Jesterbelle Posted December 24, 2010 Share Posted December 24, 2010 Merry Christmas Jodie and Ollie, stay safe and well and enjoy the festive season. Hugs, Julie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pampa Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 Hi Jodie and Ollie, I haven't been on DOL for quite a while and truly held my breath when I saw Ollie's story still at the top of the list after several years of my being absent. It is so very very heartwarming to see that Ollie is still doing so well - almost a miracle I would say (I was so frightened that he may have dissapeared???). Nice also to see Dogsbesotted/the Marremas still online too - you are a wealth of information ladies and oh so wonderful !!!! Keep up the inspiring work and big hugs and belly rubs to the children. Pampa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted December 28, 2010 Author Share Posted December 28, 2010 Thank you everyone for the warm wishes... Pampa he truly is a little miracle... I treasure every day that he wants to go for a walk... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montage Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Ollie's story gives me much hope for my older girl. What trooper! Last July my 12 year old staffy Isa was diagnosed with 3 mast cell tumours and three melanoma's. She came back from surgery with six incisions and we spent an anxious week waiting for results. The MCT (two on her side, one on her upper back leg) were grade 2 with well defined margins. Melanomas were benign. We were warned the MCT would probably come back and in December we found another MCT on her belly and two more melanomas so she needed another operation. Like Ollie, Isa seems to bounce back pretty well after surgery but I've noticed she's not as energetic and sleeps more often. I'm not sure whether it's age or related to her having mast cell carcinoma. I dread the thought of metastasis. I have just found another smallish lump under her armpit last night and another smaller one one her belly. I feel so guilty about the possibility of putting her through more surgery. She's almost 13 and the vet has told us that chemotherapy isn't really an option for us because of her age. I hope that like your dog Ollie she has a couple more years left but you just never know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted January 29, 2011 Author Share Posted January 29, 2011 Montage I made the decision after Ollie had to have a toe removed last year that there would be no more surgery - he will live out his days with palliative care only. I think only you can know your dog well enough to decide when to draw the line with treatments... Ollie has been fighting this since he was 8 years old and I just can't keep putting him through it - he seems older than his 13 and a half years because he has been dealing with this for so long. However he is still spritely enough to give me a woo woo if dinner is not ready on time or I if I take to long to get ready for our morning walk... He has quite a few MCT's on him now (about 6 at last count) - I don't look for them anymore but notice them when we have cuddles and pats (I choose to ignore them now, they are not going anywhere). I wish you all the best with Isa, it is a hard decision to come to (stopping treatment) but it was the right one for us - he has had enough now. Good luck Jodie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Havana Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Hi Staffyluv, i am new on this forum and i have been sitting here readin through your post... WOW ollie is a miricle dog! i have too just founf out that my pup has Mast Cell Cancer Grade 3 and i would greatly appriecate and help and advice that you might give me thanks p.s i hope Ollie is well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 Hi Staffyluv, i am new on this forum and i have been sitting here readin through your post... WOW ollie is a miricle dog! i have too just founf out that my pup has Mast Cell Cancer Grade 3 and i would greatly appriecate and help and advice that you might give me thanks p.s i hope Ollie is well Hi, Can you answer a few questions for me please: As it is grade 3 has the tumour been removed? Did they get clear margins? Did they offer chemo or radiation therapy? What sort of food do you feed? Do you use any supplements? 1. Changing diet to remove as many carbs as possible (grains, rice, breads, sugars).. Google anti cancer diet for dogs - most of them have the same advice... I think there is a link to one here in Ollie's thread. 2. Supplements with the assistance of a good holistic vet - I can't recommend this enough, it is really important. Keep life as normal as possible - keep a check for more tumours/lumps... Grade 3 has a very high recurrence rate. Mooper's boy Jack had MCT grade 3.. They removed the tumour and got clear margins, and to date he is healthy and there has been no recurrence... We did chemo and holistic - it is a long, expensive and often a hard road, but I would not change a thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Havana Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Hi Staffyluv, i am new on this forum and i have been sitting here readin through your post... WOW ollie is a miricle dog! i have too just founf out that my pup has Mast Cell Cancer Grade 3 and i would greatly appriecate and help and advice that you might give me thanks p.s i hope Ollie is well Hi, Can you answer a few questions for me please: As it is grade 3 has the tumour been removed? Did they get clear margins? Did they offer chemo or radiation therapy? What sort of food do you feed? Do you use any supplements? 1. Changing diet to remove as many carbs as possible (grains, rice, breads, sugars).. Google anti cancer diet for dogs - most of them have the same advice... I think there is a link to one here in Ollie's thread. 2. Supplements with the assistance of a good holistic vet - I can't recommend this enough, it is really important. Keep life as normal as possible - keep a check for more tumours/lumps... Grade 3 has a very high recurrence rate. Mooper's boy Jack had MCT grade 3.. They removed the tumour and got clear margins, and to date he is healthy and there has been no recurrence... We did chemo and holistic - it is a long, expensive and often a hard road, but I would not change a thing. We are in the process of getting her check into a clinic in Melbourne, where they will operate on the tumour if the ct scan (in adelaide there is only one place that does it and the waiting list it 6-8 weeks long and we arent willing to wait that long time is everything right?) comes back ok (if it has spread we will have to move onto plan b)... fingers crossed she will recover from the operation ok as they will need to remove most of her side tissue and remove parts of her rib.. i will upload pics so you can see the size and position. she has only had a bisopy taken (last week) from her lump which has come back with these results... so we are moving as quickly as we can without rushing. the vet did recommended chemo after surgey just in case and radiothereopy if the tumour has spread... atm the moment she is still on meatloaf with dry biscults and no supplements at the moment. i will google diets and get her onto that straight away. so from my understaning lots of protein and vegies? as for supplements where can i get them from? and what do you mean by holistic vet? ive never heard of them beofre? at this stage we havent seen or felt any more lumps or bumps but i will make sure i am always checking. i can only imagine the long and winding road. im safe to say and most people that have dogs/cats they are truely your best friend and i would do and spend any amount of money on her as she is our baby. