We read on this blog & are encouraged by many fellow dog owners quest in helping & supporting their dogs' fight against the terrible disease called TCC.
We felt compelled to share our journey and experience, in the hope that anyone can benefit from it.
First & foremost, we really believe that the mind-set and fighting spirit in the owners determined the whole tone & climate for 'the fight'. So stay positive and determined, don't give up. When we are sad, our babies can feel it and they get down too. Choose positive energy and that will radiate and affect them positively too. Each day is a fight but each day is also a bonus that our dogs are still with us.
Our dog: she is a sweet & adorable 8 year old black Scottish Terrier. V curious, v positive, lights up the room and loves to be tummy rubbed. Her name is Tyra
Date of TCC diagnosis : Mar 2011
Status today, Mar 2012 (12 months later) : Tyra is still with us...although she has lost weight and has complications with one kidney showing signs of failure (from the cancer tumor's growth and blockage of a key artery), periodic low blood PVC, dark stools indicating possible GI, finicky eating.... Her TCC is in advanced stage and has show signs of spread to the surrounding lymnodes. She occasionally pees pinkish urine & strains for obvious reasons. But otherwise, she is still in good spirits and positive. A real fighter and trooper. We smile every time we see her.
Our treatment mentality
- fight till the very end as long as her quality of life is not severely compromised and she doesn't suffer
- be opened minded to all possible treatment methods that has any chance of working to slow down the spread and build up her immunity to fight TCC. This includes Wester medicine and wholistic treatment methods, herbs etc
- be vigilent and always check and observe her progress continuously and on a daly basis. Don't be complacent
- have confidence in yr Vet but also do yr own research. Find a vet u can trust. Our vet is one of the most senior vets in our location. He is v experienced, is a qualified nutritionist and also open to alternative & wholistic treatment approaches using herbs
- spare no expense : when it comes to money and effort
Our treatment protocol
- surgery : unfortunately this was not an option as her TCC was in the neck of her bladder so debulking it thru invasive surgery was not a feasible option
- Medication & Supplements : this includes the widely cited Proxicam in this discussion thread. Quite often, Baytril or other anti-biotics medicine is also administered to reduce her Urinary Tract Infections (UTI). In the 1st 3-4 months, supplements include fish oil, cranberry and bushu, Paw paw was also administered.
- injections: vincristine anti-cancer injections was given once a week. That continued for nearly 9 months until she developed a bad reaction to it probably due to the toxicity levels being accumulated. She would be lifeless and inactive after the jabs so we stopped it
- alternative wholistic herbs supplements: our vet suggested a rare & v expensive mushroom called Lingzhi (Ganoderma) which has been used for thousands of years in the East. It has been researched extensively in Japan, China, Korea, Thailand etc. The Triterpenoid component in Lingzhi is suppose to have suppressing effects in cancerous tumors and also build up the immunity system. Lingzhi essence is now extracted & manufactured in Thailand and comes in capsules of blackish powder, liquid and bullets to be administered rectally on the dog. Downsides: a) Costs - its rarity and the difficult process to extract the essence from this mushroom which makes it very costly and expensive. 2 months supply will costs approximately US$1200. b) taste - this stuff taste v bitter and getting the dog to consume it is often challenging. Need to be creative to find ways to hide or mix with food.
Gene therapy - this is a controversial treatment method and probably has fair share of both supporters and critics/cynics. It has to do with a gene called P53. Details of how it works:
"The p53 gene is one of the most important tumor-suppressor genes existing in normal cells. In normal cells, the expression level of p53 protein is very low. p53 expression is activated upon oncogene activation, growth-factor deprivation, hypoxia, and DNA damage. The upregulation of p53 gene expression occurs at the posttranslational level and is achieved through stabilization of the expressed protein. The activation of p53 gene expression results in either cell cycle arrest or apoptotic cell death.
The p53 gene is mutated or deleted (null) in approximately 50% to 70% of human tumors. Mutant forms of the p53 gene are not necessarily inactive and can gain oncogenic functions that contribute to tumorigenicity. Most importantly, mutant p53 proteins have been associated with the upregulation of the multidrug resistance (MDR) gene, which results in tumor resistance to a variety of chemotherapeutics. Introduction of exogenous wild-type p53 gene and subsequent over-expression of the p53 protein has been shown to control and eliminate tumor cell growth by growth cycle arrest or apoptosis. In addition, over-expresion of wild-type p53 protein has been demonstrated to have a synergistic effect with radiotherapy and chemotherapye."
P53 treatment is again expensive - about US$2800 for 2 cycles. It comes in little viles which need to be frozen until use. It is normally injected into the bladder tumor itself and also administered thru IV. Not many vets are familiar with this and some may not have even heard of it or will approve.
In closing, we do not know what actually worked and what didn't. With TCC, we all know we cannot cure it but only hope is to slow down its growth & spread. Other than clinical studies down on piroxicam and other chemo drugs, not many other things have been proven beyond doubt to work effectively. So nobody can guarantee the effectiveness of any herbs or alternative treatment approaches.
So at the end of the day, agreeing to try some of the treatment methods mentioned above is a combination of 'hoping for the best' and perhaps a lead of' blind faith'. To us, not doing anything wasnt an option. And euthanasia was out of the question - at least up till now.
We urge all dog owners/lovers staring TCC to arm themselves with knowledge and information by doing more research on the net and also talking to more people who have past experience with this terrible disease.
Tyra has been in the vet icu for he last week. Her blood PVC level is down and needed a blood transfusion last weekend to perk her up. She is eating less and has lost more weight. She is just starting her 3rd cycle of P53 this week with direction injection into the tumor itself and also the surrounding lymnodes. She has a surgery scheduled next week to move and reroute the artery blocked by the growing tumor. Hopefully that will help to relieve some pressure on the failing kidney. And she makes it out of the surgery ok.
We know that one day, sooner or later, the end will have to come for our beloved baby. But we have had the past 12 months of loving and irreplaceable time with her. Is it due to any one particular treatment method or their combination? We dont know and guess we will never know for sure.
We have fought the good fight against TCC with everything we can lay hands on with no regard to costs. Tyra hasn't given up from what we can see, and we are also not giving up on her just yet. Sometimes we do wonder if it's a more kind thing to do if we just let go and give up. But when we look into Tyra's bright eyes..... She seem to be saying to us, "not yet, not yet Daddy". Guess we will cross that bridge when we come to it. We also cannot bear to see her suffer.
So, keep yr chin up and continue to fight. Each day we have we our beloved pooches is such a blessing and joy. They are much more than just dogs - they are our children, our companion, our child, our friends.
Best regards and luck to everyone and all he lovely doggies out there :)
D & E
Useful infor and links:
Lingzhi (Ganoderma)
http://calvin-cancer.blogspot.com/
P53 gene therapy
http://www.biopharminternational.com/biopharm/article/articl