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.
I'd like to thank everybody on this thread especially Dashdog. It helped immensley with choosing a path of treatment for my family's dog. My family's 13 year old schnauzer I grew up with was diagnosed with nasal cancer in mid december. It broke my heart. All he had was a constant runny nose that would not go away after several rounds of antibiotics. He also lost a couple pounds. He lives in NJ with my parents. I live in the Colorado mountains. After getting the results from our local vet, my mom took him to animal medical center and animal specialty center in New York. AMC gave him a full physical along with a cat scan. When he had complicated issues in the past , they were usually able to help. They suggested radiation treatment, and he would have a life expectancy of maybe 6 months. there would be 15 treatments. Animal Medical Center does not have the newer radiation treatments just yet such as imrt or stereotactic that are more effective with less side effects. Animal specialty center in Yonkers NY did have cyberknife/stereotactic radiation. This type of radiation is less treatments, delivers a higher dose of radiation to the tumor , and is more targeted meaning it will leave healthy tissue alone targeting mainly the tumor and not healthy tissue so there are less side affects. My mother was about to go with ASC, but since i live in colorado and after reading kisses blog i thought hey let's call csu (colorado state university) because they are arguably the best vets in the nation. People fly in from all over the world to get their pets treated there. After a phone consultation, we were most impressed with them, and they were actually cheaper then getting a similar treatment done at animal specialy center in yonkers ny even if you add airfare and lodging included for my mother and dog. My family does have dog insurance too which covers some. I drove down from the mountains to fort collins to assist. The treatment basically is another cat scan on the first day so they can map the radiation treatment consistent with the tumor, 3 days of stereotactic radiation treatment and anestisia and then hopefully you're out. Rudy came through swimmingly each day. You would not know he was undergoing treatment except he was a little drowsy at night but he was still his feisty schnauzer self. Now a month out he has lost some hair around his beard and has some mucousitis but we're hopeful. The hair will grow back white but that doesn't matter to us. They did just perscribe klavamox for his runny nose. However, he is eating, barking, playing fetch, going for walks, and overall quality of life which is most important is good. You would not know he was a dog with cancer. He's also getting into mischief with the garbage too. He's too smart for his own good. Fortunately, we did catch this somewhat early. The tumor did not go through the cryptoform plate, which separates his nostril from the brain and the tumor is only located in one nostril. We wanted to treat this humanely as well and think this treatment is humane for the dog. They really did not give us a definitive time frame because cancer is unpredictable and this treatment is only a couple years old. He will need a cat scan in 6 months to check to see what has happened to the tumor. The goal is to have its dna damaged enough to have the tumor shrink or be destroyed. He is a stubborn little fighter who thinks he's king. If you dog has a runny nose that is not going away like others have said here don't hesistate to ask your vet to test it for nasal cancer. I really urge anyone who has a sick dog to contact CSU, they will call you back with a free over the phone consult. Check out kisse's blog, maybe I'll do something similar for Rudy and any questions let me know.
I am glad to hear that this post I started was able to help you with Rudy as that was my main reason to start it. I knew I was far from alone in the nasal cancer battle and knew that others going through it are great resources of informantion.
It sounds like his was found at about the same stage Dash's was so hopefuly your mom and he will get as much good quality time as Dash and I had or even longer! My regular vet and a 2nd vet at that works for him are classmates from CSU and I will say they are both excellent vets so not only is the vet school and services it offers excellent they turn out great vets!
I will keep my fingers crossed for Rudy and send lots of healing thoughts and prayers his way. Keep us all posted from time to time on how he does so this thread keeps moving forward and iformation about the newer treatment options replace the older ones as they come along. Dash would be happy that his illness and even his death continue to help others as he lives on that way! Good luck to Rudy. Jan
Thanks for writing about Rudy. My dog, Scout, and I used to live in the foothills outside of Boulder/Golden and I kicked myself for not being there when he was diagnosed. I used the free consultation at CSU once and spoke with their radiation oncologist--she was wonderful. She actually called and talked to the radiation oncologist at Tufts (where we were considering treatment) about our case. I was shocked!
Hello everyone. I just wanted to let everyone know that we had to say goodbye to our beloved Buddy yesterday. He put up a good fight and in the end he was just ready to go. His tumor had invaded his right eye and had basically pushed it completely out of sight. He didn't even want anyone to go near his face in the end. We called the vet and took him in and we were with him till the end telling him how much we loved him and how much joy he brought to our lives. I will miss him more than ever. I know he is in heaven with his sister Mindy who left us a couple of months ago. I am sure they are running and playing.
I just wanted to thank everyone on here for all the support you all gave us in this time. It really helped me know what to expect and how to cope. I wish all of you luck in this battle. I am praying for you all and I hope they can find a cure for this cancer. I will check back and keep you all in my thoughts. thank you again to everyone. Sarah
Hi everyone!!! I hope all is well with everyone. Does anyone have a phone number for CSU? I am interested in calling for a free consultation. Also, what dog food are you guys using? I have been using Authority from PetSmart and thinking about changing.
Sarah, I am very sorry to read your update on Buddy. It must be hard to loose both Mindy and Buddy in such a short period of time. My mom had to have two old cats put down within days of each other years ago and I remember how hard that was not only for she and my dad but the whole staff at the vets.
My heart goes out to you.There is a belief that we do not leave this world alone but that a soul near and dear to us returns and takes our soul onward to the next journey. ( perhaps the reason so many dieing people see their dead mothers before they die?) If that is true maybe Mindy was there at the vets waiting for Buddy to come join her. I hope so.
Try to focus on the good times you had with Buddy ( and Mindy too) and don't let any guilt creep in as you did what you could and that is all any of us can do. Death is a part of a normal life so there is no reason to beat ourselves up with guilt about what we did or did not do. You did right by being strong enough to give him one last act of love and kindness as difficult as that must have been.
Bless you. I will say a prayer that Buddy and Mindy are once again together running and playing....and that Buddy watch out for Dash as Dash loved Labs! ( Jazz hates labs but Dash loved them which could make taking the two out interesting!) Included are some healing thoughts for your heart. Jan
Thanks for all the prayers and thoughts about Rudy, he's doing pretty good playing in two feet of NJ snow. Here Sage are some interesting links from CSU's website along with a link to their contact info:
[SIZE=3]I am afraid that my 10 year old Rottie named Chester is a victim of this cancer as well.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Two weeks ago he started with the sneezing, and running nose. At first I thought it was an allergy and waited a week to see if it would clear up.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]It did not so yesterday he had an x-ray that shows a dense mass in his left nasal passage.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Today he is getting a sample taken to be analyzed. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]I will not know for a few days exactly what it is, but I dear that it is this cancer from all of the posts on here.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]I want to thank everyone on here for sharing your experiences, and the data.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Treatments, and procedures help to educate us.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Your stories can be hard to write, so thanks again.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]I will post when I know more. [/SIZE]
Hi everyone, it has been almost two weeks since we said goodbye to Buddy. It is still hard but I find comfort in talking and remembering all the good times we had with him. I miss him more than I think anyone can imagine but I am so happy I had 12 and a half years with him. He brought so much joy to our lives. I think back to a time that my mom was bringing him to our new house for us and stopped by McDonalds for lunch, she actually brought him his own cheeseburger hahaha. That story still cracks me up. I love him still and will forever. I am still thinking about you all and keeping you all in my prayers. I am praying for the day that you all post that they have come up with a cure and you all are no longer fighting this horrible battle. Thank you all again for all your help in Buddy's disease and remember you are not alone in this fight. We are here for you all. Thank you again, Sarah
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.
