Jude has been diagnosed with cancer.

[mamamary]

Will be praying for Jude and your family Thanks for posting a picture of Jude - he is absolutely beautiful!!!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Sorry to read this, Dawn.

 

[DawnCt1]

Thank you for all your kind thoughts and prayers. I tend to have rose colored glasses a lot of the time but this is what I have observed since the problem first emerged.
1. There is still blood in the urine but not visible. I dip stick it so I know its still there.
2. He loves the puppy chow and I made a mixture of boiled chicken and 90
% fat free hamburger with the juice and have poured it over his kibble and he has eaten all of his meal twice.
3. He went to the groomer today and had a good day. He LOVES the grooming table. He will jump up on it just to sit there. That's the place where show dogs get all of their attention. What a memory he has.
4. The BIGGEST THING!? He didn't run to 6 places to pee. Just two and he seemed to have a normal stream. Like I said, I have rose colored glasses and so I had DH observe his stream and he agreed with me. He is a realist so he wouldn't lie to make me happy.
5. He's tired right now because he had a long day but that is normal for him.
He sees the vet in nine days. I hope the vet isn't upset that we changed his drug from Deramaxx to Piroxicam but I can't imagine that he would be. If he tolerates the Piroxicam, its the best one for his condition.

 

[mefordis]

You need to have hope. He can beat this. It IS possible.

Thank you for all your kind thoughts and prayers. I tend to have rose colored glasses a lot of the time but this is what I have observed since the problem first emerged.
1. There is still blood in the urine but not visible. I dip stick it so I know its still there.
2. He loves the puppy chow and I made a mixture of boiled chicken and 90
% fat free hamburger with the juice and have poured it over his kibble and he has eaten all of his meal twice.
3. He went to the groomer today and had a good day. He LOVES the grooming table. He will jump up on it just to sit there. That's the place where show dogs get all of their attention. What a memory he has.
4. The BIGGEST THING!? He didn't run to 6 places to pee. Just two and he seemed to have a normal stream. Like I said, I have rose colored glasses and so I had DH observe his stream and he agreed with me. He is a realist so he wouldn't lie to make me happy.
5. He's tired right now because he had a long day but that is normal for him.
He sees the vet in nine days. I hope the vet isn't upset that we changed his drug from Deramaxx to Piroxicam but I can't imagine that he would be. If he tolerates the Piroxicam, its the best one for his condition.

 

[wvdisluv2]

Thinking of and praying for you and Jude~What a heartbreaking diagnosis, but not a reason to give up hope We also have "senior" dogs (shhhhh they don't know they're seniors) Hoping medication does well for him and you and your family have more wonderful years together

 

[Parkers_girl]

I was in your exact shoes in august. When I read your last thread about him having blood in his urine and going for tests I had a lump in my throat because that is exactly what we went through with my Kota. He also has transisitional cell carcinoma (tcc) of the bladder, and it luckily had not spread to his urethra or kidneys. He was having the blood and having accidents which is so unlike him. So after being treated for what they thought was a bladder infection, an ultrasound confirmed a mass in his bladder.We were a mess, but the doctor assurred us that most dogs do very well on the piroxicam and can continue living with this TCC. He has been on pirioxicam since August (so about 4 months) and seems to be doing wonderful. He has no blood and his urine stream is strong and steady, something we hadn't seen in awhile, and like you, our dog who once peed 10 times during a trip outside is now going in one nice shot. We switched him to a grain-free food and treats to help with fighting the cancer, since cancer feeds on carbs. We give him his 10mg of piroxicam every night after his dinner with a few spoonfuls of plain yogurt. I feel this helps with the stomach issue, since this medicine is known to upset their stomach. We have been lucky that he did not have any vomiting with this med, just diarrhea the first few days when his body was trying to adjust. We have recently switched vets and our new vet has him taking a fish oil pill every morning because she said it has wonderful healing properties, and she also told us to give cooked sweet potatoes and other veggies for their antixoidant power to help his body fight and to keep his immune system healthy.

