nell.m

Hi Everyone, Just here to report that Jasper passed away on the 8th September. It was the day after I left for a long planned holiday to Morocco. It happened really quickly and was totally unexpected for my family. When I said goodbye to him I thought I'd see him again in 15 days. He was a little out of sorts and we thought he just had an upset stomach, as often happened. Mum took him to the vet the next day and it turned out he had a tumour the size of an orange. He had to be put to sleep the next day as he was in a lot of pain. My family kept it a secret from me the entire time, and it was only when they picked me up from the airport that I learned the horrible truth... Honestly, I expected bad news because he wasn't responding well to the rescue protocol he was on...but I still expected him to be alive. The last few days I've been crying and sleeping a lot. Strangley the fact he was an old dog and had an amazing life hasn't eased any of the pain at all. I've had 18 months to prepare myself for this moment but the shock is just as bad as if he died out of the blue in a freak accident. I've had him since I was 14 and I feel like I've lost not only my best friend, but half of my soul. Thanks everyone for the advice and kind words you've given over the time of Jasper's illness.

By the way, as much as I love dogs, I am seriously considering never getting another dog again!!! I don't think I could withstand any more heartbreak! Dogs really do become more than "just dogs" to you. It is seriously the biggest joke of nature that dogs only live to around 14 years (if lucky). That was a bad idea, Mother Nature! I am sure I will get another dog one day, just not for a long time to come! All the good far outweighs the bad.

Hi rmc and Denise, thanks for the kind words. I guess I've been feeling a little guilty. I know Jasper would agree with me with my decision and would love me all the more for it, but of course he doesn't understand and I hate the thought of him suffering any side effects from the chemo. I can only take comfort from all the specialists I've been to, who have been impressed when looking at the history of his last chemo, at how smoothly it all went.

Thanks for the tip, always looking for natural ways to stave off my dog's lymphoma. I'm going to look into that!

Well it has been confirmed that the Lymphoma has returned...Jasper is back on Chemotherapy. I didn't know what else to do, I couldn't bear to just not do anything. I didn't want to put him through more but because he has such fantastic quality of life I felt I had to do it. Luckily he is really happy and maintaining his normal routine. On Thursday he had his first treatment and today I cannot even feel his lymph nodes. I am trying to keep positive as the specialist couldn't even promise that Jasper would respond to more chemo. He has his own special diet and takes vitamins for his immune system. I credit that for keeping him in remission for over a year. On Friday I bought some herbal Lymphoma treatments from Robert McDowell, has anybody heard of him? http://www.herbal-treatments.net/

Hi Staffyluv, I often think of Ollie and am always delighted when I drop in here and see that he's still going strong. It is comforting to know that cancer isn't always a death sentence.

Hey RMC, thanks for the kind words. It's been almost 15 months since his diagnosis. True, Fox Terriers never give up, their attitudes are pretty inspiring. Well to all appearances he still looks like a happy, healthy dog so I am hoping the fight will continue for a while longer.

Hi Everyone, well unfortunately I am back with bad news. Last night I was checking Jasper's lymph nodes under his jaw and I noticed they were up. Not big but they were noticable. I freaked out and rushed him to the vet this morning. The vet couldn't tell me for sure but he said mostly likely the cancer was returning. He is going to get in touch with a specialist and hopefully I will find out soon enough what the deal is. I am absolutely devastated, even though I half-expected this day to come, I was always hoping it would be in the distant future. I've been taking such good care of Jasper, he has a special diet and takes lots of natural supplements. He has been the best he's ever been lately, so this really threw me. I guess I had lulled myself into a false sense of security thinking everything was ok. Any suggestions? I realise the prognosis is never as good when they relaspe. I'd really appreciate any advice, as there are a lot of knowledgeble people around here. I am not sure if I could put hm through chemo again, as I'm sure he went through hell, but I am willing to try anything to buy him some more time. Thanks for any advice... Nell & Jasper.

Keeping you and Ollie in my thoughts. Good to see he is always looking on the bright side. What a lovely photo of him, he looks happy and he has a lovely shiny coat.

