Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
So sorry for your loss Jan...I read your previous post about the animal communicator and had goosebumps but I am so glad that you found peace in that interaction and were able to get that confirmation from Dash that you needed.
I have tears welling up in my eyes even typing this. It is a tough decision to deal with and in the end you can only take comfort in knowing he's not suffering anymore.
Take care of you - I hope Dash saves Probert a spot under a nice shady tree for when he makes his journey...
What a touching, wonderful tribute post to your sweet Dash dog. I am so so sorry for his loss.... yet glad to hear that you are at peace with his passing. What a lucky, lucky dog he was to have a mom like you who did anything and everything for him & gave you everything back to make your life the fullest. You two will be together again..no doubt! Big hugs to you.....
i am so moved by everyone's comments here and the beautiful way dash left us, for i, like others, feel as if i knew him. jan-please keep visiting us here and keep bringing us your memories of dash. best - arlene
To all those still fighting the good fight: I have about 25 Deramaxx 25mg chewable tablets, 12-15 Prednisone 20mg tablets cut in half by vets office, multiple Tramadol 50mg tablets, some cut in half, about 35 Doxycycline 100 mg tablets that I'd be happy to send to someone in part or all as we have no need of these meds any more. Send me a personal message and I'll be happy to ship these out to someone.
Thank you for all the kind words as they do mean alot to me. While I do miss Dash as it is strange not to have him around I am doing OK. Jazz is missing him alot and looks for areas where I have yet to find smudges left by him. Sniffing them seems to bring her comfort. We visited my dad so she searched his house for such spots too Makes me sad watching her. Dazzle is trying to help and tries to get her to play but his being so young and fast makes it hard for an old lady like Jazz. She wants to play but just can't keep up so turns back to me in frustration wooooing like she is asking me to make him slow down In her younger day she would have had a ball with Dazzle. It is hard to see if Phoenix is missing him as being deaf and vision limited she is a bit different then then others but she kept coming up and sitting quietly by me offering me her paw. She loved Dash .
It was odd making the drive to my dad's with out the navaigator ( Dash) hanging over my shoulder watching every move I make, I think that is when I have missed him the most.
I will continue to send postive thoughts and prayers for all the dogs still battling this cancer as how I would love to hear that at least one of them dies of old age and not cancer!
I have shared many photos of Dash well here is one when I first got him so he was a year old. Hugs to all of you that are facing difficult times right now as I know how hard it is to make decisions as to what to do. Jan
I love those border collie eyes! Jan, I'm so glad you are doing okay. I've been thinking about you and Dash very often, and I hope that I can be as strong and sensible as you have been throughout Dash's fight when Scout's time nears.
I haven't felt like posting updates about Scout, but it's hard not to share the crappiness in a place where I know people understand. Scout is starting palliative IMRT on Thursday. His tumor is remarkably large and has starting deteriorating bone at the brain case and orbit but has not spread to the other side of his nose. I was shocked because he is acting just fine, although he is a bit sneezy the past few days. He will have radiation once a week for 3 weeks, which is quite manageable for us. It will buy him a short amount of quality time, although of course I'll hope for longer.
I want to share one other thing that I learned about the past few days and which was very helpful. Colorado State University's Cancer Care Center (one of the best in the country) has a free consultation service. I called and left a message with Scout's information and had a call back the next day from their radiation oncologist. She was so supportive and knowledgeable. Not only did she talk to me for a good 20 minutes, she also contacted the senior radiation oncologist at Tufts, where we are being treated, to talk about Scout's case. I was blown away! You can find the contact information on the CSU vet hospital website. They'll probably wonder why they are getting so many calls from people about nasal cancer all of a sudden!
Anyway, I am relieved to have another way to fight with Scout and looking forward to Thursday. I've been slightly panicked that he'd have a seizure before we started, but he's mostly been romping and running like usual. I'll update about our progress as we move forward.
Very best wishes to you, Jan, and everyone else here. It's very comforting to simply write about what's going on with us, and I thank you for listening.
What a sweet picture of your Dash..I agree with Erica about how strong you are..I feel like the past week has been really hard with Allie. I've been trying to find some of the strength that you have!
Erica, thanks for the info on CSU. I looked at their gamma knife radiation site last week after Jan mentioned it again and think I will give them a call. It's a bit of a haul from Missouri, but depending on how many treatments she would need, it may be a possibility for a road trip. I also think it's the closest option for us that actually has IMRT or the gamma knife radiation...
When Allie was diagnosed with nasal cancer in March, her tumor was invading her brain case and right orbital area as well. It had not spread at all to the other side. She never had any symptoms of the cancer until that CT scan besides 1 bloody drippy nose and that's it. No seizures or really any change of behavior at all.
It sounds like that is where Scout is at right now... it's great that you have access to IMRT at Tufts. I will be thinking of you all on Thursday and know he will be a strong boy!
We are taking Allie back down to the university where she had all of her 18 treatments done tomorrow for a follow up CT scan. I just could not deal with the 'unknown' anymore of what stage the cancer had once progressed to considering her bleeding has increased. We really only had about a month or two with no dried blood from that nose, which at the time her oncologist suggested it could be just irritation from the radiation. Now I'm afraid that's not the case, a mere 5 months later. I'm dreading what they will find tomorrow but know for my peace of mind I need to know what we are dealing with again so I can decide if we will do any treatments or know how I can at least keep her as comfortable with pain medicine, etc. Her pancreatitis bout from last weekend has not really gotten any better..she still has little to no appetite, is drinking a lot of water/sometimes throwing up and after talking to her vet here today she thinks something may be going on with her liver as well. Her blood work from last week showed no signs of diabetes, cushings or anything severe with her kidneys.
