Canine Bladder Cancer

Dear Frances,
Words can not express how deeply sadened and sorry I am that your sweet Ginger is now with you in only spirit. I truly can not imagine what you are going through but am trying to prepare myself for the same.
I loved reading your thoughts about Ginger and laughed so hard when I read that you too have a "no sneezing" rule in your house. That is also Lexie's rule. But the best part it is only when I sneeze.. anyone else she doesn't care. Reading about Ginger made me realize that Shelties have a lot in common. I have had Lexie since she was 8 weeks old and she is truly been so much to me on so many levels. That unconditional love is truly amazing.
It is clear that Ginger had an amazing mom too and I am so glad she let you know that with the kiss... You are so lucky that your vet was willing to come to your house. I am sure Ginger was at peace being in her favorite spot.

I have decided against the chemo for now as they tell me it could cause her other challenges. I brought her to a holistic vet last week who put her on a grain free diet since tumors use carbs to fuel...we are cutting those out. She is getting green tea, garlic, salmon oil and flaxseed mixed in with her cottage cheese at night. Her tummy is very upset right now with the changing of her food. I think i switched things too abruptly. I was looking back through all of her blood work from the past few months and know that she has high cholesterol so I am hoping that the raw diet doesn't make that worse.
How did you concur that she had the cancer in her liver too? They did an abdominal ultrasound and did not see anything in the organs near by, but am not sure if they could see her liver. I am sure you went through this same thing where you start to question every move you make. WIth LExie only being 8 years old I am just not ready to let her go. Do they think it was definitely the chemo that shrunk her tumor in the bladder or could it have been the piroxicam?

If you need to talk or a shoulder to cry on, I am here for you. I will think of you and hope you are doing okay.
Joanne

JoAnn,

Thanks for your thoughtful message. I really do appreciate it. It's been a very busy week, and I haven't had a chance to write back.

I do miss my little Ginger dearly, but I am also comforted by all the time I could spend with her, the care she got, and how she peacefully departed. I am very lucky the vet was able to come to my house. I must say, he was the most gentle and compassionate person, for both Ginger and for me.

Ginger now has her own little table next to hear seat on the couch. Her ashes are there in a beautiful red oak box with her picture in the front frame portion. And there's a brass tag with a heart that says, "Ginger" with her birth/death dates. She's in her favorite spot . . .watching the window and activity outside and keeping an eye on me and her home on the inside at the same time!

We're not 100% sure the cancer was in her liver. Only a biopsy/surgery would have confirmed it. It was either that or a bad infection. However, when we started the treatment, the first ultrasound did show some spots in her liver. However, the vet had said in a dog of her age, you would see spots. Only a biopsy would confirm if it was cancer. Her lungs and lymph nodes looked good, so the hope was that it wasn't it in her liver. Then when we had the subsequent ultrasound after the 3 chemo treatments, it showed that the bladder tumor had shrunk, but the spots in her liver had increased . . .so it seems that's what it probably was. I'm just glad it was fast . . .she really was herself until the last 3 weeks when she really slowed down and stopped eating.

I hope Lexie is doing better with her diet changes! It's a tough decision to decide how to best treat them. The piroxicam does not have direct anti-tumor activity/effect . . . it appears to help slow the spread/growth, but it doesn't directly attack an existing tumor. So it seems the chemo did have success on attacking the bladder tumor. I feel for you with Lexie only being 8 years old. That's too young for this disease! But since she is younger, hopefully it was found so early that it can be better managed.

Ginger had high cholesterol too . . . but she had that most of her life . . .ideopathic hyperlipidemia (high triglyerides/cholesterol with no known cause). We always managed it with a low fat, high fiber diet and she never had any problem.

I had read a lot too about keeping the diet 'low carb.' Are you giving her Pepcid or anything with the piroxicam so as to try to prevent that from causing stomach upset?

Email me directly at --- Message edited by CancerCompass staff: for personal protection, email address removed. Please review CancerCompass Member Guidelines at http://www.cancercompass.com/common/guidelines.html ----. I'll then give you my routine email address so we don't have to keep exchanging mail on this site!

Hang in there and I'm thinking of you and Lexie.

