Canine Bladder Cancer?

I don't know where to begin. My mind is reeling. I was told today that if the Baytril does not work for her latest UTI we need to investigate bladder cancer. My little girl Zoe is 9 years old. She is a sm mix breed that weighs 23 lbs. Since the end of july we have been in and out of the vets, treating UTI's. The first time he put her on Amoxi 200 for 10 days. then a couple of weeks later, amoxi 200 for 14 days. Her belly was getting upset, so now she is on her second dose of baytril. We had a very rough night last night. Panting and pacing. I brought her this morning to another vet for a second opinion. A lot of white & red blood cells with some other type of cells that she said come from the bladder wall. She said it could be due to the infection (it stirred a lot of stuff up) or bladder cancer. I was crushed. They told me to get her re-checked after the Baytril is finished. They also gave me Tramadol & Amitriptyline for her pain. The pain seems to be worse at night. Sometimes she pees a lot, sometimes a little. Bowels are good so far. her eating has dropped off  over the past couple of days. Likes to go out for her walks. 2 times she has stopped on my stairs and peed.

 PLEASE can anyone shed some light on this for me?? I'm so scared and I'm not ready to lose her. Her symptoms scare me. Can they live for a while with the cancer?  Can anyone shed some light on the use of Gravoila and where I can buy it? Would it hurt to start giving it to her now? Is it expensive to treat with Piroxicam? Also i was told Pet Promise pet food is good to feed a dog who has cancer. Right now she has boiled hamburger, a very small amount of rice , a little low salt beef broth and H2O. It is the only thing she will eat so far.

Any info anyone can give will help. My heart goes out to all of you.

Hi!  I'm so sorry that your Zoe is having so many problems.  I hope that this round of Baytril helps her.  If not, I would begin the testing process to check for bladder cancer (TCC).  That process might include a urine test, an xray, an ultrasound and possibly a scope to look in her bladder.  My Willie went through something similar in 6-08.  A small tumor was located and removed from his bladder shortly after that.  The tumor was malignant.  He has been taking piroxicam with stomach protectors since then.  The cost of the piroxicam (Willie is a Westie and weighs about 21 lbs) is about $25 a month.  It has to be compounded into the right dosage and put in a capsule.  I'm not sure if there is a less expensive way to get the correct dose for our little sweeties.  I haven't given him anything else except Carafate, Pepcid and Pepto Bismol.....all to help protect his stomach and intestines from the piroxicam.  He usually takes five days of piroxicam and then takes a day off, then start again.  So far, so good.  He is having another utlrasound tomorrow to see how he's doing.  I tell you all this to let you know that there is hope that a treatment (not cure) can be found IF your Zoe indeed does have TCC.  There are others on this board who have successfully used graviola.  You can find out more about it by reading through the back posts.

If you live near a vet school or in a big city, you may be able to find a cancer treatment center that can diagnose and treat your Zoe.  There are people who post here who have had wonderful results taking their precious dogs to specialists for treatment.  I have continued to use my Willie's own vet for his treatment because my vet stays up-to-date on the latest treatments available and is in touch with the oncologists at the nearest vet school on a regular basis.

It may help you to know that frequent urination, often without much urine being passed, is a symptom and side effect of bladder problems.  Accidents also fall into that category.  I would tell my vet about all this type of activity that you notice.

You and Zoe will be in my thoughts and prayers.  Please let us know how you both are doing!

Sue

 

On 9/8/2009 Sue in SD wrote:

Hi!  I'm so sorry that your Zoe is having so many problems.  I hope that this round of Baytril helps her.  If not, I would begin the testing process to check for bladder cancer (TCC).  That process might include a urine test, an xray, an ultrasound and possibly a scope to look in her bladder.  My Willie went through something similar in 6-08.  A small tumor was located and removed from his bladder shortly after that.  The tumor was malignant.  He has been taking piroxicam with stomach protectors since then.  The cost of the piroxicam (Willie is a Westie and weighs about 21 lbs) is about $25 a month.  It has to be compounded into the right dosage and put in a capsule.  I'm not sure if there is a less expensive way to get the correct dose for our little sweeties.  I haven't given him anything else except Carafate, Pepcid and Pepto Bismol.....all to help protect his stomach and intestines from the piroxicam.  He usually takes five days of piroxicam and then takes a day off, then start again.  So far, so good.  He is having another utlrasound tomorrow to see how he's doing.  I tell you all this to let you know that there is hope that a treatment (not cure) can be found IF your Zoe indeed does have TCC.  There are others on this board who have successfully used graviola.  You can find out more about it by reading through the back posts.

If you live near a vet school or in a big city, you may be able to find a cancer treatment center that can diagnose and treat your Zoe.  There are people who post here who have had wonderful results taking their precious dogs to specialists for treatment.  I have continued to use my Willie's own vet for his treatment because my vet stays up-to-date on the latest treatments available and is in touch with the oncologists at the nearest vet school on a regular basis.

It may help you to know that frequent urination, often without much urine being passed, is a symptom and side effect of bladder problems.  Accidents also fall into that category.  I would tell my vet about all this type of activity that you notice.

You and Zoe will be in my thoughts and prayers.  Please let us know how you both are doing!

