Canine Cancer Treatments - Has anyone dealt with?

G

Gayle

Cathlete
Here’s the background info (sorry if it’s a little gross):

My almost 6 yr old Boxer, Gunther, started having a bloody, mucousy, discharge come out of his nose about 6-8 weeks ago. Not constant, it would come and go. We took him to our vet and after a trial course of antibiotics (in case it was related to an infection) and more recently a head and chest X-ray. The X-ray showed a large mass in the nasal cavity, which our vet believes could be cancer, so we’re getting more tests done and consults done. ;( ;(

Gunther is at the vet getting a rhinoscopy as I type, where they’ll take a sample for a biopsy and also use a laser to try and shrink the mass to decrease the bleeding.

So here’s my question: Does anyone have any experience that they could share, as a dog owner, in dealing with canine cancers and their treatment? I know there are a few options – Prednisone, chemo, radiation. DH and I would do anything we had to make him well, but we’re very, very concerned about quality of life issues. I know some of the more aggressive treatments can be very stressful to the dog.

On a positive note, the X-rays showed that his chest and lungs were just fine, as was the bone structure in his head (cancer usually attacks the bone). So, if the biopsy confirms that it’s cancer, we may have caught it early. He also shows no signs at all of being a sick dog, other than the intermittent nosebleeds.

Thanks for any information that anyone can give me. A few good vibes would go a long way as well.

;(
 
I have had a dog with cancer, but it was untreatable and we had to put him down before he was in too much pain. But it depends on what type of cancer the dog has. Mucousal cell cancer is a malignant form of melinoma and fairly untreatable. It develops in the mucosal membranes of the maxillary sinus. But it could be a cyst. I would wait for the pathology before making any decisions. Hope this info helps a little.

I am really sorry about your dog! HUGS-you can never have too many.
 
Gayle,

(((hugs)))I am so sorry to hear about Gunther. I have owned boxers on & off for 20 years. Our first was unofficially diagnosed with cancer when she was 11 years old. Because of her age, we didn't want to put her through any more pain than necessary. Six is still pretty young.

I haven't had to deal with chemo but decided that when she began to show signs that she was in pain or became aggressive we would have her put down. We had another good year with her before she started snapping at me.

If this were my 6-year old, I would see if the tumor was operable & but probably wouldn't do chemo--it makes them so sick. Just take the cancer out & see how long he lasts, sort of. As long as he isn't feeling pain or acting sick let him enjoy his dog-life.

I hate what you are having to deal with. I love my dogs like they are my kids. Good vibes coming for you.
 
(((HUGS))) I'm so sorry to hear about your dog. I agree with Suzanne - you need to wait for the biopsy results before you can really make an educated decision on treatment.

I had a cat who was diagnosed with lung cancer - very very rare in cats, and also almost completely untreatable. We made sure she was as happy and comfortable as possible, and when she became withdrawn and stopped eating, we knew it was time to say goodbye - there was nothing else we could possibly do for her. The lung cancer was diagnosed from biopsies of her toes - which had become infected-looking and bloody. The vet told us it could either be a form of skin cancer, which would have been fairly easy to treat, or lung cancer (which metastasizes to the toes), which is a very agressive cancer with poor prognosis. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the latter. If it had been skin cancer, we probably would have chosen a treatment plan involving removal of the affected areas and chemo/radiation, and she would probably still be with us today.

The point of my very long story (sorry about that!), is that your course of action will very much depend on the diagnosis. Many canine cancers are highly treatable with excellent success rates. Some are not. Cancer treatments for animals are generally not very uncomfortable for the animal, or so I'm told. If it can restore quality of life and eradicate the disease, it may be worth some temporary discomfort. Of course, that is completely your decision.

I'm so sorry you have to go through this. It's so hard when our beloved pets get sick. Good luck, whatever happens.
 
Im so sorry to hear about your doggie - I hope it turns out to be something simple. despite what people think about chemo, it does not effect animals like it effects people. They use much lower dosage to body weight values so they do not have the same side effects. I treated my one cat with chemo for 6 months and he was like a whole dif cat in a good way! He ran all over, he ate everything in sight and he was in minimal pain (if any) during the treatment. he had a supposedly rare type of cancer called vaccination site fibrosarcoma so he did not have a very good chance of survival. I only treated him with chemo and not radiation cuz the cost was doubled but his survival chances did not. He would have also had to go away for 6 months for the treatment which was def out. So to make a long story short, it totally depends on what type of cancer it is and animals take cancer treatments MUCH better then humans do. my cat lived an extra year and 3 months and I would do it again if I had the chance.
 
Hi sweetheart-

I send hugs as well. My little Lhasa baby was diagnosed with breast cancer at approximately age 7. She kept urinating on the bed or in her cage which is very unusual for a dog. I was rubbing her tummy one day and noticed a lump aroung her middle stomach. We took her to the vet and she had a mammary tumor that was pressing on her bladder.

Often times cancers that have not spread are incapsulated. This was the case with my dog. They removed the entire mass with some surrounding tissue. Five years later and my dog is cancer free and doing very well.

Many, many cancers can be treated with little to no side effects. Keep thinking postive!!!!!!

Lorie
 
{{{{Gayle}}}}
I don't have dogs, but I had a cat with breast cancer. It had spread by the time it was diagnosed, but I had the lumps removed. No treatment (she was already 12 years old, and had had a wonderful life, and I didn't think that several weeks or months of feeling really bad were worth the perhaps extra days or weeks of life. She lived 2 more years (whenever we went back for her 6 month check-ups, the vet was always surprised that she was still around and doing really well--until the last week).

I'm hoping that it's something more easily treatable.
 
((Gayle))

Is there some advice you can get from your breeders in this regard? Do you know if this is common to Boxers? If so, you might find some info on Boxer email lists.

I know Yahoogroups has a canine liver cancer list that gave me some excellent advice for a friend's rescue dobe. Maybe try a search there also.

The only other cancer I've been around is osteosarcoma which comes on fast and strong and usually most people opt to just let the dog live as pain free as long as possible.

Give your boxer a hug from me!

Colleen
 
Thanks everyone for your support and sharing your experiences, it really means a lot to me. My dogs are my kids.

We should have the biopsy results back by Tuesday so we'll know what we're dealing with and the best course of action for dealing with it.

You guys are the best.
 
Hi Colleen,

Thanks for your suggestions. I'll check around for some other groups.

I subscribe to a pretty active Boxer mailing list, I've been set to "no mail" on it for the past few months because it generates so much mail :), so I plan to reset my settings for that.

I don't know if this particular problem is common in Boxers, but I do know that the incident rate of cancer in general in Boxers is quite high.
 
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