Canine Bladder Cancer (tcc)

First of all - Hi Marty  - hope your still here..

 Well my Lucy is doing very well after being diagnosed in October except for her eating....  she is on special food due to allergies and we've been hand feeding her since October... now she doesn't seem to want that any more.  We've tried everything... making her biscuits, fresh can food, mixing can with dried and carrots - basically everything she can eat with her allergies...  she had major food allergies and is on special food along with carrots.  I was wondering if anybody had any suggestions - taking into consideration her food allergies. ??? 

 Please help if possible

 Nancy

Hi Nancy!

Annie and I are still here and doing well; thank you for asking.

Annie has always had a fantastic appetite, but a few weeks ago she was  sick with something--she had diarrhea and just did not want to eat. I was so worried, but once the diarrhea cleared up, whatever was wrong passed and she was back to her normal piggish self.

Now that I've experienced this myself, I can really sympathize with you.  I have but two suggestions. One of my dogs wasn't so interested in eating, but if she didn't finish her bowl, the other would steal it.  I used to put a bit of grated parmesan cheese in the dish.  It has a very strong aroma and that would get her started on eating and she would finish her entire meal.

 The other thing I've noticed is that foods seem to smell better when they are warm.  Could you put a little heated broth on Lucy's food or even serve the carrots in it heated up?  Maybe if the smell were just a bit better she could rally and give it a try.

I've taken to heating up a little bit of pasta with meat sauce in it and sticking Annie's piroxicam in that.  I used to wrap it in melted cheese, but when she was sick she had to take so many pills, that the cheese doesn't appeal to her any more.

Good luck to you and Lucy!

Marty 

Marty,

Thanks for the advise.  Lucy's appetite seems to be better over the past two days.  You are right - she likes her biscuits fresh out of the oven (like fresh baked choc chips I guess..). 

I still have to hand feed her but am going to try the cheese trick tonight.

Thanks again and kisses to Annie,

Nancy

Hi Everyone, 

and hi to Marty and Annie........ this site has been so helpful for me and my family. My Brannigan- age 14 and a female sheltie has a mass in the trigone area of the bladder that is most likely TCC. She began to have straining and occasional blood back in July-2007 and has been on 5 mg Piroxicam since that time. She was symptom free until Dec 2007, then starting straining again and occasional blood in pee. She also gets Amoxil twice daily and just recently started Graviola 25 drops a day.

For the past 4 days she seems 'blocked up' and only pees in a small trickle and drip...drip...drip. Some mornings nothing comes out!! When she sleeps she sometimes is incontinent of urine. It seems to come out better when she sleeps. Has this happened with anyone else?? Are we getting close to the end with a complete blockage??

She is not panting, does not seem sick at all, and is eating well and still is frisky sometimes. We are feeling so sad thinking she may be starting to block which means we will have to euthanize her if she completely blocks and cannot pee. ANY ADVISE? I asked about debulking the mass by laser surgery and the vet that does it here in Nova Scotia said it would not really be an option as there are too many blood vessels to cauderize.

We will continue to love her and enjoy her until we see she is starting to show signs of suffering. I so wish we could make her better :0) !!

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Allana, Darren and Brannigan! 

Hi. My JJ had the same symptoms with some urine coming out at nite & then drip-drip when he tried to pee, & sometimes nothing at all when he tried to pee.  He was like that from Oct 2007 to Jan 2008.  It took that long for my local vet to finally figure out that it was tcc & not failing kidneys causing the symptoms.  JJ was put on piroxicam right away, & that helped some.  The tcc diagnosis was confirmed at the oncology center at CSU, & the oncologist suggested chemo as the best treatment option for his case (inoperable mass in the trigone & down the urethra.)  JJ had chemo with Mitoxantrone that same day (feb 19), & continued with his daily piroxicam.  The chemo treatment took about 45 minutes with an IV taped to his back leg.  Within a couple of days after the chemo, he was able to urinate every time he tried with a weak but steady stream.  It was quite an improvement for him.  I am taking him back to CSU for his second chemo treatment next week, as I feel it is helping his quality of life & is extending his life.  Just so you know, the oncologist said the chemo is helpful to most dogs with their symptoms & is meant to improve the quality of life.  She said I shouldn't hope for a complete cure from it, & there are a few dogs that don't respond to the treatment.  My dog responded really well, so we're going to continue with 2 more treatments over the next 6 weeks.  

The gist of all this is that JJ went for months with the partial blockage & seemed fine otherwise & was able to empty his bladder that way, & the mitoxantrone with continued daily piroxicam is the one treatment that has worked for him.  I was told that when JJ gets to the point where he's truly blocked, he'll act sick & will lay down & won't get up & won't eat.  At that time we'll try catheterizing to clear a hopefully temporary blockage, & if he can't be cleared with a catheter we'll know it's time to give it up. If he starts having constant pain before then, we won't wait for blockage to happen.  Quality of life is foremost in our decisions.  You know your dog better than anyone else.  You'll know when it's time to say goodbye & let go. 

Good Luck.  JJ's Mom.

