westie with bladder cancer now constipated

My 12 year old westie was diagnosed last Friday thru an ultrasound to have bladder cancer.  We are starting her on meds today to try to shrink the tumor which is a/b 20% of her bladder.  Now she is constipated and I am wondering if anyone else has had this problem.  She finished taking antiobiotics last Thursday when they thought it was a bladder infection and I'm wondering if there could be a relationship.  She was having no trouble with her bowels, and now just strains and strains.  She is still peeing ok although squats a lot.  Also would love more info and what to feed and other natural products you all have tried.  I know Katie won't be with me forever, but would love to keep her as long as possible and know that we both put up the good fight!  Thanks.....

Try a few tablespoons full of canned pumpkin, in the canned good section at the grocery, works wonders!! Good luck.

 

On 7/24/2008 westiemom wrote:

My 12 year old westie was diagnosed last Friday thru an ultrasound to have bladder cancer.  We are starting her on meds today to try to shrink the tumor which is a/b 20% of her bladder.  Now she is constipated and I am wondering if anyone else has had this problem.  She finished taking antiobiotics last Thursday when they thought it was a bladder infection and I'm wondering if there could be a relationship.  She was having no trouble with her bowels, and now just strains and strains.  She is still peeing ok although squats a lot.  Also would love more info and what to feed and other natural products you all have tried.  I know Katie won't be with me forever, but would love to keep her as long as possible and know that we both put up the good fight!  Thanks.....

Hi westiemom  broccoli and cabbage help fight bladder cancer the only other thing is put her on large amounts of vitamin C 1000mg also  Biological therapy can stimulates her body's own immune system to fight cancer. It's usually used after TUR to help prevent superficial bladder cancer from recurring. Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG), a bacterium used in vaccines against tuberculosis, is the most commonly used immune stimulant. It binds to the bladder, where it triggers a response that inhibits the formation and growth of tumors. BCG is administered directly into the bladder using a small, flexible tube (catheter) for two hours once a week. Treatment may last six or more weeks. But the best one Iv heard about is about a month a go a cancer patient with Bladder cancer told me he was talked in to taking cellular Zeolite  he  has bladder cancer and was put on a bag to collect urine and to give his bladder a rest he starting taking a course of  the cellular Zeolite he got of the internet with in a week a clear sticky smelly gel like substance appeared in the bag next test the tumor marker showed no cancer Iv taking cellular Zeolite  for Prostrate cancer it cut my free PSA from a tumor marker of  8 to 4 it may help her  hopes this helps Ray

Hi!  I am also "mom" to a Westie, Willie, who was just diagnosed with TCC.  He had a small tumor removed about 3 weeks ago and has now started on Piroxicam and Pepcid (to protect his tummy).  I have used pumpkin as a laxative before and it worked fine.  The only problem was an orangish tint on the darling westie mustache!  I am considering chemotherapy for Willie but will wait to be sure he can tolerate Piroxicam before making a decision.  I will also be interested in hearing about natural remedies that others have used to help their babies live as long and full a life as possible. 

Sue

My cocker spaniel is 6 months into treatment for tcc. We had the same problems with constipation at the begining of treatment. I attributed it to the long course of antibiotics disrupting the good bacteria in the intestine. The pumpkin is good for the short term, but I followed up with good bacteria capsules from the health food store. My dog weighs 26 lbs and I used the childrens size. I think they have an infant size also which is probably what you would want. After we got fixed up then we had problems later with diarrhea because of the no carb cancer diet. After much frustration, I discovered that increased fiber of broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, and sweet potato steamed then blended did the trick.

I am fairly new to this message board. I just recently finished reading literally hundreds of messages on this website in what I believe to be in another section than under pets called canine bladder cancer. Here is the link.

http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,1543,

If you cant reach it this way, then just google or search in your browser under canine bladder cancer and it should be one of the first few sites listed. Some of the post started back as far as 2005.

 I encourage you to read some of the posts from the canine bladder cancer board. It will really help to understand what is going on and what different options there are. There are a lot of people who have gone through or are still going through this horrible situation and they all have ideas and methods that they have used (many quite successfull, many not unforturnately). 

Unfortunately, this is not a battle that can be won, but there are things that can be done to make the time left better for you and for your dog.

I hope this message gets to you and that you can have some comfort in knowing that you are not alone.

 Teresa (Porkys mom)