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Hermangiosarcoma? Need advice


Kazm
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Oh yeah. I certainly have been taking loads of photos. But I always have. My phone and iPad are full of my girls and all of their relations. But yes I have taken some very special ones lately. And yes we are enjoying her. She is and always has been an absolute delight. That's why it is so hard. 

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I think we are nearly there now. It is so hard to write. We knew this time was so close but it doesn't make it any easier. We haven't made "the decision" just yet but we do know now it will probably be only a matter of days, maybe a week but that might be too long for her. Who knows,  my special girl might surprise us again but my heart is telling me different. 

We had an awesome weekend with her. Friday was a great day at home where she was quite active and very happy spending time outside with me and her daughter Molly. On Saturday we took her to visit friends who bought 2 of her pups. They are now 5 and 3. Big schnauzer boys. Beautiful boys. Molly had heaps of fun playing with her brothers while Zena was happy to watch from a comfy chair. She was super excited to go for the car ride as well as visiting these brilliant friends. Sunday was another great day spent at home following  her "dad" while he worked in the shed. She even ate quite well for those few days.

Monday and yesterday though she was noticeably more tired and gone off food again. A bowl of ice cream for dinner last night. This morning is the first that we are not going for a short walk. She really doesn't look up to it. Honestly I think she looks a little sad. We are having one of her boys over today so I can give him a grooming session so I am hoping that brightens her up a little. 

I wish her good moments could continue on but that's being selfish. It's going to be a tough week!!! 

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Massive hugs to you and yours @Zena's mum... and a gentle hug from me to sweet Zena please...

 

Please tell her it's OK to be tired and want to fly with the angels soon... and that she'll have lots of new DOL friends to play with and lie in the sun with at The Bridge. I'm sure my beloved Woosie and Zeddy will take her under their wings to show her the best sunny spots and where to chase rabbits to her heart's content.

 

T.

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Thanks heaps T and PK. Much appreciated.

And yes I have had that talk with her telling her it's fine for her to want to leave. I've told her Molly will be well looked after and that we'll be ok too. Eventually. She also knows that my little boy Arnie  is there waiting to see her again plus a few cats she knew. And thanks T, she loves hugs and  I will tell her to be on the look out for your 2 beloveds. I have told her it's a happy place where the grass is soft and green and the sun always shines. She has always been my sun goddess and loves nothing better than stretching out in the sun on a winters day. I have told her there will be lots of puppies for her to play with and maybe they will show her where a stash of bones are. And it's going to be a place of no pain and suffering.

We are so not ready for this.

She actually looked a little brighter yesterday afternoon and did eat a little bit which did surprise me. This morning she's up and wandering around. Slowly but not too bad. I'm not glossing things over either. Still know in our hearts it's happening soon. Just not today. 

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So sorry your dog has this horrible cancer. I have lost 3 dogs to this cancer. The most recent my GSD at 5 yrs old 2 years ago. It was in the back leg a grade 3. We went to SASH and the wonderful vets gave us another 20 months with our girl. She was down too 3 legs but it came back in her lungs then her glands and her skin in areas. This cancer and osteosarcoma are the two worst , the only saving grace Hermangio is mostly painless. She had all the chemo and was well right up to the end but with nose bleeds and other issues we had to let her go. It still tears me apart and always will. Just love her and spoil her.

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So sorry to read your story Dave. 3 dogs to this is just horrible and a 5 year old too. Wow. That is way too young. I feel for you. This is our second dog to lose to cancer. Our little man was 10 and a half and had lymphoma. It took him very quickly. Zena is just 9. We have Molly who is 5 and I really worry about what her future holds. I would love for her to just grow into an old lady. I so hope we don't go down this road again.

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Just wanting to thank you for your posts.  I just got a lymphoma diagnosis for my retired agility BC girl, who turned 15 a month ago.   She's had early stage kidney disease for over a year, but this has come out of the blue.   I suspect it will be fast moving, because I only noticed the swollen lymph nodes last week .. I don't think I missed them before.   I've lost dogs and cats before .. some very fast, some slow, some older, some young, but it really never gets any easier.  And your sharing has been just what I needed to start getting adjusted.     Thank you, and very best wishes to you and your family.

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Sorry to hear that your girl is not well and I feel so much for you heading into this awful situation too. It's absolutely terrible and it takes too many of our 4 legged friends. For some reason my girl is just not giving up. Last Friday we thought was the day but within an hour of thinking that, she had perked up again and she spent a great weekend with us and some of her favourite people. Monday just gone she was so good nobody would have thought much was wrong with her but today she is so much quieter again and food is an issue. She has started to lose weight and that's not good. She is still a determined little thing though but we honestly don't believe she can give us much more and we are really starting to think. We can not allow her to suffer. It has now been 7 weeks. We were told barely a month but that's my girl. Just love her too much. We know that we are possibly down to her last days, even though I'm sure I've said that before, but it is so damn hard. She looks at us and wags her tail and you just wonder. Sorry, but I really am struggling. 

