skyesblue Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I have a beautiful 11 year old staffy that i have had since a pup. When she turned 9 everything seemed to fall apart on her. I have taken her to see the specialist in Parramatta and she needs both front elbows replaced as she has severe arthritis. Trouble is they dont do the op in dogs under 20 kgs. She then had a mass cell tumour taken off from the inside of her rear leg. There were good margains but i did not have the tumour graded as i really did not want to know. Every day has been a bonus since see the spec who gave her a guarded prognosis. Last couple of weeks her breathing had changed and she started to cough (only when she got excited). I took her to work only to find that she has a lung tumour. Its to close to the heart to have it tested. She is currently on Gabapentin tabs and carprofen twice a day to deal with pain and seems comfortable. I know its only a matter of time and i am not looking forward to that day i need to make a decision. As anyone else had any experience with it?? Any suggestions on treatment?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I can't give you any suggestions for treatment, but I've had dogs with cancer and the very best thing you can do for them is to recognise when their quality of life has deteriorated to the extent that they no longer want to live and have them pts. It is very easy, when you love a dog very much, to keep them alive because you cannot bear to let them go, I know this because I've done it myself. When you look in their eyes and the light has gone it's time, sounds fanciful but it's perfectly true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dianed Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 I lost my 10 yo beautiful gsd Carla to lung cancer 3 years ago this July. Like your girl the mass was close to her heart, in fact it was pushing against her heart. About 2 years before I noticed her breathing was heavy. I took her to the vet who did a cardiogram,but nothing abnormal showed up, the anesthetic they used made her so sick I never went back. 6 months before she passed away she developed a cough off and on, it got worse as time went by. A needle biopsy was in conclusive, an ultrasound showed a huge mass. It was inoperable due to its location. In six weeks she went down hill, she lost considerable weight and stopped eating probably due to all the medication. I think she had what they refer to as a hot tumor, she loved to sit outside in the cold or on the tiles even though it was winter. She did not seem to be in pain, although at the end she had trouble breathing. That was when I decided to have her pts. Her eyes told me when, I have a photo of her taken the day before and you can see she,d lost the fight. She had cortisone to try and shrink the tumor and antibiotics in case it was an infection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
periannath Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 My sisters border collie X was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer recently.After lengthy consultations with her specialist she decided to give Rosie 1 round of chemo.While it didn't shrink her tumour it has done something and the old girl is much improved.Of course all it has done is buy Rose a little time but it seems to have given a her better quality of life(i.e. she isn't coughing anymore and is painfree). Best wishes for your dog and yourself in this very difficult time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyesblue Posted March 2, 2011 Author Share Posted March 2, 2011 (edited) Thank you for replies. I had been wondering if anyone had tried chemo and to what benefit it gave the dog.Do you know what specialist they went to?? We have spoken about giving her cortisone however not knowing what sort of tumour it is makes it difficult. She has been a beautiful dog and this has been a really difficult time. And i know she wont get better but i just want to make sure she is comfortable while we are still lucky enough to have her. Edited March 2, 2011 by pipsmum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dianed Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 I,d investigate the chemo angle, going by the stages of Carla,s cancer I think you may have some time up your sleeve. We also used fluid tabs to help rid the lungs of fluid. I have to say after the needle biopsy (which was a waste of time) she went downhill fast. $800 could have been spent on chemo! Like you, not knowing what type of cancer was a problem, we had 6 weeks in the final stage before it affected her breathing. My vets where not equipped for this type of problem, even the vet in Canberra who did the biopsy wasn't really much help. Just said she has 6=8 weeks, he asked for the $800 up front. If chemo buys time go for it. Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowanbree Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 I lost my gorgeous Kayla to lung cancer. As soon as she was diagnosed we started her on prednisone and I believe that help stop the growth of the tumour and gave her quality of life. She was meant to have 6mths tops but we had a great 18mths followed by a mth of not so great. That is my only regret. Because it gradually got worse I found it difficult to assess quality of life and I think I left her too long. On the day I pts she was still eating well but was coughing everytime she moved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyesblue Posted March 3, 2011 Author Share Posted March 3, 2011 Thank you to everyone for sharing their experience. I have been thinking that the best that i can dog for her is to see a specialist in Sydney and go from there. I know that the tumour is currently only small as the xrays were sent to a specialist to read as my boss was not 100% sure and there was only a small sus area