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 They usually do chemo if the cancer is systemic and radiation if it is local (not spread)... I believe that radiation has good results if the tumour has not spread. Ollie was systemic (it had spread to local lymph nodes when the tumours were removed)... He too had most of his rump taken in 2 operations over 4 days - it was quite confronting to see how much they actually take when they are going for clear margins. I hope you get clear margins on the excision of the tumour. That would be the best possible outcome (you won't need further treatment if that is the case)... If they don't get clear margins and it is not systemic then they may want to give radiation a go. However if there are no clear margins and it has spread, then they will more than likely offer chemo. Contact a good holistic vet - they can help with different supplements for your dog to keep them well while undergoing chemo. Dogs don't usually get sick with chemo or lose hair like people do because they can't give dogs the high levels of chemo that they give humans. Chemo for animals is only to give them more life - they are not really aiming for a cure, just a good remission...So while doing chemo, you can still keep their life as normal as possible. I heard so many reasons why Ollie should be kept home while he was on chemo but I refused to mess up his life anymore and continued to take him for walks every day that he felt like it (which was 99% of the time)... I really can't say how very important diet is in maintaining a good level of health in cancer dogs either... Good luck with the surgery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogbesotted Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 I am just popping in here to second Staffyluvs words. My girl Lucinda lived from august 2002 until Feb 2009 with MCT grade three and no clean margins. ( the oncologist recommended PTS in august 2002. my vet disagreed) Lucinda was mostly holistically treated.. by the same vet practice that treats Ollie. Lucinda lived most of her life as a working maremma livestock guardian dog.. she lived for her flock. keep the faith Helen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted June 16, 2011 Author Share Posted June 16, 2011 Just wanted to do a quick update... We celebrated Ollie's 14th Birthday last Saturday... That would be nearing 6 years post dxd... What a little legend my boy is - I am so very lucky to have him here... It just goes to show, the text books are not always right - there is ALWAYS hope.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hugsnkisses Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 Happy birthday Ollie dog you are such an inspiration to all of us!!!! Love from Sue and Sally xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted October 24, 2011 Author Share Posted October 24, 2011 Ollie dog is not well - we knew it was coming but it still hurts like hell... He is very anemic and he is not renewing red blood cells. I think his count was around 27 and it should be in the high 30s to 50 something. It also appears as though his kidney's are failing.. On the bright side - he appears well enough in himself. The loon was trying to bite the water coming from the sprinkler at the park this morning and he still gets excited every time someone comes for a visit. Not sure how long we have but the vet said it probably won't be very long at all... Then again who knows - he has out lived every prediction they have made to date. This is made even harder by the fact that my husband just died (on the 2nd October - we were separated but I had recently moved back in to help him out and try to save some funds).. My lovely boys are taking this all so hard so I just explained that maybe dad needs Ollie more than we do, so we need to let him go now when the time comes. I just wanted to let you know how much we have appreciated all your advice, good wishes and vibes over the years and I will update again when we say goodbye to our boy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 Jodie I'm so sorry to hear about your husband. What a shock that must have been for you all. Please accept my sincere condolences. As for Ollie, he's an amazing little fella. He won't give up until he's good and ready and it doesn't sound as though he's anywhere near ready yet. I often think about you and Ollie and have been wondering how you both are. He's a true hero, that little boy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ons Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 oh my gosh, how awful for you Jodie, I'm sorry to hear such sad news. Thinking of you and sending you hugs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisys Mum Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 I wanted to come in and see how Ollie was doing... He holds a special place in a lot of dolers hearts mine included and he has done so well , take care of yourself and Ollie, give hime a hug and snuggles from me I am so sorry to about your husband ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schnauzer Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 Staffyluv, I am so very sorry that you have lost your husband and that the beautiful Ollie is unwell. I want to wish you all the very best - Ollie has proven that miracles do happen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogbesotted Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 Oh Jodie, words fail me if there is anything at all i can do just let me know helen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyesblue Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 I am so sorry to hear about your husband and Ollie being unwell. Thinking of you both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9angel Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 I am so so sorry Staffyluv for the loss of both your husband and Ollie. Thinking of you and your boys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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