Sue

Thank you so much......I am now bringing her to a new vet who came highly recomended. it is a little more travel time but I was told he is worth it and so is Zoe. he has a 24 hr pager also! She had a great day yesterday and she finally ate! She had not ate for about 5 days (side effect from the Baytril?)Her peeing has seemed to picked up. Bowel movements have picked up now that she something in her stomach. Her tail is wagging and she has been walking around with her lovey (stuffed toy). she has been putting the chase on the other dogs and cats in the neighborhood. laying by the window and barking at everything that goes by. She has not done that for days and days.Her appointment is tomorrow and he will check her urine again.Can I ask, was the surgery costly? Once again thanks for the hope.

I'm also glad to hear that you little one is doing well. You gave me hope...thank you so much! I will add you and your little one in my prayers.

I'm so glad that Zoe is feeling better!  Your description of her special toy reminds me of my younger Westie, Weston.  He has a stuffed toy that he takes to bed each night.  He is so possessive of that one toy!  It is darling to watch.

On to the serious things.....it's great that you have found a trusted vet to diagnose and treat Zoe and help you both through whatever lies ahead.  I live in South Dakota so costs of surgery here may not be the same as they are where you live.  The procedure that my vet did was to look in Willie's bladder with a scope, locate a small tumor that he had seen on an ultrasound and then remove it using a laser.  He then sent the tumor to an lab for evaluation.   However he also did a liver biopsy because he didn't like how part of Willie's liver looked.  (The vet "took a look at other organs" while he had Willie under anethesia and the scope already in place.)  The whole thing cost around $700 including the biopsies, I think.  Then, there were pain meds, antibiotics, etc, to take home.  It is perfectly okay to ask your vet in advance what the cost of the surgery will be.  In some areas and at the vet school hospitals, I believe that they are actually removing part of the bladder and sewing it back up.  In Willie's case his vet only removed the tumor and tried to laser the area around it to prevent reoccurance.  Unfortunately there is another small tumor in the same spot now.  Today I will find out how much it has grown since last April.  My vet has not recommended that Willie have chemo therapy at this point even though many dogs do have it and do well.  Willie doesn't tolerate medications very well.  We may try chemo as a last resort if the tumor grows too much or the TCC spreads.  Other doctors may recommend trying chemo right away.  I trust my vet so I usually follow his recommendations.  If I didn't I would definitely get another opinion.

I hope that Zoe continues to do well and that your new vet is able to help you find the right treatments for her.  I'll be thinking of you both!

Sue

I got the news today that I had been fearing. She has bladder cancer. She will be starting piroxican, but he wants her to start the prilosec first, because it takes a few days to get into her. Unfortunatly I do not have a lot of money to go for ultra sounds and special treatment. Her urine is full of cells that are cancerous.he was able to feel the tumor. So I know the outcome will be the same.I opted to keep her comfortable on the meds...prioxican, prilosec, Baytril (low dose given daily) and tramadol. I do not want any invasive surgery because he said the this type of cancer is very aggressive and will seed. So I will keep my dear, loyal friend comfortable, take the time to say my good-byes and thank-yous for her being in my life. When the time is right, I will take her on her final walk to the "Rainbow Bridge"

Bless your heart.  A friend once told me when I had to put a dearly loved cat to sleep that "animals don't fear death-they only fear pain and suffering."  Enjoy your time with Zoe- you will know when it is time to "take the walk to the rainbow bridge."

Kathy

I'm so sorry to hear that Zoe's problem was diagnosed as bladder cancer.  The treatment plan that you are going to follow is very similar to Willie's and it has helped him have a more comfortable and longer life.  Unfortunately it doesn't cure the problem.  I found out that the tumor in his bladder so small five months ago has grown substantially.  I will continue with his piroxicam and other meds hoping to retard its growth rate.  So we will be following the same path....loving and treating our sweet dogs but knowing that we will have to let them go eventually.  The good news is that we do have the time to love and spoil them.....and to be sure that they are not suffering in any way.

I'll be thinking of you and Zoe.  I hope to hear that she has many good days ahead!

Sue

I have started zoe on the piroxicam tonight. she ate this am and took a prilosec this afternoon. I fed her tonight (she is on a diet of pumpkin puree' (for the constipation from the tramadol), boiled chicken and the broth). I then gave her the piroxicam. I'm so scared. I have read all of the horror stories from people at how sick it made their dogs. I have also read very promising stories. She has not been peeing great amounts today and it has got me concerned. Does the piroxicam help them pee better? she passed small amounts of blood this am (before she took the piroxicam) in her pee (she is also still on Baytril but a smaller dose for reaccuring UTI's). she tires very easily. when I say "do you want o go out" her ears perk up and she is ready to go. I just don't know. I hope she will let me know when enough is enough. i'm so heartsick for my little girl. It helps knowing that i am not alone in this journey. I pray for everyone going through this. Thank you for your replies and i wish you and your dog the best in this fight.

 

On 9/10/2009 scootie45 wrote:

Bless your heart.  A friend once told me when I had to put a dearly loved cat to sleep that "animals don't fear death-they only fear pain and suffering."  Enjoy your time with Zoe- you will know when it is time to "take the walk to the rainbow bridge."

Kathy

Thank you Kathy. Those words will help me when I have to make that choice for Zoe. We played with her lovey (her little stuffed purple lamb) tonight. She was like the ol' Zoe.