Cancer treatment for our dog
Discussion
One of our German Shepherds (nine year old girl) has been diagnosed with cancer following a removal of a lump under a mammary gland. Unfortunately it's a very rare, aggressive type called carcinosarcoma and our vet seems unable to offer much in the way of guidance or prognosis. They said this is due to how rare it is, there's very little data other than small study of a handful of dogs.
I've found the study online and it's bleak reading however it does show that with chemotherapy survival time can increase from four months to 12-18 months.
What I don't know, and my wife and I are debating, is what quality of life our dog will have if/when she's getting chemo. At present she's healthy, no weight loss, eats well, no sickness or diarrhoea and she walks and plays great.
Pre-op chest x-ray and blood tests were clear so next step is potentially ultrasound to check her abdomen and organs.
So we're looking at either monitoring and heading in the direction of palliative care as and when we see a downturn, or chemo with the various side effects and stresses this might place on her.
I'd appreciate any input from anyone who's been in this situation. Thank you.
I've found the study online and it's bleak reading however it does show that with chemotherapy survival time can increase from four months to 12-18 months.
What I don't know, and my wife and I are debating, is what quality of life our dog will have if/when she's getting chemo. At present she's healthy, no weight loss, eats well, no sickness or diarrhoea and she walks and plays great.
Pre-op chest x-ray and blood tests were clear so next step is potentially ultrasound to check her abdomen and organs.
So we're looking at either monitoring and heading in the direction of palliative care as and when we see a downturn, or chemo with the various side effects and stresses this might place on her.
I'd appreciate any input from anyone who's been in this situation. Thank you.
Edited by skyebear on Wednesday 2nd July 18:23
One of our Frenchies has some rare form of Lymphoma, we give gave him steroids (which slowly increased) for around 6 months form diagnosis until we made the decision to put him down.
My parents Dalmatian went through chemotherapy, the dog spent all week being ill between rounds and still had to be put down 6 months and thousands of pounds later, put myself and my parent off ever going through chemotherapy for the dogs again.
Granted it was a few years ago now, but with the commercialisation of veterinary services …
So I’d vote no, as they cannot (understandably) guarantee QoL.
My parents Dalmatian went through chemotherapy, the dog spent all week being ill between rounds and still had to be put down 6 months and thousands of pounds later, put myself and my parent off ever going through chemotherapy for the dogs again.
Granted it was a few years ago now, but with the commercialisation of veterinary services …
So I’d vote no, as they cannot (understandably) guarantee QoL.
My vet wife says:
https://southfields.co.uk/
You should have a no obligation discussion with these vets as they are a leading oncology team.
You wont be pressured into anything but they do have a lot of experience.
You could consider metronomic chemotherapy that aims to arrest/halt the cancer cell to improve longevity, with minimal side effects as it advocates 1/4 of ‘normal’ doses.
The prognosis also depends on clear margins on the histology and whether or not there is any known spread at this point in time.
Depending on how alternative you are, there are some papers supporting the use of medicinal mushrooms like Turkey Tail and Lions Mane due to their anti-inflammatory properties.
Good luck either way
https://southfields.co.uk/
You should have a no obligation discussion with these vets as they are a leading oncology team.
You wont be pressured into anything but they do have a lot of experience.
You could consider metronomic chemotherapy that aims to arrest/halt the cancer cell to improve longevity, with minimal side effects as it advocates 1/4 of ‘normal’ doses.
The prognosis also depends on clear margins on the histology and whether or not there is any known spread at this point in time.
Depending on how alternative you are, there are some papers supporting the use of medicinal mushrooms like Turkey Tail and Lions Mane due to their anti-inflammatory properties.
Good luck either way
Sorry to hear about your situation. Two weeks ago my dog was diagnosed with aggressive cancer and for me it was a simple (but hard) decision to have her put to sleep. Minimum suffering for my little fried.