If nobody told you my dog had cancer, you would never guess it. He has more energy now in his 9th year of life, then ever. I feel that this med is really doing wonders for him! He is due back for test towards the end of January, so we are remaining positive about his results! If you have any other questions feel free to message me. I know how scary it can be, those first few days were the hardest, especially when I would see the blood in his urine during the first few weeks. Just hang in there and love on your sweet Jude! He will be just fine, just like my Dakota!

 

[Jockaroo]

Parkers_girl, I am so happy that your Kota is doing will with his medication. I really believe that our case was unique and my dog didn't do well due to unrelated liver damage. May I ask what breed(s) Dakota is? I have an interest in TCC. Bladder cancer is a relatively rare cancer but one that strikes Scotties (my breed) with more frequency. I will be sending good thoughts to your Kota. I know that the Scottish Terrier Health Fund is working diligently on research on TCC. From research I've done, I believe progress with this disease WILL happen and information learned will help Scotties, other breeds and may transfer over to human cancer research.

You and Dawn may find some good information in the following articles:
http://www.tartanscottie.com/gsm/great_scots_health_cancer.htm
http://findavet.us/blog/2009/04/research-may-reduce-cancer-in-dogs/

Dawn, it is wonderful that Jude is eating well! A lack of straining is also a good sign. I'm glad he had a good day today. Sending good wishes for many, many more good days ahead.

 

[java]

Dawn so sorry to hear this.

 

[Parkers_girl]

Parkers_girl, I am so happy that your Kota is doing will with his medication. I really believe that our case was unique and my dog didn't do well due to unrelated liver damage. May I ask what breed(s) Dakota is? I have an interest in TCC. Bladder cancer is a relatively rare cancer but one that strikes Scotties (my breed) with more frequency. I will be sending good thoughts to your Kota. I know that the Scottish Terrier Health Fund is working diligently on research on TCC. From research I've done, I believe progress with this disease WILL happen and information learned will help Scotties, other breeds and may transfer over to human cancer research.

You and Dawn may find some good information in the following articles:
http://www.tartanscottie.com/gsm/great_scots_health_cancer.htm
http://findavet.us/blog/2009/04/research-may-reduce-cancer-in-dogs/

Dawn, it is wonderful that Jude is eating well! A lack of straining is also a good sign. I'm glad he had a good day today. Sending good wishes for many, many more good days ahead.

Dakota is a border collie. It's great that you are researching this cancer! I am very hopeful that Kota is going to do fine by the progress he has already shown in this short time. We would have never known he had this if he hadn't accidentally urniated on the white tile in petsmart. I like to think that everything happens for a reason, and if we would never have gone to the store with him that day we would have never known or caught it too late.

 

[amg35]

Ugh, I feel for you. This hits me hard, I lost (one of) my best friends this past April. Unfortunately, hers came as a complete surprise, woke up one morning, my 12 year old little girl would not move. Took her to the vet, unknown tumor had burst overnight, cancer all over, body in shock, gone in less than two hours. But that's my story, not yours. My vet was fantastic, the same thing happened to his dog, so he made me feel so much better about the decision to put her down. And reassured me that there is no way we would have known about the tumor beforehand because with the kind she had, there really are no symptoms until it's too late.

And my other dog and cat have been very supportive!


It sounds like there is a lot to be hopeful for, so I'm thinking you will have great time left with your best friend!!! I will think about Jude everyday!

Your dog is beautiful, by the way.