:-)
Frances

Dear Ginger's Mom...
I just saw this part of the message board. I am so sorry for your loss. I lost my beloved Scotty - Johnnie Walker to TCC last January. He battled valiently for over 6months after diagnosis, but toward the end, we also chose to help JB (Johnnie Boy!) out of this world so he would not have to endure a painful end. He gave us nearly 10 years of unfailing affection, companionship, loyalty and was our consumate stand-up comic. The brave Scotsman deserved an honorable exit. We took him and our other 3 furry children out to the Oregon Coast - JB's favorite place on earth, for one last stroll down the beach and the smell of the sea that Johnnie loved. At sunset we drank a toast (of Johnnie Walker Black scotch - of course) to him. Everyone said their good-byes...Willy & Robby are still the babies, but JB's old companion GlenLivet took the whole thing very hard. We had a very compassionate, wonderful Vet that came out to the house and performed the last rites. It was the hardest thing we have had to to do yet in our life. But our furry kids count on us for their quality of life, and sometimes, that means making the hardest decisions. Ginger was deserving of your love & affection and she trusted you to take care of her right to the end - which you faithfully did. My thoughts are with you.
Johnnie's Mom

I just found this message board and am amazed at how similar all of our stories are with recent diagnosis of TCC. Sippy is 10 years old, been very healthy, but last winter noticed she was taking an inordinate amount of time to urinate. Kept getting worse until I took her in February to be checked. The vet put her on a series of antibiotics but nothing was changing. Finally, I got more demanding about finding out what was wrong, they did an ultrasound and found a tumor half the size of her bladder. The tumor wasn't there when they had done an ultrasound a month previous. She's also on piroxicam. I'm searching for a holistic vet that can help us with alternative treatments, nutrition and supplements. I've got her on Cell Forte (which strengthens the cells), G3 (an immune system support) Vit. C, Sea Vegg, Flaxseed Oil, kefir (yogart) and/or acidophilis for the bacteria balancing. I've kept her on the vet's recommended food specifically for bladder problems, but I'm going to change to the raw diet also. The pathology done last week confirmed that it has spread to her lymph nodes, she is very swollen around her breast area and has several tumor-looking very hard bumps on her belly. Her legs are swollen, her belly's swollen. She's on a diuretic also that's suppose to help with the swelling. I just really hate having her on all this medication, especially because none of it gives a cure, only trying to extend some time for her. But she seems to be declining very fast. Any suggestions or recommendations would be much appreciated.

Dear Sippy's Mom,

I am so sorry to hear about Sippy and what you are having to go through. TCC is a terrible disease. Because it is typically not discovered until late, the prognosis is poor.

When Ginger was diagnosed, my vet oncologist made it clear that treatment would only possibly extend her life by months. The goal was to maintain a quality of life as her life quality had not diminished when she was diagnosed.

With Ginger, it had not spread to her lymph nodes, so that is why we opted for the combination perioxiam and chemo. She had two small tumors in her bladder. And even though, her official prognosis was "guarded to poor."

It did not appear to be in her lymph nodes because they were small. Her lungs were also clear. Her liver showed some spots, but without an actual biopsy, could have been cancer or could have been related to age.

Sometimes I question if I should have even done the chemo as it didn't appear to lengthen her life. On the other hand, she maintained a quality of life until the end. You would not have really know she was sick (except for the more frequent peeing). But at the end, she stopped eating and was starting to stop drinking. I knew it was time. I was not going to let her starve/thirst to death. We had a wonderful last day together . . .taking a long walk (but slow) . . .sitting in the yard . . .holding her . . .

What I did learn is that you have to watch them carefully and make the best decision for them. My friends had told me that I would know when it was time to let her go. I didn't understand or realize that until it actually happened. But I did know. And she knew too. Having the vet come to my house made all the difference in the world. I didn't want to have to bring her into the vet again. At least she left here in my arms. It wasn't easy, but that's one thing I'm so glad I did. I'll never forget the last thing that she did when she looked up and gave me a kiss before she passed . . . that meant the world to me.

It sounds like you are doing all the right things. All you can do is to make her as comfortable as possible. I'm glad she did not suffer a lot. That's the hardest thing . . . not wanting to lose them but not wanting to see them suffer. Keep doing research on the internet. I did a lot of reading. And I asked my vets lots of questions. They were very good, patient, and open.

