Pugmum Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Hi, My 9 yo pug Maggie, has just been diagnosed with TCC. the cancer is near and in the urethra and is inoperable. Apparently chemo will help make her more comfortable and possibly buy her some time. The chemo will be by IV one day every 3 weeks. As all of you in here would know, its hard to think straight when your heart is breaking. Has anyone else had any expereince with this - what questions should I be asking the vet, and is there anything I could be doing ? I started her on essiac tea today...just to be doing something...... thanks Brigitte Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 Sorry Brigitte, there really are no words that make you feel better when you find out these things - it takes time... I have no experience with this sort of cancer but I think in general that dogs with cancer are dogs with cancer, sadly some leave sooner than others though... Now, I would be seeing an holistic vet to get her some supplements to keep her well - we used Anti-Ox and Lymphodran as well as some chinese herbs, fish oil, vitamin C tablets (just the people chewable ones are fine). He also have a good supplement called Five mushroom drops... What protocol is she on? Ollie was on Vinblastin one week, then the next week he was on something else (cannot remember the name of it) and the third week he had off and then we started all over again - for 6 months... On chemo, it is best to remove all raw food. As raw meat that has small amounts of bacteria won't hurt a normal dog because it passes through them quickly and they have a full immune system working. Chemo dogs have a lowered immune system and even a small amount of bacteria can cause problems - so if you feed raw you will need to change that. Also remove as many carbs from the diet as possible - CARBS FEEDS CANCER - the number one rule in anti cancer diets for dogs... Veges and a bit of fruit are fine but no breads, cereals, grains, pasta... meat and veg it is... You want your vet, the canine oncologist and the holistic vet working together - not an easy call... But at the very least the vet needs to show the holistic vet what drugs they are using so the holistic vet can work around them... I believe that Ollie is still here because of the chemo and the holistic vet keeping him as well as they could. Chemo does not do to dogs what it does to humans - they simply can't give dogs the doses they give people because they can't give them bone marrow transplants like they do with people when the chemo kills all the good cells as well as the cancer cells... So they don't lose all their hair, they don't vomit etc... But there can be other side effects.. They can be a bit flat for a day or two and go off food after chemo. They can get the runs a bit. Their immune system is lower than normal so they can pick up illnesses... But life is short, packing them in cotton wool is not what they need - get out to the park and play, go for swims and do all the things she loves as much as you can... It is much easier to put all the crap away when you see them so happy, so often:) Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
labsrule Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 Hi,My 9 yo pug Maggie, has just been diagnosed with TCC. the cancer is near and in the urethra and is inoperable. Apparently chemo will help make her more comfortable and possibly buy her some time. The chemo will be by IV one day every 3 weeks. As all of you in here would know, its hard to think straight when your heart is breaking. Has anyone else had any expereince with this - what questions should I be asking the vet, and is there anything I could be doing ? I started her on essiac tea today...just to be doing something...... thanks Brigitte Hi Brigitte So sorry to hear that your Maggie has been diagnosed with TCC. Whilst I don't know anything about this cancer, I do know personally the shock and devastation that you must be feeling with your girl's diagnosis as I went thru this last year in April when my 9 yearold black lab boy, Fitzy, was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer (Hemangiosarcoma). It truly is an awful and stressful time and being confronted with potentially life/death decisions during a time when you are reeling from receiving the heartbreaking news that your beloved dog has cancer You have received some great advice from Staffyluv who has been fighting this "demon" (cancer) with her dog Ollie, the wonder dog for a number of years now . Unfortunately I lost my beautiful boy in Sep last year :rofl: after a close to 5mth battle with his aggressive cancer including chemo treatment, but the prognosis for his type of cancer from the outset was very grim, but the Chemo brought him some precious time and when his quality of life was being impacted by the chemo, I stopped it . I remember vividly the shock and devastation I felt at receiving the possible news that he could have this cancer and then him having to undergo an emergency splenectomy to remove his spleen and told that I may have to make the decision to PTS if they found cancer in his spleen during the operation or that he could bled out during the operation. It was a truly awful experience, but he survived the operation, no cancer was visible, but I had to wait for the test results which just broke my heart and time stood still that day, as I was confronted with the reality that I may be losing my beautiful boy, the love of my life, in a few weeks/months Having a dog with cancer is an emotional rollercoaster ride and you never really come to terms with it, but you have to be strong to get your dog through it as best as they can and there will be days you will be strong and other days you will just break down. I hope you have a supportive and informative oncologist/vet treating your girl. I had a wonderful oncologist and an extremely supportive Holistic vet treating my boy and they were truly wonderful and very caring in treating my boy, answering my questions and helping me cope with the the most devastating time of my life. Your oncologist or vet if you are not receiving treatment from an oncologist should provide you with information on the cancer, treatment options, what to expect, medications to help with any nausea/diarrhoea whilst on chemo and and importantly, support. I would recommend also that you do some internet research on TCC and dogs with cancer in general as there is a wealth of information on the web, which can sometimes be overwhelming, but you need to sift through it to educate yourself and help your girl. All the best for your girls' chemo treatment and hope things go well for her . