CancerCompass message board discussion started by cathiw01 on 12/18/2007 http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,18960,0.htm Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ after just recieving the news our silky terrier has a tumor in her bladder with the diagnosis of cancer.  I am so devastated.  surgery here is really not an option, she has other minor health problems.  she has been treated continually for UTI with baytril, which actually seemed to have eased the symptoms.so am thinking of keeping her on antibiotics just to see if it will continue to ease alittle.  they are putting her on Piroxicam.  I have been trying to find out about this drug and it seems to be the one most widely used.  dosage seems to be the biggest issue and tiffi is under 8 pounds so I am concerned about over medicating.  if anyone has any suggestions about anything to help us along I would so greatly appriciate it!  My heart is breaking and this is going to be so hard to do.  I have faith in my vet and faith in God to let us know when to let go.  thank you all for your posts, it makes it easier to read what others are doiong and how it has worked for you.     tiffi's mom  cathiw01 Tue, 18 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT Tiffi is a tiny thing isn't she?  See if you can get the peroxicam in a "formulated" form - a liquid that can be given with a dropper in small doses.  Also make sure she gets something like pepcid as well, since the peroxicam is hard on their little tummies.My Kacee was diagnosed in August 2005 !!  She is still hanging in there and will be 16 years old in April!!  So don't give up.  I saw that you posted on the board with over 600 messages.  Read thru it.  I know It will take awhile, but there is so much information shared that you are sure to find answers that you are needing now.Enjoy every minute of every day with your Tiffi.  She does not know she is sick but she will pick up on your mood.  Good luckKaren Kacees Mom Tue, 18 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT  On 12/18/2007 Kacees Mom wrote:Tiffi is a tiny thing isn't she?  See if you can get the peroxicam in a "formulated" form - a liquid that can be given with a dropper in small doses.  Also make sure she gets something like pepcid as well, since the peroxicam is hard on their little tummies.My Kacee was diagnosed in August 2005 !!  She is still hanging in there and will be 16 years old in April!!  So don't give up.  I saw that you posted on the board with over 600 messages.  Read thru it.  I know It will take awhile, but there is so much information shared that you are sure to find answers that you are needing now.Enjoy every minute of every day with your Tiffi.  She does not know she is sick but she will pick up on your mood.  Good luckKaren karen, thank you so much for your reply....just hearing about your Kacee and how long she has been with you is  real encouragment.  this shows me that there is hope no matter what the vet says.  I just hope it hasnt progressed to fa,r but she had a ultrasound in May and there was nothing there that they could see...so it has developed and grown this much since then.  keeping you and Kacee in my prayers as I am praying for my liitle Tiffi too.  cathi cathiw01 Tue, 18 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT Cathi--I, too, can give you encouragement.  My Annie was diagnosed in March of 2005. She is still doing well. I used to panic about her constantly and spent much too much time worrying.  It took a bit for me to realize that I needed to enjoy every second I have with her--and that's what I do now.The only thing any of us know is that we will not have our beloved pets with us as long as we would like (and that's for the ones without TCC as well). SO we need to take advantage of whatever time we have with them.  We did switch Annie's diet to Innova, but that had more to do with the petfood recall then anything else.  She take Piroxicam daily--5mg; she weighs about 37 pounds.  It has never bothered her stomach so we our lucky.We have a doggie door so Annie lets herself out whenever she needs to go. She still has had some accidents in the house when left home alone and I don't know why.  I don't know if she is more nervous or what--it doesn't happen all the time and even if it did; it's a small price to pay.So don't despair; things may not be quite as bleak as they seem. This is our third Christmas since Annie's diagnosis and it will be precious to me.Marty  Gentleannie Wed, 19 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT every time I hear of someones pet that has been diagnosed and is still going good a year or two later gives me new hope....that maybe it isnt an instant death sentence which is what I assumed.  Just having that hope of a longer time means so much.  thank you for letting me know about your pet....keeping them all in my prayers!   Cathi    cathiw01 Wed, 19 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT Hello.  This is my first post here.  Just wanted to say I know how you feel.  My almost 12 year old silkie was just diagnosed today with TCC.  I am devistated.  I am leaning toward Peroxicam treatment.  I just want to keep her comfie!!  fairydiva Wed, 19 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT I am sorry about your pet.  this is the hardest thing....I am also leaning toward the peroxicam in hopes of relieving symptoms.  we just found out about our silky 3 days ago so I am still trying to find a way to cope and hope that we can keep her with us longer, but not at the cost of her being in pain.  keep in touch and let me know how the meds work,    will keep you both in my thoughts! cathiw01 Wed, 19 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT Thanks.  I will also be keeping you and yours in my thoughts.  It's tough and I just look at her and wonder how long we have :(  She's such a sweet girl.  fairydiva Wed, 19 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT Hello again,I urge you both to give the Piroxicam a try.  Annie goes to an oncologist and he feels very strongly about it.  It is not a pain reliever, but CAN POSSIBLY help shrink the tumor.  In Annie's case, we feel it has kept the tumor from growing.Her liver functions are monitored every 6-12 months and so far so good.  She has not any stomach upsets, but there is also a medicine that can be prescribed should it not agree with your pet.Good luck to you both.Marty    Gentleannie Thu, 20 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT thanks...that is the way I think we are going to go.  we cannot start it for a couple of weeks because we have to wean her off prednizone that she has been on for breathing problems,  she cant have them both at the same time so we have to see what happens without the prednizone.  she has had asthma for a couple of years now so I am kind of in a catch 22 with the meds.  if she cant breath well enough without the prednizone we wont be able to start  any other meds.  its all just a wait and see till then!   thanks for all the input and support!   cathi cathiw01 Thu, 20 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT Marti, thanks so much for the input!!  We are most likely going that route.  Talked some more with the vet today.  She is calling Tulane and a couple of other places. Muffie's situation is not usual.  She has no "tumor" in her bladder.  The way we found the tcc was that she had been acting differently.  Going out more frequently which is apparently a classic symptom of tcc.  She has had several urinalysis /culture this year and one did show enterococcus bacteria growing.  Well anyway the vet this last time palpated a large mass in her upper belly.  But also noticed the bladder felt big.  Tests were run and ultimately she had surgery.   Turns out she had multiple small leiomyomas (benign tumors) in her small bowel.  Those were removed and the bowel was resected.  While she was in there the vet looke at the bladder and said the whole mucosa looked inflammed and biopsied two sites.  That's how we found it.  So it seems as though her tcc is widespread in the bladder.  I still am planning to do the perioxicam.  Like Cathi have to wait for a few weeks (while muffie heals).  I hope I haven't just repeated myself.   This board is so helpful.   Cathi I hope your baby is doing ok!! fairydiva Fri, 21 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT