treating dogs for cancer

[diesel]

My 8 yr old lab/rott mix was just diagnosed with stage 4/5 Lymphoma (a very common cancer in dogs). We are trying to make the hard decision about treating it with chemo. I'd love to hear other owners storys who have or haven't treated their dog. We've been told that becasue he is a large male dog that the treatment my not work very well plus he's also in the later stages which are harder to treat. Even with succesful chemo the remission only lasts between 5-7 months. It just seems like a lot of time, money and work to only have them survive an extra few months. If the survival rate was a year or two I would not hesitate to do this. Our big concern is quality of life. Any experience or advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

[alliecats]

I don't have any advice, but did want to offer a hug and sympathy. I can't imagine what a difficult sitatuation this is. I think you are smart to consider your dog's quality of life first. Whatever you decide, you will clearly be keeping your dog's best interests at heart.

 

[Tiggeroo]

Oh my. Only to buy a remission of at best 7 months. I don't think i'd do it. It would just mean the dog would suffer more. And as the parent of children I couldn't justify the expense either. If it meant a possible cure I would definitely try it. Otherwise, no.

 

[Stephanie218]

We've had several Rotties with cancer, and never went the chemo route. It just didn't seem worth it to prolong their lives for them to suffer.

The prevelance of cancer in Rotties is one reason we switched to Newfoundlands. The breed is beginning to see cancer, but not to the extent that Rotties see it. I do miss my Rotties though!

Good luck with whatever decision you make, it's a hard time.

 

[KatelynnsAuntie]

Don't you sometimes wish they could talk and let you know what they want? Sometimes it's so hard making the best decision for our fur-babies. My heart goes out to you as you try to make this difficult decision.

 

[Magickndm]

I'm so sorry you have to make this decision.
I was in your shoes about 3 years ago, my dog was diagnosed with cancer. She was 12, the vet wasn't sure if she would even get through the surgery.
After a lot of soul searching, I realized that if I was to go forward with any kind of treatment, I was just making her life worse.
In the end I was very comforted knowing I could be the one who could make her feel better by letting her go.
I know the decision is heartbreaking.

 

[clutter]

Many years ago, I did chemo for a 4 year old basset with leukemia. The cancer changed to lymphoma. I regret putting her through those last couple months. They were tough on her. My next basset, at age 12, had heart problems and was mostly blind when her vet said "uh oh. Her lymph nodes are hard and that's never good in a dog." Although the needle biopsy was negative, we both assumed it was cancer and I opted not to treat her. She lasted exactly the six weeks that my vet predicted. She had good days and bad days, although more bad than good. My vet and I were checking in with each other a couple times a week about when we though it was 'time'. One day she started acting like a puppy again, and then the next day, it was time.

I wish I could offer you more positive news, but I don't know that I'd put a dog through chemo again, unless the remission was supposed to be long.

 

[Amy]

You might want to send a pm to Dan Murphy - his son's Rottweiler, Doc, has been treated for cancer. I'm not sure what type of cancer, though.

Hugs while you make a difficult decision.

 

[almacdonald]

I don't have any stories to share but I do want to share my sympathy. You have a tough decision in front of you, one I hope I never have to make. When you get home today maker sure to give your dog a big hug and rub his belly til he falls asleep.

 

[luvwinnie]

My neighbor's bulldog was diagnosed with lymphoma in March of 2005. Went through chemo and was in remission for 5 mths. It's back now and he's getting chemo again. He has been FINE through it all (good appetite, energy, still acting like HIMSELF, etc). I don't know what stage he was though. He's younger though, not even 5 yet. I wish you all the best.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

When my golden got lymphosarcoma in 2004, I did a big search on it and on the chemo treatments. Some people spend tens of thousands of dollars on it. I didn't have to make the choice as my poor Ranger only lived a few days after diagnosis, but try doing some googling and you'll probably get some more info.
Robin M.

 

[Poohgirl]

So sorry about your dog. I have a friend that has an 8yo German shepard that was diagnosed with Lymphoma about a year ago. They gave her the same couple month odds. He chose to get her treatment anyway. She is still alive and doing fairly well today. She did have a scare recently with a sore on her elbow that wouldnt heal. He thought that it had returned. She was retested and was found to be ok. Things can turn out well.

Best of luck with what ever you choose.

 

[momsgonwild]

Five years ago, my beagle was diagnosed with an inoperable bladder cancer. We used the Texas A & M University Small Animal Hospital. The vet there advised us against the chemo to prolong life. He told us the quality of life verus quantity wasn't worth the suffering to our pet. He gave us a cancer med that would slow the progression of the tumor. Prevacid which stopped the stomach upset from the cancer med, and a pain medication. The paid medication was used to just make sure that he was not in any type of pain. The vet gave us a tentative timeline as a guidline of expectations. As a few months went by, we knew when it was time to go back and have him put to sleep. It wasn't the money issue for us, but the the fact of not wanting him to suffer. I know it is a hard decision to make. I wish you the best of luck.

 

[disneyfanatic60]

First, my heart goes out to you. I am so very sorry to hear about your beloved furbaby.

I just lost my lab mix to lymphoma in early October at just 8. We were given the option of chemo as well. However, he had more than 8-10 tumors and they were all over his body and that was just what we could "feel" on the outside of his body. Unfortunately for us, we found out late on Friday before Labor Day. The vet basically told us we had an hour to make a decision. If we choose not to do chemo, they needed to start an aggressive dosage of steroids (predizone) immediately or he would probably not make it through the weekend. We were told with chemo we "might" get another year at best considering our own situation.

