Canine Transitional Cell Carcinoma

My dog, Prissy is a 15 year old Lhasa Apso that was diagnosed with TCC last week.  She had begun urinating all over the place about a month ago and her symptoms started rather quickly.  When I took her to the vet to inquire about what could be causing it, they did an X-ray but it showed nothing really.  They also did a urinalysis and took blood and that is when they found that she has abnormal cells and some blood in her urine.  When I took her back 2 weeks later for another urinalysis, they determined then that the cells in her urine had begun clumping together which gave them a define diagnosis of TCC.  They have recommended I take her for an ultrasound which I am now leaning towards going ahead and doing.  I have opted against anything surgical because of her age and she is also very arthritic which she takes medication for as well.  I guess I am just looking for anyone out there who could maybe shed some light on what the best course of action I should take.  The vet has said that she can start Prissy on Piroxicam and I have begun her on a "cancer diet" which she seems to do pretty well with.  The vet also said that they cannot try any chemo drugs on Prissy without having the ultrasound first.  Would it be worth doing the chemo drugs on her at this stage in her life or would that be more like torture for her?  Once dignosed with TCC, what is the average life expectancy I can expect her to have--does anyone have an idea?  I have been crying for days and I really need to do something ASAP.  Can anyone offer any advice?  I'd really appreciate it.  Thank you.

Lisa

Hi Lisa,

I am so sorry to hear of your problems. I do hope your Prissy is doing OK.

I wanted to respond to your message and hopefully help you a little. I too had a wonderful little guy (a 11 year old Norfolk, (Beezer) at the time of diagnosis 4/06. He too just started to urinate in the house very often . He never had accidents, so I knew something was wrong and then I could see that he was having trouble sqatting and looked what seem to be rather painful urination. I took him to the vet and they scheduled an ultrasound. A tumor was found in the worst region and my vet told me that at his age, I should just keep him happy and love him every day that I had him. He was put on Piroxocam and Pepcid (to help his tummy) and we went "out" several more times a day/night. He eventually started spilling blood in his urine. My vet told me he would average 6-9 months. He was diagnosed on April 29, 06 and on November 25, 06 he crossed the Rainbow Bridge. He had more good days than bad and up until the last few days seemed very happy. He was very tired though. Some dogs seem to do very well if the tumor is in a forgiving area. I don't know if you have read through the postings on bladder cancer, most are canine. They give alot of good advise. I see that Prissy is 15 years old. Age has alot to do with how well the pups cope also. But try everything you can to help her. I will keep you both in my thoughts. Please feel free to keep in touch. I keep coming back to the web site as it does help the void. Lots of luck. Debbie

My heart goes out to you and I know how you must feel because I lost my last 2 dogs to tumours..the last being a brain tumor. The one thing about being human is that we can be "humaine" where our pets are concerned. To extend their lives if they are suffering is only to make us feel better. I chose to let my dear sweet pups drift off in a gentle sleep with me stroking them gently and telling them how much I love them. It was certainly one of the most difficult things I have done but I do feel that it was the right decision. I wish you the best in this very difficult time.

Hi Debbie,

Thank you SO much for your response. I am also VERY sorry to hear that you ultimately lost your Beezer. I hate to have to ask but this will kind of help me understand what to expect. How long after Beezer was diagnosed did you start noticing blood in his urine? When he passed away, was it on his own or did you have him put to sleep? I am a nervous wreck! I have scheduled Prissy for her first ultrasound for this Friday afternoon and have absolutely no idea what kind of news I am going to get. My husband bought her for me as a birthday/wedding present the day after we married 15 years ago(we married on my birthday)and she is literally my "first" child and it just breaks my heart to have her go through something like this. I sincerely thank you for your support and thoughts. It really helps!

Lisa

Thank you very much for your response. Losing a pet to me is just as difficult as losing a human loved one. They are just like your children, dependant on you for everything. Please keep Prissy in your thoughts. Thank you. Lisa

Hi Lisa,

I don't mind your questions at all. In fact, I am glad they help you out. I first noticed the blood in Beez's urine about 2 months after diagnosis. It started out as tiny threads of red. Then got larger. He never had clotting like some of the postings I read. However by the end, the bleeding became heavy (like a 1/4 cup and it was claret red). This is when we knew he was close to the end. I immediately took him to the vet and they did tests. Amazingly, he was still not anemic by blood count, but he was slowing down and just to watch him get up and go his normal routines pained us. (He was also getting up twice to go out in the middle of the night and needed to wear a diaper of sorts during the day when we were out of the house.) We could tell in his eyes he was not himself. The doctor told me he would let us know and that was my biggest scare. I did not want to keep him with me for my own selfishness. I did not want him suffering. My vet assured me he would show signs and not eating would be the biggest one to look for. Now Beezer was like a fish, he would keep eating..... if you threw an open bag of kibble on the floor. By the last week, he started to walk away from his food. Then the next day, he would be normal. But the day after Thanksgiving, (a week later) he was so despondent, we knew it was time. We made that dreadful trip to the vet. Luckily my adult sons were home for the holidays and we all went together. I know how you must feel with Prissy being "your first child" Beezer was my first dog at the ripe old age of 39 and we luckily had him for 12 wonderful years. I have 2 others. I hope all go well tomorrow and you can take care of your baby accordingly. I will be thinking of you. Please let me know how you make out. Sincerely, Debbie

Thank you very much for telling me this. I think it will help me to understand what to expect. I appreciate your thoughts and I will let you know how things go with her ultrasound. The vet said they may also do a needle aspiration if they can locate the tumor. Thank you again.

Lisa

Hi All,

For those of you that been keeping up with my story, I took my Prissy to a specialist this afternoon for her first ultrasound since being diagnosed with TCC 2 weeks ago. I was nowhere near prepared to hear what they said. Because of the position of the tumor in Prissy's bladder which they say looks as though it is on a track to eventually block her from urinating, they have rendered it inoperable as well as didn't believe that the chemo drugs would be of help to her in her particular situation. It pretty much broke my heart. They have recommended that she begin Piroxicam and Pepcid in a few days once her Metacam has cleared her system and Tramadol if she appears in discomfort. There is a 50/50% chance of it working so I am hoping that this in fact helps her. Unfortunately the down side is that if in fact the Piroxicam does NOT work, they have given her a life expectancy of approx. 2 months. I will however keep my fingers crossed and pray that the Piroxicam does its magic on her. I plan on making the rest of her days as happy and comfortable as I possibly can. i would like to take the time to sincerely thank those of you who responded and gave me extremely valuable information and support--I really appreicated that.

Lisa

Hi Lisa!

I'm sorry to hear about your little dog, Prissy, and I'm sure you are overwhelmed right now. A lot of time, owners find out about the TCC because it tends to give the dogs a urinary tract infection. Once the infection is cleared up the symptoms go away for a while. So I hope Prissy will have some medication that will do that for you.

I can also tell you positively that Piroxicam has been a wonder drug for my dog, Annie. She was diagnosed 2 1/2 years ago  and is still well.  Although not everyone has as great a result, we've been very very lucky. In the beginning I was so distraught, I thought she's be gone in a few months that I spent all my time worrying and not enjoying our time together.  It is my biggest regret that I did not savor every second with her instead.

I hope the Piroxicam works for you as well--good luck to you both and have as much good time with Prissy as you possibly can!

Annie's mom, Marty 

 

 

 

 

Hi Marty,

Thank you very much for your response. I am doing exactly that--enjoying every minute I have with her. She is to begin on the Piroxicam tomorrow and I hope and pray with everything I have that it does work for her and we are able to have even more time with her. Thanks again.