Hang in there and keep me posted. I'm thinking of you as I know the difficult road!

Frances

Dear Johnnie's Mom,

My heart went out to you when I read about your Johnnie as I went through the same thing with my Ginger. It is so hard. Ginger had a wonderful last day just like Johnnie did. I worked from home her last week, and we had such a wonderful last day together. And like you, it was so nice having the vet come to my house to see her to the other side. It made me feel good knowing she was at home and in my arms (her two favorite places) when her heart stopped beating. It was hard as hell, but she deserved that. Ginger was my only baby. One day I'll have another little Sheltie puppy. I always say that Ginger will send one along when I'm ready. I do miss her. Her ashes are in a nice oak box, with her picture in the front, and a nice inscription engraved on it. Her ashes sit on her own little table, next to her seat on the couch . . . so she can still watch outside through the window and watch her Mom inside. Sometimes, I still think I hear her little footsteps across the wood floor at night or her quiet little 'oof' when she knew I was sleeping but wanted something.

Thank you for sharing Johnnie. They're at the Rainbow Bridge waiting for us!!!

Frances

Dear Katrina...
unfortunately TCC is very aggressive in dogs, and to this date, terminal. Toward the end, the pain can become pretty bad. (I had Johnnie on Metacam which helped a bit). However, if the cancer has already spread to the lumph nodes, Sippy is in dire straights. Only you will know what is the right thing to do for your dear friend. She will count on you to make the right decision for her quality of life. Believe me, I can say with confidence I know exactly what you are going through. The toughest thing for me was to make the appointment with the Vet. Once that was done, the wheels were set in motion & I fought through the tears to keep my resolve to go throught with Johnnies exiting of this earth. My heartfelt sympahty to you. Johnnie has been gone 4 months now & I still check this message board to try to give some tiny amount of comfort to those out there going through this horrible cancer with your furry family members!
Johnnie's Mom

Katrina,
There is another message board on this site relating to canine bladder cancer - if you search Canine bladder cancer (tcc) you will find it. There are close to 300 messages, so I know you will find some useful information and understanding "friends". My Scottie - Kacee is 15 years old. She was diagnosed last August -taking piroxicam and doing great! Check it out and stay positive. Our babies don't know they are sick, but they do pick up on our moods. Enjoy everyday you have with Sippy - all they really require is our love.
Karen

Hi everybody,

I'am glad that I can searched this web and found much valuable information. I'm from Hong Kong and my poor girl Mui Mui (7-8 years old Maltese mixed Shih Tzu)was confirmed suffering from bladder cancer in this May. We can see the transitional tumor is lying at the bottom of her bladder through the X-ray. The Vet not suggesting surgery nor other treatment but advised her taking prioxicam for 8 weeks.

I feed her the prioxicam 2.5mg for weeks and it seems quite work as I can see the blood in urine is much much less. After the regular check up in late Jul, the Vet noticed the side effect of prioxicam that mildly affecting the function of her kidney and the blood cell is lower than the average standard. The vet told me to stop the medication and let her to enjoy the rest of her life until that day comes.

I don't feel comfortable with his advise but don't know what to do to help out my poor girl. Her condition is so good for the time being, good appetite and very energetic.

Please, would you share your experience and tell me what medication other than proxicam that I should try. I and my husband love her so much and want to keep her with her as long as possible.

Hello from England,
My nearly 12 year old collie cross was diagnosed by a special x-ray, just two weeks ago, as having bladder cancer.
Until I found this site, I didnt realise how common it is in dogs,I wonder why?
I am very upset, as hers is almost blocking the bladder exit.
I have been given Metocam with the instructions to take her home and spoil her.
In herself (on the medication) she seems fine.
She is eating well and comes for cuddles evert five minutes.
She also is deaf and always has been, so I have to make extra sure that she knows how much I love her through touch etc.
I check her urine every couple of days, and it is still very red, although she isnt showing signs of infection such as lethargy or dry nose etc.
The vet hasnt given me any hope, they have said if it is a slow growing tumour she has a few months, and if not just a few weeks.
How do these things normally pan out?
I dont know what to expect.
Will I know when she has had enough?
Any info would be helpful.
Jackie