Westie Diagnosed With Tcc - Bladder

Brodie, my 11 year old Westie, was diagnosed with bladder cancer on March 17. The mass is located in the trigone region of his bladder. The vet who found the tumor on ultrasound feels "99.9 %" confident that we are dealing with TCC, but wants Brodie to have a fine needle aspiration biopsy to be 100% certain. I have read that this type of tumor seeds very easily to new locations if disturbed and I am completely terrified to allow this procedure to be performed. We have already wasted almost 4 months with a different vet who was treating Brodie's symptoms with antibiotics thinking it was just a UTI and I don't want to do anything to make things any worse than they already are. Can anyone advise me how they handled the "to biopsy or not" question?
Brodie was started on Piroxicam tonight, .3 mg per kg of body weight and 10 mg of Prilosec. I've started him on a prescription dog food with a moderate protein, high fat and low carb content. I considered going raw, but I had read some articles about dogs with cancer being more susceptible to the bacteria due to a compromised immune system. I am also considering Graviola and a few of the other supplements mentioned on this message board.
I feel so overwhelmed and completely devastated by Brodie's diagnosis. He's a very special little guy and he means the world to me. I am so grateful that this message board is here and would appreciate any tips or suggestions anyone is willing to share.
Thanks,
Jan

Hi Jan,
So sorry to hear about Brodie, the only way to know for sure if its cancer is to do the biopsy.
The needle has the least chance of stirring things up. I would get a second opinion what part of the country do you live in?

Good luck

Tim & Kathy

Hi Tim & Kathy,
Thanks for your response. I live on the coast of Georgia. I inferred from your reply that you would have no qualms at all about having the biopsy performed? My vet recommended an oncologist in Jacksonville, Florida for the biopsy. (Jacksonville is about an hour away.) He has conferred with the oncologist by telephone about Brodie's case and has referred other patients to her in the past. The oncologist said debulking and chemotherapy could be performed but she also said patients with tumors in the trigone area generally don't survive a year even with that kind of extensive treatment. At the moment, Brodie is a very active and playful dog, but is unable to urinate freely and makes frequent trips outdoors.
In addition to the ultrasound, which has been performed twice, Brodie has had an x-ray, extensive urinalysis and blood work. He has taken two regimens of antibiotics, one for two weeks and one for six weeks. There are several abnormalities in both the urinalysis and blood work that would seem to point to cancer. My vet did not recommend doing the VBTA urine test due to the number of false-positives in cases where blood is present in the urine.
Thanks,
Jan

Jan,
Our beloved Wollie was dx with intestinal cancer, we had him go through the surgery and to tell you the truth we would not do it again he was never the same. We loved him so much that we could not bear the thought of our lives without him and in the long run ended up causing him undue pain. Three months post op we had to put him to sleep. The hardest thing in this world is to do what's best for you dear friend I don't think I would put him through chemo if they don't expect a full recovery. Ask the vet to give you the names and numbers of other people that have gone through the treatment that they are recomending and get their input. Remember that Brodie expects you to do what's best for him not for you.

We feel your pain
Tim & Kathy

Tim & Kathy,
I am so sorry to hear about your baby. I can't even imagine what you have been through. I still can't talk or type about this without crying. I agree with you completely about doing what's best for Brodie. I told my vet last week that I would not put Brodie through surgery and chemo just to prolong his life by perhaps a few weeks. If they could cure him, I would move heaven and earth to make it happen but, based on his prognosis, my goal is to make sure he is not experiencing pain and can urinate freely.
Thank you for your support and kind words. It means so much to me to discuss this with someone who understands.
Jan

hi Jan,
Please feel free to email us anytime. Everyone thinks we are nuts for the way we treat our babies one is a 15 month old saint bernard and the other is a lab mix. I had my bladder removed due to bladder cancer in Nov 05 and have thought that there is a need for a group like this for sick dogs.
Hang in there and give Brodie a belly rub from us:)

Tim & Kathy

Hi Tim & Kathy,
I apologize for not replying sooner to your last post. Brodie has had a rough week.
There is a fairly lengthy discussion about canine bladder cancer a couple of pages over on the list of topics with postings from many different people. I am going to post there from now on and I hope you will join me.
I appreciate your messages and support. It has helped me more than you know. :)
Thanks again,
Jan & Brodie

Hi

I too, am going through bladder cancer with my 12 year old beagle mix, Freckles. On 4/14/06, an ultrasound was done and a very large mass encompassed most of the bladder with no kidney involvement. Also a urinalysis was done and basically confirmed TCC. I work for a veterinarian and my oncologist is 30 minutes away and a compounding pharmacy is next door.

Personally....I would not do a biopsy. If the vet is 99.9% sure that would be enough for me. The reasoning be....why put your Brodie through that procedure to confirm the diagnosis.

I need support too.

Sincerely,

Janice Rowe