Hi Sheryl,
I don't have any info on liver failure that would be helpful. Last year before Kacee was diagnosed her liver function tests were pretty high. The vet thought it was Cushing Disease but those tests showed not. She was diagnosed in Aug with TCC (frequent urination, accidents and bloody urine as symptoms)after an ultrasound with needle biopsy. She has been on piroxicam for 3 1/2 months now, with no ill effects. She also gets a pepcid before eating with the piroxicam given after eating, which may help. The piroxicam can be very hard on the stomach. I have noticed though that her belly seems bloated and am wondering if it is due to a liver problem. I have not returned to the vet as there really is nothing that can be done other than what I am already doing. I am thinking that I once read something to the effect that the piroxicam can damage the liver but I believe it was after long time use - not sure. As for the graviola - Kacee started on it shortly after starting on the piroxicam ( she gets the graviola in the morning - the piroxicam in the evening). It appears to give her more energy. This is such a hard thing to deal with and since every dog is different sometimes its just a matter of trying different approaches. Shele, (Hi Shele !) Ryles Mom has Ryle on a more holistic cocktail (along with the piroxicam and graviola) and he is doing well on that. I don't think we can do anything "wrong" since the cancer is there - our objective is to find out how and what to make our babies as comfortable as possible in their fight. Good luck and please keep up posted.
Karen