After some serious thought, personally we made the decision that we felt was right for us. We chose to start aggressive steriods. I fortunately work for a vet (I am their bookkeeper though my dog was not her patient) and after some discussion with her, I knew we made the choice that right for our particular dog. She aided us by giving us all the free med's we needed, etc. The steriods took an immediate affect with him and the tumors began to shrink in size. He was eating again, not panting so hard, and starting to really be himself again. We had six great and wonderful weeks with him many of which we almost forgot he was so ill.

We considered ourselves very blessed to have those additional six weeks with him. He was treated like a king and we all made it a point to really spoil and love him silly and to enjoy each precious second. Considering our initial diagnosis that he wouldn't make it through the first weekend, each day was truly a blessing!

My biggest fear was his quality of life and my vet gave me sound advice--just follow your heart and you will know what to do and when. She told me "They will let you know." I honestly feared that he would suffer and I wouldn't know when it was time, but "I Did!" I really did know immediately that something changed and it was time. My best friend clearly let me know in a very peaceful manner that he was ready to say goodbye. He was still looking out for me right until the very end. I miss him terribly each and every day!

The best advise I then can give you, is to just follow your heart. Trust me you will not make the wrong decision no matter what you decide. My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your furbaby! Again, I am so very sorry.

 

[mylilnikita]

I am sorry to hear about your dog. I had my 1st German Shepard when she was 6 weeks old and raised her until the age of 13. My DD was only 2 months old and ExH noticed a knot on GS's throat. My DF took her to the vet and he came home later without my dog running through the house and I knew something was wrong, she had cancer and I had my parents watch my baby and took off the vet crying hysterically. The vet didn't think she couldn't handle the treatment. I said I wanted to take her home and we had her for a week and gave her the best week I think she had,then DF had to have her put down. SHe loved my DD, slept under her crib, was always near her. We didn't even need a baby monitor, because if DD cried, Brina would start barking for us to come see.

 

[lclark0621]

I am sorry to hear about this.

I had a lab that had lymphoma a few years ago. We did not put him through chemo or treatments. My vet discussed all the options with us. In the end, we knew the chemo would have been very hard on him, painful for him, and would have only given him a short time longer (if it worked at all).

That is not the quaility of life I would have wanted for him. We could not put him through the pain & sickness that went along with the chemo.

At some point you need to ask yourself if you are actually putting your dog through these treatments for the dog or you. I dont think it is fair to the dog to do it for yourself. It is just to hard on the animal. And their quailty of life is just not good.

Which is why we made the painful decission to put him down. He went peacefully, surrounded by the people who loved him & left all of his pain behind.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Very, very sorry to hear that about your furbaby. Always sad when they are sick.

As Amy mentioned above, our son's dog, Doc, (seems more like DW, Marie's, and my dog as Vince is gone so much and Doc is here at home with us), was diagnosed with lymphoma about 2 1/2 years ago, beginning of '04. Doc was just over 4 at the time. We brought him to nearby Veterinary Specialty Center http://www.vetspecialty.com/ and were told without treatment Doc would last maybe 4 to 6 weeks and be gone, virtually 100% fatal. With chemo, (quite expensive), most likely Doc would go into remission, for maybe 1 or so years. It would come back. If another course, maybe half the length of time in remission as the first. And then that is about it.

Vince decided to give Doc the treatments. If not, I am sure Marie and I would have. Doc went into remission after his first chemo treatment, but needed maybe 6 or so more for a complete course. He was a bit out of sorts after each treatment, just like a person, but after a couple days, was fine. He was in remission for over 2 years.

In about march of this year, he came out of remission. Started again on a chemo course. Into remission after the first. He has a few more to go and then will be done with this course.

I will say that for the approximately 2 1/2 years, though we know where it will end someday, Doc has had a wonderful life, enjoying it to the fullest.

I do hope your guy, whichever you decide is the way to go, enjoys his days too, be they many or few.

Here is a link to a thread I put up a couple months back, showing how well Doc is doing.........

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1086980

 

[Debi]

I'm sure this is not what you want to hear, but we put our dog to sleep for this very reason. Denny developed cancer in his bones, and he had a large tumor just above his front 'wrist.' Denny could barely put weight on that leg, and as a large dog (Denny was a black lab/husky mix), and amputating a front leg on a large dog is not a viable option (quality of life issues).

Going through chemo/radiation was, at best, a 50/50 chance of putting the cancer in to remission, and in the time that Denny would be going through the treatment, he'd likely have a bad reaction to the treatment (same as humans, loss of hair/fur, stomach problems, etc.). To us, it wasn't worth putting Denny through doggy heck for weeks only for a 50/50 shot that he'd live abother 6 months. Plus, Denny was an old dog - 11 - so if the chemo/radiation worked out, it wouldn't be long before another health issue came up.

Thankfully, Denny wasn't in pain long, and now we feel it was the right decision. Best of luck with yours.

 

[Snowysmom]

I am sorry about your dog. It is a difficult decision. My 8 year old westie was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in a vertebrae in early November and radiation was recommended if we wanted to do treatment. Unfortunately, the cancer grew back quickly after the vet took out what she could (not all of it) and we decided against any further treatment after consulting with the oncologist. Snowy was with us until April 15 of this year. She had a good quality of life for over 5 more months and we knew it was time to put her to sleep when her breathing became very labored one day. For us not doing the treatment was the right decision but she had a very aggressive cancer. She is very much missed. It is hard when our beloved pets get sick and we want to make the right decisions for their care. Take care.

 

[Magickndm]

Just wondering how things are going with you.