On 4/11/2008
EGsMOM wrote:
Hi all. We have a 10 yr old female Sheltie, EG, who was diagnosed with Bladder Cancer 3 wks ago. We had been treating for urinary problems since October (6 months!) before the final diagnosis.
She is on Piroxacam, 1 ml per day (she is only 12 lbs) which she seems to be tolerating. She does seem to be emptying her bladder better than she was 3 wks ago. That is the only med she is currently on. We are considering taking her to a holistic vet who is local to consult and see if there is any recommendations (Graviola?) and possible changes in diet.
We have made severe changes in her diet already (cut out starches, while flour, pork, beef). She is currently on Canidae food (turkey, fish, chicken) with a little yogurt. Her treats consist of Broccoli, pea pods, green pepper.
She has just in the last few days started peeing in her sleep - will be putting down pee pads to help that.
Other than above she is acting fine. Our vet did not want to see her back for 1 month after going on the Pirox. - don't know if that is typical or not.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Connie
Our 10 yr. old Sheltie, Sasha, was diagnosed with TCC Bladder cancer in Sept. 2007. She was misdiagnosed for 3 months prior by our vet as having bladder infections, which she did not have. We took her to Purdue, which has done the most detailed research on canine TCC to date, where she was diagnosed with bladder cancer and mets to the lung, and put on Piroxicam. They told us that we needn't worry about the lung tumor, as she would succumb to the TCC long before the lung tumor would become symptomatic. In Nov. 2007, her ultrasound showed a marked reduction in her bladder tumor, so we continued the Piroxicam. In Jan. 2008, her next ultrasound showed that the bladder tumor had begun to grow again and that the lung spot had increased slightly also. At that time, Purdue urged us to consider chemotherapy. They told us that Sasha would not live regardless of what we did, but that choosing chemo would maybe offer a bit more time and that we could feel good that we helped advance science and contributed to helping future TCC patients. We were devastated, to say the least. There was no way we would consider putting our beautiful girl through even a day of pain or suffering, and chemo was not an option in our minds. She was straining to urinate at this point, sometimes unable to control when she was going and had blood in her urine every time she went. Purdue told us that we needed to watch for when she would obstruct and could no longer urinate, as this would indicate "the end". I could not accept this and began researching. I changed her diet and began a grain-free diet. She is on Orijen and almost immediately her straining to both urinate and bm became easier for her. I then found The Budwig Protocol. After learning about it, I decided right then and there that this was the only thing worth doing. I started Sasha on Budwig on Feb. 4, 2008, stopped the Piroxicam and never looked back. Just as I read, she did get worse before getting better. She strained more to urinate for about 1 week. And then the bleeding stopped. And then the urine flow began to increase. You would not know anything was wrong with this beautiful Sheltie! She has been on Budwig for almost 3 months and she pees like a racehorse!! No blood, no infections and no straining to urinate (unheard of with TCC). She is almost past the time they gave her at Purdue with no chemo. I would encourage anyone dealing with cancer to adopt the Budwig Protocol. If you would like to email me privately for more details, I'm happy to share more details of our experience and what I know. I wish you all the best with EG, Connie......don't give up! Lori