My pup has been diagnosed with lung cancer, where they found nodules in his lungs when searching for the cause of an eye issue. Based on the x-ray images and the CT scan, the vets say he has multiple tumors in different parts of his lungs. Unfortunately, they haven’t been able to get an actual biopsy sample, to officially confirm what cancer cells they are, due to the location of the tumors.
So the vets are telling me, sorry, there’s nothing they can do, and they won’t prescribe chemo as they don’t know exactly what cancer cells they are.
So, I’m wondering, has anyone battled cancer in a dog and tried any other types of treatment to try and slow down the progression of the cancer?
Unfortunately I don’t have any personal experience or know anyone that has gone ahead with cancer treatment for a dog. The vet is probably right if they don’t know what they are treating. The wrong treatment may make matters worse.
Yeah, been to a few. 3 different clinics, 6 different vets, and 3 radiologists. I get that they don’t want to commit to a specific treatment without knowing what actual cancer cells you’re fighting, but if you’re only going to give the dog a few months to live, why not give it your best shot.
It’s really frustrating that there aren’t more options for dog cancer like there are for humans.
We went through it with our last pup, lost her to cancer at 10 years old. It was tough and devastating, and took me a while to get over it, but I missed having a dog, so finally I had to trick my mind, and get a “Special Project Dog”, instead of a “Family pet”. I turned this dog into a working dog, and he has learned everything I wanted him to.
That’s why I’m trying everything I can to try and help or save him. I owe it to him, and he’s only 7 years old. Too young to lose.
I agree with the “quality of life” issue, and realize there will be a time to make that tough decision. But, I can’t just sit back and say “oh well”, and let nature take it’s course. It’s in my DNA to try and do whatever I possibly can to help him, no matter what the cost.
I have him on a bunch of supplements that fight cancer, and they originally gave him 2 to 4 months. We’re in the middle of month 4, and he’s still going strong, so maybe what I’m doing is helping a little. But x-rays last week showed some of the tumors still growing… so…
Sorry to hear about your pup and hope you figure out something. Losing our dogs might have been more devastating than when my parents died.
I don’t have experience with cancer in dogs so I’m no help there. Keep doing what you’re doing to find and consider any and all options. Especially with a pup so young.
I will say that we tried very hard when our last dog was sick… medications, surgery, etc. At the end of the day they did not help. They mainly just turned a lot of money into a little time, a lot of worry, and discomfort for the dog. Knowing what I know now I’m not sure I would have made the same choices. It was hard one everyone, including the dog, that I don’t know if it was worth it. And I hate saying that.
The vets suggested a “targeted therapy”, a kind of chemo, but all it would do is exactly what you said. It only has like a 40% response rate, doesn’t cure, only might extend his life for an extra month or two. Problem is, many dogs get nasty side effects from it. So, it’s not worth it to make him feel like crap only to gain a few months, while extracting big bucks for the cost/treatment from me.
What this whole process reminded me, there’s no goals for them to “cure” cancer. All the benefit is for them to “treat” it, indefinitely, while making big bucks.
Thanks!! Yeah, exactly what I experienced last time with my last pup. Not looking forward in going through that again… which is why I’m trying anything I can to help him.
My senior pitbull-chow chow mix is 13 years old and recently started having seizures. The probability of it being a brain tumor is very high. They had her on Prednisone and an anti convulsant that they said she needed everyday until she passes. I kept her on them until I noticed her behavior was so erratic or lethargic that I decided to get her off them and see what happens. I’d rather she be herself. Fortunately she hasnt had a seizure for 2 months without medication.
Essentially I decided that instead of spending thousands on diagnostics and treatments that may result in more harm than good, I would use that money to go on adventures and trips that would provide everlasting “good” memories for the time we have left. I think it all depends on the situation but right now she’s still cognitively there and I built a custom cart for long walks that she loved. The money spent on doctors can pay for a road trip to somewhere beautiful and will be something positive you wont forget, opposed to the negative effects of treatment and it potentially hampering her ability to go out and make those " good" memories. Then when the day comes and I see it in her eyes, I’ll know I did all I could to make her happy with no regrets.
Thanks for the feedback. One thing I won’t have is regrets with him. He’s traveled all over the country the past 5 years in our RV, and I’ve taken him to some really neat places and experiences. He’s lived a life better than most humans.
I just want more time with him… 7 years ain’t enough…
That said, the initial projection by the vets had him surviving only a few months, which would have been by the end of November. But here we are, almost mid December, and he’s going strong. We just came back from a long walk in the woods and trails, and he’s full on treking along.
When I realized the vets didn’t have anything to help him, I did my own research, and put him on my own cancer protocol, with a bunch of cancer fighting supplements, and changed his diet to a high protein diet. Not sure if it’s working, but instead of being dead, he’s got more energy than ever, and shows zero external symptoms from the cancer.
I’m going to take him in for additional x-rays in a week or two, to see where he is with the progression of the tumors. Fingers crossed, hopefully they’re shrinking!
Welp, I think I just jinxed everything. My girl Layla had seizures again today and now we’re back in the emergency hospital. Praying she pulls through overnight.