Everything happening at once....but the relief comes in that tomorrow she will be at a great 'one stop shop' where we can meet with oncology and internal medicine and get stomach ultrasounds if we need to. I feel like it's all I think about and have been stressed trying everything to get her to eat. What sounds good to her one day does not always work the next. Her energy seems to be pretty normal so I'm hanging on the fact that she's still eager for walks as a good sign.
Wishing everyone a good night.
Beth
Erica, I will be thinking of you and Scout On Thursday.
You are right about the radiation oncologist at Colorado Sate as My vet says she is a fantastic person and he really admires her.
Beth if I am not mistaken Gamma knife is only 3 days of treatment. Had it been an option when Dash was first diagnosed I would have gone with it but it was not an option at that point and I was lucky IMRT was.
Good Luck to both of you and I will continue sending lots of prayers your way. Jan
I am so sorry to read about everyone's heartaches the past couple of weeks. My thoughts go out to everyone and big hugs to you & your sweet dogs.
It seems like the 'not so good days' are with us right now and it helps so much to hear what you all are doing and how you are getting through. We decided not to get a follow-up CT scan after Allie's radiation because we did not feel like we would do another round and put her through it again. Well, here we are only 5 months after the last of her 18 treatments and her bleeding out of the 'bad' nostril is getting worse, leading me to only assume the worst as well. I related to you, Erica, looking into and moving forward with more options for Scout. We are far enough past the radiation now that I am thinking ...what can I do? Should we do another round? We don't have access to IMRT so regular palliative radiation would be our only option at the University. Allie will be 13 in March and even though she handled the recovery from definitive very well the first time, it looks like it just may not have worked as well (or for as long) as we would have hoped.
She has been dealing with GI issues for the past week so we have stopped the Deramaxx to give everything a break. After vomiting for over 24 hours, she has been diagnosed w/ slight pancreatitis. Her vet said it is not always diet related, which makes sense because she only eats grain-free and lean meats/veggies. I think the break from Deramaxx has given the cancer a little boost and that's why we have seen increased bleeding. She had a round of IV fluids & has a anti-nausea prescription but still has little to no appetite..she is interested in nothing at all. We are just working with her to eat at this point and then the next step is to decide if we should move forward with another CT scan to assess our options for the cancer. The last 5 months have been so so good that I was so hopeful the radiation effects would last for the approximate year and a half 'average' time we thought we had....she is such a young soul and has a lot of energy for a dog her age. My heart aches just trying to decide what to do.
Jan, can you pass along the information for Lydia? What a great reading! Thinking of everyone that is going through hard times...
Reply:
I have to figure out how to respond to different people on this listserve,
Hope this message goes out to everyone I have been reading and following who are struggling with nasal cancer in their beloved friends...
About two weeks ago Ziggy had three terrible nasal hemhorrages (sp?) within one week. I was exhausted since they always occurred at night and there was always blood everywhere. He was so low on red blood cells and so anaemic that his eye whites had no pink in them and his gums and tongue were a horrible grey color. I made him drink a lot of broth and soft food. He was exhausted. Twice I went to the phone to dial the VET and twice, i just could not do it. So here we are two weeks later. he has not had another nasal bleed, he is eating and sleeping a lot and still wants to go out for walks. I am glad I listened to my inner voice and did not call the VET. Ziggy and I live alone together with the cat, so all decisions are being made by me and me alone. As some of you on this list know. it is so incredibly hard, there have been days I slept till 9 in the morning...just to get over the trauma from the night. In any case, I am thankful that this year I semi-retired so do not have to dread dragging myself to some thankless job by 8am anymore.....Please keep in touch
Today Dash continued his journey without me. Lydia the animal communicator says he has been with me twice before and that he does plan to return to me again. I hope she is right. I know it was time to say good bye and feel blessed that I had a wonderful loyal dog like Dash in my life for 11 years. Whoever gave him up after 1 year really missed out, but then again I guess he was supposed to be with me so they gave him up for a reason that was unknown to them but known to him. It will take a while to get over the loss as even with two other dogs he will be missed very much as he is the one that was always by my side. Always the happy dog with a sense of humor. I think as he walked away he was chuckling as he will be back.... After all he knows where I live! For now he is off eating Pancakes with his Grandma .Peace be with you my little buddy.
Just wanted you to know Jan that your sharing your experience with DASH has meant a great deal to me. Ziggy is still with me and as I mentioned on a previous post, he had terrible nasal bleeding about two weeks ago. I thought " this dog is going to bleed to death right in front of me". However I half-carried him back into the house out of the rain...He slept and ate and slept and ate...and now he stopped bleeding and is still hanging in there. A while back I asked my VET if she makes house calls and she said yes. So if it comes to it, hopefully it will not be the middle of night and I can call her with a clear conscience. For folks out there who may not have thought of this, everyone can at least ask their VETS if they will come to their own homes to perform the euthanasia. I have had it done by different VETS in different locations twice before. This may be a good solution for an elderly person or a person who cannot get their dog physically into the VET clinic. In the meantime....I am sorry for your loss.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Makes me sad watching her. Dazzle is trying to help and tries to get her to play but his being so young and fast makes it hard for an old lady like Jazz. She wants to play but just can't keep up so turns back to me in frustration wooooing like she is asking me to make him slow down
In her younger day she would have had a ball with Dazzle. It is hard to see if Phoenix is missing him as being deaf and vision limited she is a bit different then then others but she kept coming up and sitting quietly by me offering me her paw. She loved Dash . 
AllieBear and Nasal Cancer reply
Grateful for your sharing