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugmum Posted March 10, 2010 Author Share Posted March 10, 2010 Thank you both for your replies. Theres a lot to get your head around with all this and I appreciate your advice. We have decided to try the Chemo and see how it goes. The advice is that we should be able to tell by the second treatment if there is any benefit. If it makes her feel unwell then we wont persue it further as I dont want her last days to be that way. We are off to have blood and urnine tests tomorrow to check that all is well enough to go ahead with the treatment. I think she will be going on piroxicam and another drug combined. She will be treated one day every three weeks by IV, and just have the anti inflammatories in between as far as I know - I'll write it all down tomorrow if I dont fall apart in there again. I have always cooked for Maggie (and Otis my other pug) so at least her meals wont have to change much - just lose the pasta and raw bones. Mag had a seizure in December (first one, so far the only one) and I checked that there were no preservatives in her food from there on anyway - I found that I only had to cut out the Schmacko's and treats of that nature as most of her food and treats seemed clear of it already. Apart from the too often urinating small amounts, its hard to believe she is life threateningly ill - she still bounds off tot he kitchen for a treat and wuffs her way to the front fence to tell off the cars.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feistylady Posted March 12, 2010 Share Posted March 12, 2010 Hi,My 9 yo pug Maggie, has just been diagnosed with TCC. the cancer is near and in the urethra and is inoperable. Apparently chemo will help make her more comfortable and possibly buy her some time. The chemo will be by IV one day every 3 weeks. As all of you in here would know, its hard to think straight when your heart is breaking. Has anyone else had any expereince with this - what questions should I be asking the vet, and is there anything I could be doing ? I started her on essiac tea today...just to be doing something...... thanks Brigitte Hugs to you Pugmum,for today I have been given the same news not the same Cancer though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feistylady Posted March 20, 2010 Share Posted March 20, 2010 Am wondering how Maggie is coming along Pugsmum? Michelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugmum Posted March 21, 2010 Author Share Posted March 21, 2010 Am wondering how Maggie is coming along Pugsmum?Michelle Hi Michelle, Thanks for thinking of Maggie ! Maggie had her first chemo last Thursday. I didn't know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised to pick her up afterward and she was full of beans. She was a bit flat the next day, but overall is doing very well. Certainly has no loss of appetite Hubby is getting used to going to the fridge and knowing that all the good stuff he sees, yogurt, cottage cheese, fresh cooked chicken, steamed carrot and broccoli - is not for him. I hear him grumbling but know he is smiling while he does.... I still dont really know what to expect from here on in - Are the first days the ones she is most likely to feel unwell, or could that increase over the next week ? if ithe chemo works, how long before we should see a difference? Also, does anyone know if subsequent chemos affect the differently? I thought they might as surely they start each one somewhat depleted from the last round of chemo ? Brigitte Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feistylady Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 Am wondering how Maggie is coming along Pugsmum?Michelle Hi Michelle, Thanks for thinking of Maggie ! Maggie had her first chemo last Thursday. I didn't know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised to pick her up afterward and she was full of beans. She was a bit flat the next day, but overall is doing very well. Certainly has no loss of appetite Hubby is getting used to going to the fridge and knowing that all the good stuff he sees, yogurt, cottage cheese, fresh cooked chicken, steamed carrot and broccoli - is not for him. I hear him grumbling but know he is smiling while he does.... : D Methinks I might come and raid your fridge too LOL I still dont really know what to expect from here on in - Are the first days the ones she is most likely to feel unwell, or could that increase over the next week ? if ithe chemo works, how long before we should see a difference? Also, does anyone know if subsequent chemos affect the differently? I thought they might as surely they start each one somewhat depleted from the last round of chemo ? Brigitte I hope someone can answer these questions for you B Michelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Am wondering how Maggie is coming along Pugsmum?Michelle Hi Michelle, Thanks for thinking of Maggie ! Maggie had her first chemo last Thursday. I didn't know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised to pick her up afterward and she was full of beans. She was a bit flat the next day, but overall is doing very well. Certainly has no loss of appetite :D Hubby is getting used to going to the fridge and knowing that all the good stuff he sees, yogurt, cottage cheese, fresh cooked chicken, steamed carrot and broccoli - is not for him. I hear him grumbling but know he is smiling while he does.... : D Methinks I might come and raid your fridge too LOL I still dont really know what to expect from here on in - Are the first days the ones she is most likely to feel unwell, or could that increase over the next week ? if ithe chemo works, how long before we should see a difference? Also, does anyone know if subsequent chemos affect the differently? I thought they might as surely they start each one somewhat depleted from the last round of chemo ? Brigitte I hope someone can answer these questions for you B Michelle Hi Brigitte, I can answer those questions for you What to expect differs greatly depending on how well she is when she has the chemo - the reason we used holistic treatment as well, to keep him as well as possible while the chemo did its thing... If Ollie was flat it was usually a day or two after chemo and sometimes for a day or two... It did vary and sometimes he was not flat at all - I think the tablets were worse than the drip (he had chemo via a drip one week, then 5 tablets the next week, then a week off for 6 months)... One of the most important things was to keep track of his temperature during chemo - are you doing that? This will give an indication if she is flat or sick because it is hard to tell. Flat is a bit nauseous and low energy and sick is something she has picked up that could make her worse very quickly due to a lower than usual immune system... Like I said, it will vary depending on what chemo she is having, how often, her diet and supplements (vitamin C was the best we used and is a great all round tonic for dogs)... But the lower her immune system gets, the more chance she has of picking up something that will make her sick - which will prolong the chemo because she can't have it if she is not well and different chemo protocols go for different lengths of time... So, a good diet, exercise and the right supplements and I am sure she will do well - but the temp check thing is really important (I don't know why more vets don't push this - I used to take Ollie's temp twice a day, morning and night. So the slightest increase we could get him antibiotics and he was fine most of the time)... We did have a few scary moments and you may or may not have them too - Ollie did get really sick (hospital sick) a few times during chemo when he picked up a bug, could not keep food down and ended up on a drip to get well - the longest stint in hospital was 3 days... Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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