Yeah, we had a Lab/Golden cross years ago who was originally supposed to be my 11 yo son’s dog. Since it was my wife’s idea, she promised she would take over if my son opted out. He did as I anticipated (no 11 yo understands the care and time a puppy needs), my wife’s work schedule changed, so I found myself in charge of a 3 month old puppy. She turned out to be a great companion & loved the water just as much as I did, maybe a bit more. Took her boating; took her surfing - had to rope her to the truck or she would follow me out into the line-up. I would launch a retriever dummy into the waves and she would plunge after it, and body surf a wave back in. She was very smart, considered herself a full family member, and more than once jumped in between two family members who were having an angry argument to deescalate the situation. She was 11 yo when she began to decline. She had the “labrador disease” and would happily have eaten herself to death if allowed. I’m pretty sure her weight contributed to her decline. The vet told us she had cancer, and that it had metastasized. They recommended that we make her as comfortable as possible, for as long as possible, and bring her back to be put down when we thought she was ready. She got through about another 3 months, then one morning she couldn’t or wouldn’t get to her feet, and just looked at me with very weary and sad eyes. We took her in that afternoon, and I held her head in my lap as she slipped away, telling her to “Run; Swim; Play” It was over 10 years before I could even consider getting another dog, not only because it took me that long to recover, but because I didn’t think it would be fair to a new dog to be compared to her. A bit over 5 years ago, we finally adopted a 5-1/2 yo doodle, and he is also a great dog, but different enough that he doesn’t suffer by comparison. He is going to be the last one; he is 11 now, and very healthy, so he will probably last another 4 - 5 years, possibly longer, and after that I wouldn’t be capable of adequately caring for a dog. Dogs are great to have around, the problem is that their lifespans are so much shorter than ours. It makes it very difficult to let go gracefully, but imo that is part of the obligation.
We brought our two dogs to Garden State Veterinary in Eatontown which has a good reputation for oncology. However, the surgeries and medications were unsuccessful for our pups so take it for what it is.
I hope you have great days in the future with your buddy.
I hear what you’re saying. They are definitely family members, and we didn’t rush right out and get this dude when our last Lab was put to sleep at 10 years old from cancer. I know some people who ran out the next week to get a replacement dog. I can’t do that.
I went about 8 months, and couldn’t get another “family dog”, but I missed not having a dog around. So I had to trick my mind, and get a “special project dog” instead. That was the only way I could bring one home. I ended up making my current dude a “working dog”, with lots of different training and he earned a bunch of certifications.
But yeah, starting with a puppy is definitely a lot of work. This dude came home at 7 weeks old, and “puppyhood” lasted over 3 years… Oh boy… He’s finally calmed down, which is why I want him around more, since the days are finally more controlled… LOL…
We’ve been to Garden State, Northstar in Brick and Robbinsville, Red Bank and my own local hometown vet. Unfortunately, on the x-ray and CT scans, they see like a half dozen tumors spread around in his lungs, so surgery or radiation isn’t an option. They haven’t been able to get an actual sample from one of the tumors to get a confirmed lab biopsy and determine exactly what cancer it is. So they won’t prescribe chemo without knowing. They just said, you have a few months, go home and enjoy him… that was in August…
What a racket these vets have, I’m easily over $13K in medical costs with this whole thing. It actually started with a eye infection back in July, and in attempting to treat the eye, and figure out what caused the eye issue, they found the tumors in his lungs during body x-rays. Unfortunately, they couldn’t save the eye, and his left eye was removed because he was in extreme pain in August. So now he’s a one-eyed Lab.
It’s been a crazy few months, but I don’t really care about the costs. I’m going to do what ever I can to help or save him, it’s what I committed to do when I brought him home as a puppy… But this dude really likes draining down my retirement funds. Two years ago, he had a tumor removed from his side, then a few months later, had a knee rebuilt due to a torn ACL… that year was over $16K in medical bills…LOL… and I thought kids were expensive…
Thanks… I wish I really knew what was going on inside. The vets felt he would have been gone by now, but we were outside earlier, and he was chasing the ball around the yard, so it doesn’t look like he wants to check-out any time soon…
Maybe all the cancer fighting supplements I have him on are working… who knows…
I hear you. I’m not really convinced that they have any more of a racket going than human medical/pharma providers, though. With the latter, health insurance usually masks the actual cost. Have you ever looked beyond the co-pay at the details of what the provider bills the insurance company for any serious procedure? It looks absurd, and consider that the insurers have negotiated lower prices. Imagine what you would pay for “full price”. There is such a thing as health insurance for dogs, but that is also ungodly expensive, because the insured base is so small relative to the human insured population.
I caught you cost for the ACL replacement after I replied. Maybe they are trying too hard to copy human medicine for dogs. Our lab/golden had blown out both of hers when pretty young (at different times); the vet surgeon replaced the ligaments with very heavy duty monofilament. She never had any issues of the kind after that. Are they doing doing stuff like implants taken from canine cadavers and the like now?
The racket they have is that everything with the vet is “cash and carry”. They don’t take any type of insurance, you pay at the time of service. If you have pet “insurance”, it’s a reimburseable coverage, and you send them paid invoices, and they consider if they will cover it.
There are actually 3 types of procedures they do, base on the activity level of the dog. My dude is a crazy nut case, so they felt the artificial ligament approach wouldn’t hold up for him. They actually did what’s called a TPLO procedure, where they actually cut off the tibia, move it over, and screw it back in. They change the angle of the joint, to take the pressure off of where the ligament was.
Here’s what his knee looks like now, with a titanium plate and a bunch of screws.
I worked really hard on his rehab for multiple months after surgery, and rehabbed him back to 100%. All the surgeons I had consults with told me he would still be limping after surgery, but I made sure that wasn’t going to be an option.
