If We Were To Do It All Again

When I first came to this board, what I wanted most is to see what others had learned.  The support and sharing was a bonus.

We ended our road this week and I thought I would make a quick stop here and put our final thoughts.

If I had to do it all again I would start the day I suspected anything wrong

-I would change diet immediately (low carb real food and Innova EVO)

-I would let live outside as much as possible if in a pesticide free yard

-I would have gotten rid of my chlorine pool first not later

-I would not have done a biopsy or surgury only ultrasound

-I would have given full doses of polymva from the start and other vitamins suggested by a natural doc

-I would trust my own instincts over professionals

The loss is still tremendous but I believe if I had done these things from the start she would have lived much longer (she lived with cancer for almost two years best we can tell).

I hope it helps someone as this board has helped me.

Bless you all for being there for your dogs.

Mandi

Mandi,

This post caught my eye as I am a day away from letting go of my 16 year old beagle that was diagnosed with TCC only 2 months ago. Over the past 2 weeks, not only did he become incontient, which we could have dealt with but also lost use of his hind legs. They believe it is due to a thrown blod clot. He has many other terminal illnesses so after a 2 week fight and our last ditch effort was getting him a wheelchair to see if it could revive his spirits, we have decided to let him go.

 The title of this post made me think of thing I would do if I had to do it all over again and I decided tonight I will do those things including Cooking him a steak and mashed potatoes and gravy meal, since he hasn't had carbs for 2 months. But most importantly I will spend my last evening with my best friend doing what he loved best. Just being loved and shower him with all the attention he always deserved.

 I am sorry for your loss. I can not imagine how I will deal with this after he's gone but for now, I will enjoy my last 24 hrs with him. I hope I find the strength to get through this as many others have. 

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss.  I know this is a very difficult time for you, & I really appreciate you taking the time to help the rest of us still struggling with trying to figure out the best way to fight against our pet's cancer.  I found your suggestions very helpful.  I hope that in time your pain will lessen & only the happy memories will remain.

Joy & JJ

 Mandi: Thanks for your post and your thoughts. This must be very difficult. I am not sure what cancer this was but they are all "evil".I was interested in you note on polymva as that is what saved my life. I did the diet, and cut down the chemicals, I was at end stage when diagnosed so one can never tell if things would have changed. "It is the way it is" I know easy for me to say as I am still here but I confounded all my doctors.  I pulled my reports today just to read what they said, and they were amazed at how I pulled through and did state in my record I chose alternative treatment.  No one can imagine what each persons suffers at a loss as we are all different. Take care and know you did the right thing no matter what. I suffred from end stage mulitple Myeloma. I am at this time cancer free but have to take those steps every day to stay that way.  all the best MMS

On 3/14/2008 Mandi wrote:

When I first came to this board, what I wanted most is to see what others had learned.  The support and sharing was a bonus.

We ended our road this week and I thought I would make a quick stop here and put our final thoughts.

If I had to do it all again I would start the day I suspected anything wrong

-I would change diet immediately (low carb real food and Innova EVO)

-I would let live outside as much as possible if in a pesticide free yard

-I would have gotten rid of my chlorine pool first not later

-I would not have done a biopsy or surgury only ultrasound

-I would have given full doses of polymva from the start and other vitamins suggested by a natural doc

-I would trust my own instincts over professionals

The loss is still tremendous but I believe if I had done these things from the start she would have lived much longer (she lived with cancer for almost two years best we can tell).

I hope it helps someone as this board has helped me.

Bless you all for being there for your dogs.

Mandi

I'm so glad someone has created this thread in a spirit of help to anyone else facing this with their beloved fur kid. If we had it to do again we would very aggressively obtain diagnoses as things came up. Sam had too many "maybe" conditions going on that by the time we got the cancer diagnosis, it really was too late to do anything constructive.  Our list would look like:

-Upon the first suspicion of Cushings disease based on lab work, we would do the tests for diagnosis even without classic clinical signs. Our vet had been jaded by too many Cushings cases over the years to appreciate how crucial it was for Sam to set it right to preserve his immunity;

-Upon the first suspicion of any neurological issue (his gait changes), we would get all the imaging tests we could afford. This would have told us if he had a brain tumor, which would have made it easier to figure out what to do if the bladder cancer diagnosis had still come up later;

-Upon x-ray confirmation of arthritis in his spine, we would have seen an orthopedist to get expert advice on any necessary lifestyle changes (I didn't know he should no longer jump or climb stairs, even to the best of his ability).

-We would use the fairly ready access to veterinary specialists in our area to assure that Sam got the best possible care for each issue as it came up, instead of relying on our general practice vets, who, though experienced and competent, are to busy to focus on specialty care.

Thank you to all who contribute to this forum.