Hi there - So glad to have found this forum.
My dog Owen - a 12, almost 13, year old Sheltie/Lab mix, was diagnosed with TCC in January of this year, after having what I thought was a hard to resolve bladder infection that began in December of 2008. After two rounds of antibiotics, an Xray and finally an ultrasound, he was found to have a small mass fortunately in the apex (fortunately) area of his bladder, so surgery was an option. We decided to go forward with the surgery immediately. Approximately half of his bladder was removed and he recovered amazingly well from this procedure. The surgeon believed that she got the entire mass out with clean borders. Trying to knock on wood that this was the case, but also being realistic as I am aware of how aggressive TCC can be.
My vet, who is an angel here on earth and has followed Owen since he was 1, has been so unbelievable through this nightmare. Allowing me to call her at home, on the weekends and constantly calling to check in for updates. She consulted with NEVOG (New England Veterinary Oncology Group) for an appropriate approach and they suggested a combo of Piroxicam with another med for stomach distress vs. more aggressive chemo at this time.
Owen was then put on Piroxicam and Carafate to address his tummy issues. From mid January to the beginning of March, he had a lot of intestinal distress (two very bad vomiting episodes and one episode at the, um, other end that was not fun for him). He had to be hospitalized for two nights at one point to be rehydrated and to go in another time for an infection from straining to poop. We dropped the carafate and now he takes Misoprostol for his tummy and that seems to be much better for him. His Piroxicam dose is now compounded to a lower dose, which he seems to be tolerating much better. We were doing every other day for a few weeks, but he is now back to daily. NEVOG also suggested he gets monthly ultrasounds and Xrays to monitor for a return of a mass. His first one post surgery looked clear <again, knocking on wood> He will have another one in a week in a half.
Biggest current struggle is figuring out how to get him back on the senior Innova food he loves. We had to do the bland diet thing for a long time after surgery and then tried to switch him to ID food (which he HATES and refuses to eat). I have been doing rice and boiled burger or chicken for sometime, but will try to do the transition back to regular food next week after we know the daily dose of Piroxicam is right for him. It is also hard to tell what a "normal" poop looks like anymore since I think the meds have altered that quite a bit. I was laughing out loud at someone else's post about their neighbor thinking they are crazy as they go out each day in the backyard to "survey" the most recent deposits, LOL. That would be me too!
The hardest thing through this is to constantly be monitoring whether the measures we are taking are compromising him in anyway. He is a happy boy, full of love and joy. He is the love of our lives and I have felt so blessed to have had him in my life all these years. I use the barometer of his love of food, daily walks, playing with his toys and that almost constantly wagging tail as my indicators of his level of happiness. At this point, we will just continue to tweak his treatment plan as needed to maintain that constant goal. Thanks for letting me tell our story and I hope to stick around to get to "know" others and their stories as well. Deirdre (&Owen)