Canine Bladder Cancer (tcc)

I'm sorry to hear about your dog.  My 10 1/2 year old pug penelope was diagnosed in March with TCC.  It's so scary to hear but helpful to know there are people out there going thru the same thing.  I will say a prayer for your baby.

thanks! and I'm sorry for your baby--will return prayers....making some treatment choices-I'd appreciate opinions on chemo-not sure which one to try.

 

Chris

On May 02, 2012 2:16 AM lebohead wrote:

Hello Siennas Mom,

My doggie has been on neo for a week and a half. My vet wants her on piroxicam as well. (I know its a big no-no) Is your doggie on any thing else? Im tempted to take her of it the piroxicam but also afraid too. Also is your doggie on an antibiotic?

Also how big is siena? What is the neo dose you have her on?

Sorry for all the questions, Just searching for help,

Thanks,

Rosiesmom

I decided to follow the protocol and not have her on any other medicines. Since the drugs work differently, I think they may lessen the overall effectiveness of the treatment. 

I do have her on 2000 mg of fish oil and I give her some vitamins occasionally. I also feed her home cooked meat and veggies, no kibble. Its a pain some days, but diet is important to keep the cancer from growing.

Keep us posted on how you proceed, and good luck. 

On May 02, 2012 2:16 AM lebohead wrote:

Hello Siennas Mom,

My doggie has been on neo for a week and a half. My vet wants her on piroxicam as well. (I know its a big no-no) Is your doggie on any thing else? Im tempted to take her of it the piroxicam but also afraid too. Also is your doggie on an antibiotic?

Also how big is siena? What is the neo dose you have her on?

Sorry for all the questions, Just searching for help,

Thanks,

Rosiesmom

I decided to follow the protocal and not have her on any other medicines, besides the neoplasene. Since the drugs work differently, I think that combining them may lessen the overall effectiveness of either treatment.

She is 54 pounds and gets 1cc of neo twice a day, after meals. She could go to a higher dosage, but since she appears to be responding to the treatment and tolerating it well, the vet decided to leave her at this level for now. She's not on antibiotics.

I do give her a 1000 mg fish oil pill with each meal, and vitamins occasionally. I also feed her homecooked meat and cooked veggies with a low glycemic index, no kibble. Its a pain some days, but diet is so important to inhibit the growth of the tumor.

Pick a treatment that you trust and go with it!

On May 02, 2012 2:16 AM lebohead wrote:

Hello Siennas Mom,

My doggie has been on neo for a week and a half. My vet wants her on piroxicam as well. (I know its a big no-no) Is your doggie on any thing else? Im tempted to take her of it the piroxicam but also afraid too. Also is your doggie on an antibiotic?

Also how big is siena? What is the neo dose you have her on?

Sorry for all the questions, Just searching for help,

Thanks,

Rosiesmom

I decided to follow the protocal and not have her on any other medicines, besides the neoplasene. Since the drugs work differently, I think that combining them may lessen the overall effectiveness of either treatment.

She is 54 pounds and gets 1cc of neo twice a day, after meals. She could go to a higher dosage, but since she appears to be responding to the treatment and tolerating it well, the vet decided to leave her at this level for now. She's not on antibiotics.

I do give her a 1000 mg fish oil pill with each meal, and vitamins occasionally. I also feed her homecooked meat and cooked veggies with a low glycemic index, no kibble. Its a pain some days, but diet is so important to inhibit the growth of the tumor.

Pick a treatment that you trust and go with it!

Our girl Lola has been in the fight for about a year and a half.

To make a long story short... it has metastasized.  The CT scan showed dozens of growths in her thorax and thyroids.  The doctor said she has two or three weeks left.

The immediate issue is that her urethra has gotten worse.  She now has great difficulty clearing her bladder, having to urinate a trickle every 15 minutes and having accidents all over.

In the past week she has stopped eating her favorite foods... bread, peanut butter... she even turns her nose up at chicken.

I considered a stent... but for a handful of weeks that are likely to be ugly regardless... why? 

The blessing is that it was a great 18 months.  She did not even know she was sick all this time, and bounced back from both surgeries as if they did not even happen.   

The problem now is that for my Lola, who still smiles and wags her tail every time every time she sees me, I have to decide whether it is going to be tomorrow, or the day after, or the day after that...

  

I am so sorry.  We are all in this boat. 

My heart goes out to you.  I agree-- a stent for a matter of a few weeks doesn't seem worth it.  Please know that I'll be thinking of you as you face this difficult time.  Words just don't suffice.. but know that we on this site are with you in spirit.

Nita

 

 My little girl, Annie lived for 16 mos. passed dx although she was given 1 year. Before Annie died, my husband met a vet at the airport and he asked her in her opinion, when is the right time?  She told him that too many people wait way too long and she sees dogs that have suffered too much.  Another forum member wrote if the dog has lost quality of life and was no longer interested in doing things that had brought them happiness.  Annie was still alert, still tail wagging.  To this day I thought she had more time.  But the vet reminded us that she wasn't hardly eating, she was so tired from waking up every 2 hours to go outside and getting weaker.  He felt her bladder and said it was hard as a rock because of the tumor.  Even though she wanted to leave the vet and was pulling on her leash to go home, I knew home would be the same battle-trying to get some food in her, giving her subQs by needles (which she hated) and her being totally exhausted from no sleep.   It was so difficult and it brings tears just writing this and reliving it.  My heart goes out to you.

Judi

On May 02, 2012 2:51 PM cgallo02 wrote:

thanks! and I'm sorry for your baby--will return prayers....making some treatment choices-I'd appreciate opinions on chemo-not sure which one to try.

 

Chris

My beagle Chloe aw dx on Jan. 2 We did 3 rounds of chemo with the drug mitoxantrone. She was also on meloxicam instead of piroxicam. (supposed to be easier on the stomach). 3 rounds took 9 weeks , then we did another ultrasound and it showed the tumor (in the trigone area) had shrunk slightly. With this chemo, she had absolutely no side effects. We continued with the chemo and did another ultasound 6 weeks later and it showed the tumor to be growing farther down her urethra. We changed the chemo to Carboplatin and have only had the 1 treatment 2 weeks ago. She has had lots of side effects from this one. Not eating anything but grass. Have just in the past two days I've been able to get her to eat some cooked lean beef. We Have an appt. on May 9th to have another ultrasound to see if this new chemo has worked. If it shows shrinkage, we will try it again at a smaller dose. If it is still growing we will probably try using piroxicam if we can get her stomach straightened out. Our oncologist says the neoplasene is basically an acid and does not recommend it. This is a terrible disease and hard to watch the straining to pee. She still does not go out that often but when she does, it is constant straining. Until this last chemo, you would not have known anything was wrong with her unless you saw her peeing. She had even gained weight with the chicken and veg. I was giving her. Best of luck in whatever decision you make. Susan, Chloe's mom