Hi Everyone, Denise, so sorry and shocked to hear Boof lost his fight. Sending lots of love your way. It sounds like you did everything you could have done and I know he loves you more for it. R.I.P Boof. Well I suppose I have not been around here for a while because Jasper has been so well. Not long after he finished chemo I took him to an animal Naturopath who put him on an immune and digestive booster and prescribed him a diet. Since then I have been religiously following her advice and Jasper is glowing with health and happiness. Ironically he almost seems happier and healthier than since before he got sick. In the back of my mind I am always worrying about him and every day I check his glands. I only treat him with natural products and he will be having no more vacinations. He still believes he's a young boy and I have to restrain him sometimes when he wants to go for a long walk. He gets spoilt rotten and he's getting exciting about christmas when he saw the christmas tree getting decorated. This christmas is going to be a special one and he is getting lots of presents! By the way Jasper celebrated his 12th Birthday in October, which was a very special day indeed. Basically I am just enjoying every day he is here (and making sure he enjoys himself too!) Take care everyone, Nell.

Denise, Well it turned out Jasper had a tummy infection. The vet gave him some tablets and he perked up almost immediately. Now he is super-happy and wants to play and be naughty all the time. What sort of vitamins do you give Boof? Can you use "human" vitamins? I heard vitamin C can be good. Can you just crush up small amounts in their food? At the moment I am only giving Jasper fish oil capsules. Also, do you know if the chemo treatment can cause slight incontinence? A few weeks ago Jasper left a puddle on the floor, and he "drips" sometimes. He seems to still have control over his bladder, but he just leaks sometimes. I do know he has become a bit lazy with going to the toilet, so I often have to force him outside! I know it might just be his age, but it seems to happen really quickly- one day he is normal and the next he is "leaking!" I suppose I'll have to remember to ask the vet next visit. So is Boof not allowed to socialise with pound dogs in case they're not immunized? Hugs to Boof! Nell.

Hi Jinx, The vet didn't tell me Jasper shouldn't have raw meat. She just said feed him what I've always fed him, though I've cut out all grains and included more vegies and fish oil. I've been giving him a mixture of raw meat and turkey/chicken/steak stew with lots of vegies. He seems to prefer the stew, and I'm beginning to think the raw meat might not be a good idea at the moment as his tummy is very sensitive. He is not well at the moment. I think he has suffered some unusually bad side effects from last week's chemotherapy. Friday night he vomited, and he's been shaking sometimes, and has a runny nose and is doing runny black poo. Strangely enough his temperature is normal, and he still wants his walks and food/treats. Good to hear Boof is soldiering on too. They are real little fighters.

Hey all, Well Jasper's chemo has been going very well! he is about 3/4 of the way through his treatment. He has maintained a good blood count for most of the time. It drops slightly when he has the chemo tablets, but soon picks up again. There haven't been many side effects, except feeling tired after treatment, and he's been getting an upset tummy sometimes. He's also lost some of his whiskers. Maybe he's just really tolerant, but the whole treatment was a lot better than I first anticipated. Sure, there's been a few low moments, but all in all he is as happy and enthusiastic as he's ever been. Some days he just emits this vibrant, happy energy. He gets treated like a king, and I'm sure he eats better than most people. We even ignore the toxic farts he does when he has tummy troubles! The only thing I feel guilty about is leaving him at the vet for his all-day visits. When he's dropped off, he starts trembling and sometimes "calls out" to us as we leave. But after telling him he "must stay" he usually resigns himself to it and trots off with the vet. I feel bad he doesn't understand, but when we pick him up he's always so happy and seems to forget what's just happened almost immediately. So far, it's been a mostly positive experience. I do sometimes feel anxious what will happen once the chemo has stopped, but I just try to enjoy every extra day I have with him. I'm so proud of him. Thanks for all the well wishes, everyone, and I'd love to hear anyone else's stories of their dog's chemo treatment.

Thanks heaps, Staffluv! I will definitely ask that next visit.

I really hope things look up for you both soon! Sending good vibes your way.

Well all is still going well for Jasper. He is nearly in remission already! The only real side effect from the treatment is that he is ravenously hungry and he has lower energy levels. Also he was having tummy troubles (runny poos) so he had to go on Peptosyl. I hope that's not an ongoing problem for him. Tomorrow he goes in for an all-day stay for more treatment.

Thanks for all the well wishes, guys!

