Tcc

My 13 year old Westie, Duke was just diagnosed with TCC last week.  Our vet listened to our description of his symptoms and performed a rectal exam to diagnose him.  We asked him to do an x-ray to rule out stones which he did.  We were hopeful that it might be something curable.  Dukie is taking a steroid to try and shrink the tumor and an antibiotic.  I thought at first he seemed to be getting better but now I'm not so sure.  I'm not sure if it's the medication or  just the fact that he's sick but his eyes look so cloudy and he's doing a lot of sleeping.  He's also trying to urinate every few minutes.  I noticed that he's starting to shake like he's afraid.  It breaks my heart to see him like this.  I'm supposed to bring him back for a check up to see if the tumor is getting smaller next week.  I feel so bad for him because he's a huge part of our family.  He grew up with my kids from the time he was a puppy.  I don't want to lose him but I don't want to see him suffer. I know he's uncomfortable and scared.  How do you know when enough is enough?   

 

On 11/16/2007 JoAnn627 wrote:

My 13 year old Westie, Duke was just diagnosed with TCC last week.  Our vet listened to our description of his symptoms and performed a rectal exam to diagnose him.  We asked him to do an x-ray to rule out stones which he did.  We were hopeful that it might be something curable.  Dukie is taking a steroid to try and shrink the tumor and an antibiotic.  I thought at first he seemed to be getting better but now I'm not so sure.  I'm not sure if it's the medication or  just the fact that he's sick but his eyes look so cloudy and he's doing a lot of sleeping.  He's also trying to urinate every few minutes.  I noticed that he's starting to shake like he's afraid.  It breaks my heart to see him like this.  I'm supposed to bring him back for a check up to see if the tumor is getting smaller next week.  I feel so bad for him because he's a huge part of our family.  He grew up with my kids from the time he was a puppy.  I don't want to lose him but I don't want to see him suffer. I know he's uncomfortable and scared.  How do you know when enough is enough?   

JoAnn--I am so sorry for you and your little pal.  I wish I had some answers for you, but I don't.  I don't want to give you false hope, but you might want to give the antibiotics and the steroids (I'm assuming it's piroxicam) a chance to work.  My Annie has had TCC for a long time and it's been a series of ups and downs. We've been to the vet's on more than one occasion thinking the end was near, but she is still with us. And right now, she's doing really well.  It does sound as if Duke is having a really hard time.  This might sound odd, but for us, it's as if Annie finally figured out how to empty her bladder better.  I can see her using different stomach muscles when she pees.  She'll start to pee, then it turns to a trickle and i see her contracting her muscles and she gets it flowing again.  

At any rate, I just wanted you to know that you are not alone and we'll put you in our prayers tonight.

Good luck to you and Duke.

Gentle Annie and her mom, Marty 

 

Joann - first, my thoughts are with you and Dukie.  My 9 year old lab Aiko was just diagnosed with TCC aobut a month ago.  She's been on Piroxicam for about a month and it seems to be getting better.  She now has a bad UTI which did cause her to lose control of her bladder but the antibiotics ought to help with that.

I have passed through the "mourning" period and am now optimistic for the future.  A doggie door has been a help.  As far as knowing when enough is enough goes, I have thought a lot about that.  I have my list of things that she loves - walking in the woods, swimming, playing in the backyard with the hose.  If she can't do those any more, that's enough. 

Good luck.

As an aside, Joann, Marty is wonderful.  I don't know if anyone has ever told her so,  but she's was a big help to me last month when Aiko was tested.

Hi, thank you for your responses and your kindness.  I am so sorry to say that last Friday Duke took a turn for the worse.  He became very agitated and nervous.  He tried to pee in the worse way but couldn't.  I tried to comfort him but he was so wrestless and his whole body began to shake.  I brought him over to our vet right away and I was told that there was nothing we could do for him.  Our vet told us that even if we opted for surgery at that point that it didn't look good because of where the tumor was located and its size. His bladder was huge and there was no relief for him.  We didn't want him to suffer...and after asking the vet if we had done all that we possible could for our baby, he told us that the most humane thing would be to put him down.  I didn't want to do it but I loved him so much that I couldn't bare to see him suffer.  I hope the vet was right.  I hope we did everything we could do.  It all seemed to happen so quickly.

It was the hardest thing in the world to do.  I comforted him the best I could and held him in my arms where he died peacefully.  My heart still aches like you wouldn't believe.  There is a hole in my heart and my house feels so empty.  Please keep us, especially Duke in your prayers.  

Joann-- I am so sorry for your loss.  We were away for Thanksgiving and i just read the post.  You must be in shock that this happened so quickly--what a terrible thing to happen during the holidays.

Try to find comfort in knowing that you did the right thing for your Dukie--you took care of him in life and put his needs before your own when it was time to let him go.  He put his trust in you and you didn't let him down.

We will remember you both in our prayers tonight.

Marty 

Thank you for your kind words and support, Marty.  It is so nice to be in touch with people who can understand that our pets are such a huge part of our families.  Some people don't understand the strong bond of love that we form with our pets.  I cry for Duke everyday.  It was very difficult to pick up his ashes at the vet last week but at least I can feel that he's home with the family where he belongs. 

Thank you for your support and kindness.  I can't tell you how much it is appreciated. 

My thoughts and prayers go out to all the families who's "babies" are sick and struggling with this horrible disease.  God Bless!

Jo-Ann