Take care Tassie. Best wishes to you and your family and hugs to your special girl. I hope when she goes it is peaceful.

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My last dog a pomX died from this horrible cancer at 12yrs :(  I was told with this type of cancer they don't show clinical signs till the cancer is too spread to operate (she just collapsed one morning without warning).  My girl had an ultrasound and it had spread through her little body, they said if they operated there was a high chance they wouldn't be able to remove it and she would be put to sleep on the table,  I decided to go palliative care.

 

She ended up living an extra 3 weeks, it was a struggle to get her to eat, I spent so much money on tasty food as one day she would eat say roast chicken and the next day she would turn her nose up at it.  I broke out in hives constantly over those last weeks I found it so stressful with the struggle of deciding if it was time or not.

 

All the best with your furbaby.

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Hey alibi as you know from reading my posts my girl was given just barely a month but here we are 7 weeks along and she just won't give up. I have spoken to all vets that have seen her and they all say the same. Operating is not an option. They all agree too that she shouldn't still be here and that makes it so hard as on her really good days I find myself doubting them but there doesn't seem to be anything I can do. These last few weeks I agree with you,  have been so much of a struggle getting her to eat. And yes it's so stressful. I can't think of anything else. I don't sleep well at night and feel sick in the stomach with constant worry. It really is a horrible time. And my fridge has so many little containers of left over food. Food that she did want and may want again but probably won't. Every time she gets a bit low I mentally decide that the time has come and it's just like she's a mind reader as she perks up again and while she walks ok and wags her little tail at us and snuggles in for a cuddle there is no way we can do it. 

Sorry to hear of your loss and the troubles you went through due to this horrible disease. 

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Thanks for your kind thoughts, Zena's mum.   Your girl is obviously a tough little cookie.   I know what you mean .. the day I decided it was the end for my first dog, I carried her into the vet's office, and she was looking round brightly and greeting everyone as if there was nothing wrong with you.    I haven't had to make the decision for a dog since then, although I have for cats.    The two dogs that I've lost since then went quickly .. one from an accidental poisoning .. couldn't be saved, and one from haemolytic anaemia.   Thinking out loud here, I guess it's just a balance sheet sort of thing  .. for each day have there been more good things than bad, and then looking for trends.

 

My girl saw our holistic vet today, so we're going with some dietary changes as well, and some herbal remedies.   The Prednisone has reduced the swelling in the lymph nodes already, which is good, although of course it's only temporary,  Treasuring the good times. 

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Hope all went well with your holistic vet visit Tassie. I'm kind of sorry I actually didn't try something like that right from the beginning but we were given such a bad prognosis and no one expected her to stay with us for very long at all. Nobody even suggested trying anything. And I guess we were kind of shell shocked. If we ever have to go down this wretched path again I will be a different person. By the time I'd done my research we all knew it was too late. Even though she is still with us. She's done a good job all on her own. 

Hopefully you will have some good times and plenty of them still with your girl. What's her name if you don't mind me asking? 

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Thanks Zena's mum/  Her name is Kirra (T.Ch Khayoz Sweet Soul Music RAE TSD  ADM3  ADO6 JDM3 JDO6 GD SD SPDX HTM.S DWDF.S ET) !

The visit to our holistic vet was good .. one good thing was that the Prednisone has reduced the lymph node swelling already, although of course that will only be a short term thing till it loses its effectiveness ... but good for the moment.    Now she's had a variety of diet change and herbal remedies for immune support added into the mix, none of which are going to be curative at this stage, but should help to ensure good quality of life for the time she has left .. and may increase that time slightly.   She's happy enough, and was wanting to join in some raining last night with my boy.   The pictures were taken a year and a half ago, but they quite sums up my cheeky girl.

 

 

Your dear Zena must be a really tough little girlie .. with a good immune system.   That's a tribute to your care for her.

 

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She is so gorgeous. Good luck with her new diet. I hope it gives her extra time as well as quality of life towards the end. 

And thanks. My Zena is a toughie. Always has been. Only ever heard her yelp once in her life and that's when the cat pushed her off our bed. Lol. Oh, the memories I have.

She's not having such a good day today. 

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Just an update - my sweet gorgeous girl Zena passed away yesterday morning. Exactly 8 weeks since diagnosis. She did very well and made me so proud to be her friend, not owner, friend. We made the decision as we could see she just had nothing more to give. She was so tired and just wanted to sleep. She was looking quite frail and was having difficulty walking. Sunday morning she had snuggled closely into my husband in bed and later that morning she came to me asking to sit on my lap. I think it was her way of saying goodbye. She passed very quickly and peacefully. 

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