TCC in my Labsky

I have a 6-9 yr old lab /husky mix named Lincoln. Last Saturday night was the first I noticed he was having trouble peeing. By 4 am that morning he was in pain so I took him to the emergency vet. They catheterized him and did x-rays. Long story short...he has a tumor on his urethra right where it meets the bladder. The biopsy doesn't show malignancy but the vet seems convinced it is TCC. He came back from the hospital on Tues and had been peeing ok until tonight. Now it is just a few drops. He has an appt with the oncologist and an ultrasound tomorrow.  He is on piroxicam. I have also been giving him herbal treatments of Maitake, Shitake, Pau d'arco and Cat's claw in his food. I have changed his food to a high protein/fat low carb food. I am just afraid it is just too late. The x-ray with the contrast dye shows about 2cm of virtually no tube right at the entry to the bladder. I am hoping that he has time for something to begin to work. I am not prepared to lose him as he is all I have. But it seems like I discovered this very late.

I have not been on this board for almost a year now.  My scotty went to Rainbow Bridge after "winning" the battle with TCC.  I say she won because when she was diagnosed the vet gave her 6 months - she lived almost 3 years.  I'm telling you this so you don't ever give up.  If you go the the regular bladder cancer board then click on "last" back in Feb of 2005 a thread started that now has 755 entries.  It will take awhile, but read as much as you can.  There is so much information there.  I would bet any question you may have will be answered there.  Good Luck - and remember - they don't know they are sick so you have to stay cheerful or they will wonder why you are so sad. 

Thank you for your reply. I wasn't sure how often people respond here and it was nice to get a response. I have read about 1/3 of the way through the entries you suggested. I had not heard of the graviola and will be checking that out. I think it is going to be a tough night. I just hope that he is able to get something out.

In case anyone reads this. Lincoln went and got his ultrasound. They said there was no evidence of metastasis but the prognosis was around 3 months. He is going to a surgeon tomorrow to have a consultation regarding putting a stent in the urethra to make it easier for him to pee during this time. I am not giving up. I asked if there was a possibility of such a procedure days ago and was told no. There are a lot of conflicting messages out there. Anyway, I decided not to do chemo.  It would only give him a month or two more at best and he will be sick. I am going to get the stent put in and continue piroxicam along with the herbal treatments. I have also ordered the graviola and CAS options. I am giving him maitake, shitake, pau'darco, cat's claw, fish oil and the high protein diet. We spent 4 hours at the vet today and have a long day and a long drive down to jersey tomorrow. I am hopeful they can do the procedure soon. We have a goal to prove them wrong and make it through to our annual vacation the month of August in New Hampshire. He loves it there and the least he deserves is one more trip.

Of course people will read your posting--that is what we are here for--to lend support to one another during a most difficult time and give advice the best we can.

It's good that you are determined to have your pal make that August vacation trip with you--it gives you both something to look forward to. And DON'T believe that three month prognosis--no one knows positively how long your Labsky has.  

I know someone advised oyu  to read the long thread of postings in the regular bladder cancer section and you will find a lot of great advice there and a lot of diffferent treatment options that people have followed.  You'll have to see what workd best for yourself.  One thing I would advice, if at all possible, is to to take your dog to an oncologist.  They see SO many more cases of the TCC than a regular vet does; they should know the options that are available to you and be able to give you the best of advice.

My Annie had her cancer caught very early on and has only been treated with piroxicam.  It has worked well for her--and in two months will have survived four years with the disease. SO you just never know....

Good luck to you.

 

Marty

 

I've been watching this site for almost a year (since my Lab Po was diagnosed) and have to agree that the advice here is so helpful. We used peroxicam and Pepcid, along with altering his diet to high protein kibble and supplements of cottage cheese and flaxseed oil. Up until a month ago, he was a happy healthy boy with actually more energy than before I changed his diet! He even gained weight!

Around Thanksgiving he became incontinent. We found and bought a WONDERFUL diaper system which you can find online--tinkle trousers--and they made it possible for Po to have the run of the house for another month. But yesterday we finally let our Po go. Two days earlier he had an emergency visit to the vet and needed catheterization to empty his bladder. At that point an ultrasound indicated the tumor had filled his bladder and spread to his urethra and would continue to cause blockages. We took him home and spoiled him for two days, but the fact he was once again spending most of our walks squatting and straining with little results convinced me it was time. It was one of the most difficult decisions of my life, but we wanted him to have a peaceful death at home rather than a painful end, and thanks to our compassionate vet that is what he had. What is difficult is that this cancer often doesn't make a dog look sick, so my Po was still active and eating like a horse. He had just lost his lust for life and, I realize now, hadn't "smiled" in about a month.

I am deeply saddened and missing him terribly, but I'm thankful we didn't let this cancer affect his quality of life for very long. Don't be discouraged because Po should have died months ago...we didn't think he'd last through the summer...and yet the entire family was able to enjoy his company at Thanksgiving. I am SOOO thankful to this group for sharing their experiences and advice. Good luck to all.

He went to the oncologist yesterday. We discussed chemotherapy and radiation. However, she said that because of the size of the tumor and the location, surgery is not an option. I am meeting with a specialist in New Jersey at 2 pm who does the stent implants. Firstly, I want him to be able to pee, obviously. Since coming come yesterday he has not been able to get anything out. They did empty his bladder when they got the second sample for biopsy. I want to get the stent in so he's able to pee and then keep him on his diet and medication and give it time to work. I am not crazy about radiation and chemo but I may change my mind. I have a philosophical problem with destroying the immune system to get cancer cells. Like I said, I may change my mind but I am very hesitant at this point. Has anyone had bad reactions to the chemo or radiation? And if I decide to do it in the end will the immune boosting herbals help him during this time?