on the lung. They may advise chemo but with all her other issues i am not sure. At the moment she still has great quality of life and can still get a little run up to play with our foxie without coughing. The worst thing about losing a best friend is that i have had this dog longer than a relationship and i will really miss her. I keep telling myslef she has had a great life. Slept inside on our bed every single night of her life and has not even boarded at a kennel. I just hope i know when the right time is to let her go. It has been great (but sad) to know what others have tried so thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra777 Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 I have had two Staffords with lung cancer - yes both OH & I used to smoke The first one was fine until literally 12 hours before she died, did absolutely nothing to suggest she was ill in any way (she was 9), then suddenly couldn't breath, had collapsing episodes and was PTS the next day while under anasthetic to investigate the problem (the vet suspected a growth of some sort - her lungs were basically non existent) The second one was 13 and it started with a lump on her wither. I asked for her to be sedated & xrayed and without my permission they operated and removed a lump the size of a man's fist from between (and around) her ribs and her shoulder blade but the vet said they couldn't get it all. She lived another 4 months without a lot of issues (no breathing issues) and no medication except for the last 3 or 4 weeks some days she couldn't stand up easily so she got 1/2 a disprin (on vet's advice) as she needed it. When she couldn't move from one spot of sunshine to the next I had her PTS. My personal choice is not to persue chemo for a dog. This might be different if the dog was 2 or 3 years old because none of the affected ones I've had have been young. IMO it's such a toss up as to whether it will work or not and you can't explain to a dog why they are suffering or encourage them with hope for the future that it is my choice not to aggressively treat them when the cure has the potential to be as bad as the disease. Just my view and I don't pass judgement on people who see things differently. Whatever you decide it will be difficult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 I have a Stafford with grade 2 MCT (no clear margins, systemic)... dxd when he was 8 years old. We were given 12-18 months with chemo, less without... We did chemo and treated holistically - that was in late 2005... He is still here, more than 5 years post dxd... He still has MCT... We have no explanation as to why - we are just greatful everyday that he is with us. Chemo for dogs is not like it is for humans - they simply cannot give dogs the doses they give us because they cannot do bone marrow transplants on dogs when the chemo kills of those good cells too - so they give much lower doses. (well they can do bone marrow transplants, it was done on a dog a year or so ago - but the cost would be outrageous). Chemo is not really meant to be a cure in dogs - just more quality and quantity of life. They don't get 'sick' like humans do - they might have a low day a couple of days after the chemo treatment but they bounce back fine. I believe the holistic therapy and diet changes is what keeps them so well, while they are undergoing other more harsh treatments (chemo is still a chemical cocktail to say the least)... There are many sites on cancer diets for dogs and most say the same thing - get rid of all the fillers, like rices, grains, corns and keep it pretty high in protein with good veges and fruits. Flax oil is a good supplement. We used a product called Anti-Ox and another Lymphodran to help out too. All Natural Vet Care in Sydney are wonderful and have helped Ollie. It is a hard, expensive road - but I don't regret it for a minute. All the very best for you and your dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
periannath Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Sorry I haven't been back to the forum earlier or I would have seen your request for more information.The vet used was Tony Moore at Veterinary Oncology Consultants, Pty Ltd. 379 Lake Innes Drive Wauchope, New South Wales 2446 Australia Telephone: +61 (2) 6585 3192 Fax: +61 (2) 9012 0397 Email: [email protected] Referral appointments in the Sydney area: at the Animal Referral Hospital in Strathfield. My sister is rural and they arranged for Rosie to have her chemo with her local vet which worked well for Rosie. If you would like to talk to my sister please PM me for her number.She is happy to talk to you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyesblue Posted March 10, 2011 Author Share Posted March 10, 2011 Sorry I haven't been back to the forum earlier or I would have seen your request for more information.The vet used was Tony Moore at Veterinary Oncology Consultants, Pty Ltd. 379 Lake Innes Drive Wauchope, New South Wales 2446 Australia Telephone: +61 (2) 6585 3192 Fax: +61 (2) 9012 0397 Email: [email protected] Referral appointments in the Sydney area: at the Animal Referral Hospital in Strathfield. My sister is rural and they arranged for Rosie to have her chemo with her local vet which worked well for Rosie. If you would like to talk to my sister please PM me for her number.She is happy to talk to you Thank you for these details. I have a referral to the Animal Referral Hospital next week so i will see what they say. It is very kind of the offer from your sister. I will wait to see what they say and where we stand with things. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
periannath Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 No trouble at all. The offer remains open for when or if you need it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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