Hi JJ's Mom- Thanks so much for sending along your story. It is helpful to hear what options are out there. Is JJ a senior dog? Our vet didn't even really mention chemo as an option, I guess because Brannigan is 14! Our vet just said enjoy her and you will know when it is time. We are all heartbroken with the thought of saying goodbye now or later. Did JJ have any side effects post chemo? Is the therapy one doses every couple of weeks for a certain number of doses??

It certainly makes me think that there may be options to help her symptoms. Does JJ mind the infusion? I wonder how long the results or shrinkage of mass would last- does your Vet know? You have certainly provided me with some info to inquire about.  Wishing you great luck with your precious JJ !!

Thanks so much!    Allana, Darren and Brannigan

Hi Allana, Darren & Brannigan!

I was wondering how Brannigan was doing and hoping she is still holding her own.  Chemo wasn't an option for Annie, but we did see a lot of dogs at the oncologist's who WERE having it.  The one great thing is that it seems to be much less difficult on dogs then humans, so that's one less thing to worry about it.

Post again and let us all know how you are doing.

Marty 

On 3/7/2008 DarrenJM wrote:

Hi JJ's Mom- Thanks so much for sending along your story. It is helpful to hear what options are out there. Is JJ a senior dog? Our vet didn't even really mention chemo as an option, I guess because Brannigan is 14! Our vet just said enjoy her and you will know when it is time. We are all heartbroken with the thought of saying goodbye now or later. Did JJ have any side effects post chemo? Is the therapy one doses every couple of weeks for a certain number of doses??

It certainly makes me think that there may be options to help her symptoms. Does JJ mind the infusion? I wonder how long the results or shrinkage of mass would last- does your Vet know? You have certainly provided me with some info to inquire about.  Wishing you great luck with your precious JJ !!

Thanks so much!    Allana, Darren and Brannigan

 

Hi.  JJ is 11.  When he came out from having chemo, he acted normal & like it was no big deal.  In fact, he saw a lady holding a ziploc baggie like his chicken treats are kept in, & he went over to her & asked for a treat.  So he seemed fine.  However, that night at the motel he was very sleepy & he slept so soundly we didn't go out for the last potty trip--I just put a diaper on him & went to bed also.  The next morning he was totally normal & wanted to eat & potty.  The only thing I noticed was that he needed to poop 4 times that first day & the poops were a little soft & a funny yellowish color.  He never did act like he was sick.  The chemo with mitoxantrone is 3 treatments 3 weeks apart. The good results have lasted until now, although I did notice a couple of days ago JJ was straining again & was like that all day, but now today he's doing well again. 

When I first called CSU I was given the option of having a phone consultation with an oncologist if I had a sure diagnosis of cancer, but I opted to take him there because we had gone thru so many wrong diagnoses.  You might want to consider calling & talking to an oncologist on the phone to see if they think chemo is an option for a 14 yr old dog.  The oncologist advised me to have his chemo only done there at the cancer center, as it is a very strong drug & you can have bad results if it's done by someone not experienced at handling it.  My local vet said he could order the drug in & do it here, but I'm opting to go ahead & make the long drive to have it done at the cancer center, as they do it all the time there & I feel they really know what they're doing.  I have to say that I feel like the burden of making the best decisions for JJ has been lifted off my shoulders since we saw the oncologist, because they see dogs with cancer all day every day, so they just are better at handling this than my local vet.  CSU sent a letter to my vet with the ultrasound results & the chemo info, so they are really good to share info with your usual vet.

Good luck to you & Brannigan, & let me know if you have any other questions.  Joy & JJ.

Hi Joy & JJ!
You may have already said this and I missed it, but what is CSU?? I'm thinking it may be affiliated with a university.  (I always like to check the websites of the cancer specialists, just to see if there's anything there that's new or that I can point out to our vet.)

Thanks and good luck to you.

Marty 

Hi to everyone- esp. Marty and Annie, Joy and JJ,

Thanks for the info and the good wishes!

Brannigan is not acting sick at all. She eats well and seems the same as always EXCEPT now when she lays on her side and goes to sleep all of the urine that is in her bladder comes out.(like the mass moves just enough to open the obstruction).  I think she can't get much out when she strains and her bladder just stays relatively full all of the time now. It is difficult as we both work all day so she is in the house from 0800 am until about 530 PM- a long day with bladder cancer! ......we also have two little boys who keep us hopping!!

The incontinence has been going on for about 10 days now. We are showering her back end almost every day to keep her clean. She is a little slower on her walks, but she is 14, and stops to pee every 2 minutes or so. She still gets about 2000 kisses a day and lots of hugs!!  She seems more affectionate than ever -like she knows that something is wrong! Our other sheltie- Ceilor still butts her to play and she will still play back.

........so we continue on until we think she is not enjoying life anymore. Still not sure if we want to consider looking at chemo options. I worry it may stress her ( she absolutely hates going to the VET) for the time she has left with probably a similiar outcome. Has anyone seen the incontinence improve or is this it from her on in?? I wonder if she may need a change of antibiotics as she has been on Amoxil since December and may have developed  a resistance. 

Keep me posted on Annie and JJ !! I wish you all the best.

Allana, Darren and Brannigan