 

[DawnCt1]

I was in your exact shoes in august. When I read your last thread about him having blood in his urine and going for tests I had a lump in my throat because that is exactly what we went through with my Kota. He also has transisitional cell carcinoma (tcc) of the bladder, and it luckily had not spread to his urethra or kidneys. He was having the blood and having accidents which is so unlike him. So after being treated for what they thought was a bladder infection, an ultrasound confirmed a mass in his bladder.We were a mess, but the doctor assurred us that most dogs do very well on the piroxicam and can continue living with this TCC. He has been on pirioxicam since August (so about 4 months) and seems to be doing wonderful. He has no blood and his urine stream is strong and steady, something we hadn't seen in awhile, and like you, our dog who once peed 10 times during a trip outside is now going in one nice shot. We switched him to a grain-free food and treats to help with fighting the cancer, since cancer feeds on carbs. We give him his 10mg of piroxicam every night after his dinner with a few spoonfuls of plain yogurt. I feel this helps with the stomach issue, since this medicine is known to upset their stomach. We have been lucky that he did not have any vomiting with this med, just diarrhea the first few days when his body was trying to adjust. We have recently switched vets and our new vet has him taking a fish oil pill every morning because she said it has wonderful healing properties, and she also told us to give cooked sweet potatoes and other veggies for their antixoidant power to help his body fight and to keep his immune system healthy.

If nobody told you my dog had cancer, you would never guess it. He has more energy now in his 9th year of life, then ever. I feel that this med is really doing wonders for him! He is due back for test towards the end of January, so we are remaining positive about his results! If you have any other questions feel free to message me. I know how scary it can be, those first few days were the hardest, especially when I would see the blood in his urine during the first few weeks. Just hang in there and love on your sweet Jude! He will be just fine, just like my Dakota!

That is wonderful to hear. Can you tell me the name of the food you use? I have been making him a chicken an beef stew. I like the idea of adding sweet potatoes but I pour it on puppy chow for added protein and so he will gain weight. Also, how much fish oil? Jude weighs 58 pounds.

 

[Parkers_girl]

That is wonderful to hear. Can you tell me the name of the food you use? I have been making him a chicken an beef stew. I like the idea of adding sweet potatoes but I pour it on puppy chow for added protein and so he will gain weight. Also, how much fish oil? Jude weighs 58 pounds.

We have him on Innova EVO since he was on regular Innova before his diagnosis and we were quite happy with it. He is currently taking one 1200 mg fish oil capsule every morning, the vet said we could gradually increase to two capsules a day, and he weighs around 69 pounds. Our vet also recently told us about the benefits of probiotics to help with his digestion while on the piroxicam, but we haven't tried that yet.

 

[manning]

So sorry to hear that Dawn. Hopefully you will find something to help him.

I went on the net to read about it and came across these two.

http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=529559&sk=&date=&pageID=2

http://www.vetcontact.com/en/art.php?a=384&t

Give him a big belly rub!!

 

[DawnCt1]

Every day I feel a bit more optimistic. This morning, after not peeing all night, he had a dribbly stream, but I think that was the result of being "full". The second time, he looked like he wasn't going to miss that nice white foreleg that occasionally had been tinted "yellow" when he first came to us. He moved it out of the way in time. His appetite has been wonderful. I think that the piroxicam and (the fometadine,) which is an NSAID is making him generally more comfortable. The 3 days on prednisone increased his appetite, but he has been eating great. Emptying his bowl. Something we hadn't seen for a month or so. We took him on a long road trip today and he was fine. We made pit stops but the normal amount and he seemed to go a normal amount. I know I seem "obsessive" about this, but this is a big deal. He was working so hard to produce so little. We were looking at houses in Massachusetts and we didn't want to leave him home. I feel anxious when he isn't with me. He was the perfect gentleman, as he always is. The model homes we looked at would have done well to "sign him up" as a prop. He loves riding in the car.

 

[DawnCt1]

So sorry to hear that Dawn. Hopefully you will find something to help him.

I went on the net to read about it and came across these two.

http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=529559&sk=&date=&pageID=2

http://www.vetcontact.com/en/art.php?a=384&t

Give him a big belly rub!!

Thank you Manning. I am clinging to the hope of a long term remission!

 

[Oreo Cookie]

Dawn - So sorry to hear about Jude. I hope he goes into remission. Our pets are part of our family. Jude knows you love him and that you are doing everything you can for him.

 

[frndshpcptn]

I'm so sorry, Dawn. Sending good thought for you and your family.