they will loose billions of dollars if they come up with drugs that cure rather then control that is holding things back? ( as by controlling it you continue to buy the drug for the rest of your life). It is such a complicated issue. If I was young and starting over I would go into cancer research as to me as much as I hate it it fascinates me.
I plan to take Dash out to the park to say good bye to his play group today so I have to go find a way to cover that wound up a bit. I think he will get a reprive as The ACLS class I have to take for work on Sat. does not end until 3:30 so I doubt if I can get home and make my peace with this and get him to the vets before they close and I am not sure I want to do that being I will have been gone all day. We are driving to OC on Sunday after agility to check on my dad and will spend a few days so Dash may get an extra week as long as he does not get worse. I think my Dad would enjoy seeing him one last time though last time we were down I warned him it could be the last time as I just had this feeling about that swelling and what was going to happen soon. We shall see.
Dear Jan & Dash,
May you have a weekend/week filled with pancakes, trips to the park, and many snuggles. Scout sends Dash puppy sniffs and licks so he can find him easily when they meet at the big dog park in the sky.
I am just sick to hear about Milo and the bad news about Dash. God knows we have fought and lost the good fight but it was comforting in a small way to hear that others were doing so well.
I'm truly sorry that any of us and our poor pups are going through this. You are in my thoughts tonight.
Jan- i am sure that most readers here will agree that you and dash are the leaders of this pack. we wish you as many more days as your days are good ones.
Jan & Dash - it is truly heartbreaking when you are forced to face the reality that each day could be your last with your furry pal.
It is such a roller coaster of emotions and it is wonderful that there is a forum here where people understand and support each other through all the tears and the "what if"s and the "what next"s, celebrating the small victories (when there's a good day) and sharing the huge sorrows (the darkest and saddest days).
Here's hoping for many more good days and that all the rest of your days with Dash are so full of happiness and wonderful memories for you both and for everyone else who had the pleasure of meeting him.
Take care and give Dash a big hug and a belly rub - you can never go wrong by giving them too much lovin'.
Thanks for the support, Dash went to his play group yesterday and two minutes outside the car ripped off the bandage covering I had put on and just looked at everyone like you got a problem with this? I guess he wants to be accepted for who he is the bad as well as the good. It reminded me of a female on chemo who is bald and brave enough to go out in the world with out a scarf or hat. Oh how I love to see that as to me it is a badge of courage!
The wound has filled in and was not oozing so it was not as gross as it has been and those that found it gross just tried not to look. Of course all the dogs HAD to look because it does have a weird oder to it. I think one little dog Buddy wanted Dash to lay down so he could roll in it..."what a waste of a smell I can't roll in it" Some one brought Dash a cheese burger complete with lettuce and tomatoe and he ate all of it even the veggies and looked at her like " did you drink the shake? I wanted the shake".
So far the lump is not swelling back up and believe me it is about 1/3 the size it had gotten to be. I have to call my vet and get more meds since I will not be putting him down tomorrow and seeing how he was yesterday I am glad I have that class all day tomorrow so he is getting more time. Jan
Thanks for the replies. The cancer is in the sinus under the eye not on the outside of his nose. He has always freaked out big time when the vet tried to give him the bordetella vaccine down his nose so rather then stress him my vet has given him injections. We did start a very 3 year vaccine rountine years ago so my dogs are not over vaccinated. My dog is not around cigarette smoke, or harsh pesticides or cleaning chemicals so I fugure the cancer is more of a genitic issue. I am looking into using either POLY MVA and DHA or neoplasene to try to slow down the growth and buy him some time. All the vets could offer would be radiation and I think it would end up leaving him blind and while it could buy time it will not save his life so now I must weigh the facts to see if it would be worth it if it does effect his quality of life. Maybe it is best to just go for quality of life and say good bye sooner then I would really like. He has been a great dog and I feel I do owe him that rather then keep him alive at any cost because my own selfish heart can not say good bye. Thanks,Jan
Without reading the whole thread,i must say you stated the answer you want to avoid.I am sorry.
Allthough i didn't read all the posts i am happily amazed for dash and his family.I relived my buddys last days.All you people made me cry at times,with sadness and joy.It would do terrible with my image.Buddy stopped eating and i selfishly didn't wantto let go.A full slice of sausage pizza in front of him.His expression priceless,especially with the 30 second looking with his poop eating grin.Ahhh,...this is for me?not like the time i borrowed 3 slices in the box and ate half the box too?are you sure?you know i have drowned it in lab drool?i know your saying it's okay and for me !! okay,...it's for me?it's okay?you sure?i hear you but i can't believe it.
anybody who has never seen a dog with a poop eating grin,you should be jealous 3 more slices and a lot of embarrasement for pooping and peeing without being able to get up and the next day of to the rainbow bridge.he was assured he had no reason for embarrasement and passed 2 hours before the trip to the vet the next day.in memory of Bud E. Boy.waiting for all the other doggies to show where the pizza is.
Without reading the whole thread,i must say you stated the answer you want to avoid.I am sorry.
That was a post way back at the beginning of our journey . I also felt I owed it to Dash to learn about all his options so he did end up having palliative IMRT which is a very focused radiation and he had no side effects and it did improve his life. He had it done in May 2008 so turned out it was worth it. When I decided to start this thread I wanted to make sure I did post everything as it came up as you can change your mind about things as you see I did lots of times.By sharing what I was feeling and my thought process on some decisions I do hope it helps others making these difficult decisions. I feel Dash has enjoyed most of the time he has had but there were dark days where infections threatened his life but he bounced back within days and those dark days were usually spent doing alot of sleeping. If I had to do it over now knowing what I know and with Dash I think I would opt for the definitive IMRT or a gamma knife like Kisses had as if they could buy a couple years he would have been able to live out a normal life span which I consider about 14 for a dog his size ,But getting him to 12 has gotten him close. I am very thankful for this time with him as we have had some great adventures.
As for your Pizza story... I know that look as Dash had it when he got his own cheese burger and we shared the fries and a shake at the park. He has a caste iron gut so having a wonderful meal like that did nothing to him but give him good dreams of yummy people food! In his life time he has stolen food that should have made him good and sick and though I always said "Oh you are goingto get so sick" he never did .Not even diarrhea. He has lived a charmed life as it appears he has friends in high places! Thanks for the pizza story as I can picture the grin on your dogs face! And looking at the days to come I can use the grins. Jan
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3 more slices and a lot of embarrasement for pooping and peeing without being able to get up and the next day of to the rainbow bridge.he was assured he had no reason for embarrasement and passed 2 hours before the trip to the vet the next day.in memory of Bud E. Boy.waiting for all the other doggies to show where the pizza is.