Hope you dog is doing well! My dog is doing better than I expected on the chemo- no real side effects. As far as I know, they can't "cure" lymphoma totally, but they aim to put it into remission. The remission time depends on the dog's health, stage of cancer, etc. Finding out Jasper had cancer totally shocked me. I still think of him as a young dog because he's still the same as he was 10 years ago (except with more grey hair and more intelligence). So I can understand how you feel. If you look in the "Palliative Care" forum in the health forum you can see there's a few threads on dog's progress getting treatment for cancer. You could start your own or just read what we're all going through. I've also included a link to a "Dog Cancer Diet" http://www.dogcancer.com.au/diet.html?gcli...CFREcagodtywoEA

Jasper had his intravenous injection yesterday, and I was warned that that particular dose could knock him around and perhaps make him a little ill. But when I picked him up late afternoon he came running out of the room with the vet trying to control him, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed! He stood up most of the way home (40 mins drive) then wanted to play when he got home. I couldn't believe it! He's been really good ever since. A little more tired than normal but otherwise he is his usual, happy self. He doesn't seem to be suffering from any nasty side-effects. And his glands are already smaller too! I could hardly feel them today! He goes back next week for a blood test and more pills. So far, so good.

Also, forgot to add that the vet told me it was probably a bad idea to give Jasper any holistic treatments as it could have a negative effect on the chemo. Instead I might take him to a holistic vet/practitioner when he's in remission to keep his immune system up. Any comments? I know a lot of you are taking natural supplements.

I am going through something similar. My 11yo fox terrier has Lymphoma. Luckily it has been caught in the early stages though. It know it is heartbreaking to hear your dog has cancer, so I really feel for you. At the moment my dog hasn't started chemo yet, hopefully he will have on monday or tuesday. I have cut out all grains in his diet, and he is eating raw and cooked meat with vegetables. He is also taking fish oil tablets. I did some research and a dog cancer website calls the diet the "cancer dog's diet," which "starves" the cancer as apparently it feeds on sugar and carbohydrates. Anyway, the whole idea of the diet is to keep his immune system up. I'm still new to this whole thing too, thankfully there's a lot of information out there on the net. Sending healing vibes your way.

Took Jasper to the hospital where he will be getting his treatment today. I am very impressed with the vet (one of the vets that will be treating him). She is very caring and went into great depth about the whole chemo process. She also said that if dogs get too distressed with the chemo treatments, they will scale it back or stop it. Naturally, not what I want to happen but it's nice to know they care. She said Jasper has a very good chance; and that most of the dogs they treat are already quite sick. Jasper did not enjoy being there though- we went out the back to have a look at everything and he freaked out. He was put into a cage and I told him everything was ok and for him to stay there, and he was shaking like a leaf. We left him there for a few hours as he was to have his first injection, however they didn't have the right medication after all so he will be starting his treatment monday or tuesday. He was very happy to see us and I gave him a new toy whilst we were still there to associate him with good things being at the vet too. He was very impressed. The vet said he was playing with her dog while we were away so hopefully he wasn't too stressed out! Despite his distress at being left there, he seems none the worse for it. When we got him home he was ready to play with his new toy. Then he had a big sleep and was ready for his walk when he woke up. So I am hoping he will get used to the whole treatment routine. I just can't wait to get him started on it!

I use Neotopic for my dog (who suffered from terrible hot spots in summer). It's via prescription from the vet, is like sorbolene with local anesthetic and antibiotics, I think. Isn't a natural alternative of course, but nothing else was working for my boy. It's for the worse cases probably.

Thanks for the kind words everyone. Well, I got a fax with the different treatment options and I am very keen to try the first option- the most expensive one- which is called the CHOP treatment protocol. I left the fax at my parent's house but I am sure everyone knows about it or has heard about it before? I am doing some research on it now and it seems like the treatment is similar to how humans get treated for it. Jasper is 11 and while he is very robust and happy, does anyone think it's too aggressive a treatment to put an aging dog through? It's the route I want to take him though. He has an appointment with the oncologist on saturday.

That's very worrying. My dog has the annual heartworm injection and I give him Advantix for ticks and fleas. I was recommended to use it. Should I be worried? Is Advocate similar to Advantix?