I go by the three W’s. Do they enjoy Walks? Do they Wag their tail? Do they Wolf down food? If the answer is No to two or more then the answer is simple (but hard).
Best of luck.
I go by the three W’s. Do they enjoy Walks? Do they Wag their tail? Do they Wolf down food? If the answer is No to two or more then the answer is simple (but hard).
Best of luck.
We lost our lovely girl two weeks ago . 12 years old and very special to all the family. We are still heart broken and the feeling of loss is huge .
She had cancer and kidney failure. The vet said treatment would prolonge her suffering and she would not recover .
To the post above she did wag her tail,eat her food and her mind wanted to walk but her legs would not carry her .
I am very sorry to hear of your news and what I have learnt is your dog can't tell you how bad they feel , they just try and keep going .
It's a horrible and tortured decision you must make with your dogs best outcome in mind .
I wish you all the best .
She had cancer and kidney failure. The vet said treatment would prolonge her suffering and she would not recover .
To the post above she did wag her tail,eat her food and her mind wanted to walk but her legs would not carry her .
I am very sorry to hear of your news and what I have learnt is your dog can't tell you how bad they feel , they just try and keep going .
It's a horrible and tortured decision you must make with your dogs best outcome in mind .
I wish you all the best .
Edited by cliffords on Thursday 3rd July 06:49
Thank you all very much for your input. I was aware when posting that people's thoughts on this would doubtless be informed by sad situations with your own dogs - so thank you.
Everything about our dog is healthy other than this terrible biopsy report. Which is great but is confusing things. Is the cancer spreading undetected? Is an organ going to fail suddenly?
I'm going to get her histology report from the vet and speak to an oncologist with a view to what approach is going to give her the best quality of life. If that's a short period then so be it.
Everything about our dog is healthy other than this terrible biopsy report. Which is great but is confusing things. Is the cancer spreading undetected? Is an organ going to fail suddenly?
I'm going to get her histology report from the vet and speak to an oncologist with a view to what approach is going to give her the best quality of life. If that's a short period then so be it.
So sad to read this.
Our flat coated retriever had cancer and had to be put down at 7 1/2.
We tried lots of alternative therapies some of which seemed to help
One thing I have learned over the years is that dogs are incredibly stoic. It is very easy for us humans to miss the signs that they are suffering.
Please look after yourselves through this difficult time
Our flat coated retriever had cancer and had to be put down at 7 1/2.
We tried lots of alternative therapies some of which seemed to help
One thing I have learned over the years is that dogs are incredibly stoic. It is very easy for us humans to miss the signs that they are suffering.
Please look after yourselves through this difficult time
I am sorry to hear your news.
I have been there with my spaniel when aged 8. He also had a very rare cancer TSCC, similar to your dog. Our vet said nothing could be done, and expect three months.
I was devastated, I spent hours online looking for answers. I then found a paper written about a small sample of various treatment and outcomes. The author was based here https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/sath/ we managed to get referred to see her.
We went to see her, we agreed to chemo and radiotherapy . It was not cheap, but other than the day after radiotherapy when he was a little quiet, he was fantastic. After the treatment he looked like nothing was wrong with him, we traveled as normal to France five times a year, we had great fun.
We managed to get four wonderful years with him, I am so grateful.
I hope you have the same outcome.
All the best.
I have been there with my spaniel when aged 8. He also had a very rare cancer TSCC, similar to your dog. Our vet said nothing could be done, and expect three months.
I was devastated, I spent hours online looking for answers. I then found a paper written about a small sample of various treatment and outcomes. The author was based here https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/sath/ we managed to get referred to see her.
We went to see her, we agreed to chemo and radiotherapy . It was not cheap, but other than the day after radiotherapy when he was a little quiet, he was fantastic. After the treatment he looked like nothing was wrong with him, we traveled as normal to France five times a year, we had great fun.
We managed to get four wonderful years with him, I am so grateful.
I hope you have the same outcome.
All the best.
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