Sad Pet News
Haven't posted in a couple of weeks. It's been busy and I've got plenty of photos for the blog, but I didn't really feel like blogging.
We had some friends over on Sunday afternoon a couple of weeks ago. One of them noticed a funky dark wart-looking thing on Louie's gum. We'd noticed his bottom teeth didn't look quite right, but maybe it was just that they were dirty. We were surprised we hadn't noticed the dark warty thing. Over the next two days, it increased in size at an alarming rate and his teeth were shifting in position daily. By Tuesday we called and made an appointment at the vet, and he squeezed us in on Wednesday. The results were not good - even if the tumor was benign, it was agressive and it was in the bone. That's why his teeth were being pushed out of alignment. The vet took a biopsy and sent it off, but said the outlook was grim.
We cried a lot.
The results came back and Louie has canine oral melanoma. It metastasizes readily, though the lab said this particular type doesn't spread as rapidly as most. We thought we'd have to put him down within a couple of days, because the tumor was growing so fast we didn't think he'd be able to eat much longer.
We cried some more.
The vet told us about an experimental treatment whereby they inject a dog with a virus constructed to match the DNA of the tumor. The dog's immune system fights off the tumorous cells just like it would fight off a cold. But you have to get rid of the tumor first for the treatment to be effective.
My husband talked to an outfit in Ohio that does this stuff all the time. They said that to get rid of the tumor, Louie's lower jaw would have to undergo "radical surgery", removing a significant portion of the bone and perhaps the entire lower jaw. Or we could opt for radiation instead, which would kill the tumor but also all the healthy tissue and his teeth on the bottom front would fall out.
The injections would give him a median life expectancy of less than a year. During that year he'd have to make trips to Ohio from time to time for the injections. And he would still eventually die from the cancer. It likes to spread to the lungs and the lymph nodes.
So we talked it over and cried some more. We decided not to treat the tumor. The surgery wasn't an option, because Louie's quality of life would be so poor afterwards. The radiation was a possibility, but we decided that prolonging his life by a few months and then filling those months with anxiety-ridden road trips, treatments, and overnight stays at the animal hospital were just not worth it. Louie wouldn't understand why he was being subjected to the pain and the scary stuff, and in the end he'd not live much longer anyway.
The vet said just enjoy him, and spoil him, and when it's time, we'll know. So that's what we're doing.
The tumor is still growing but Louie is still eating well. He likes his dry kibble with some Campbell's cream of chicken soup poured on top, please. Or perhaps a generous sprinkling of parmesan. Or rabbit broth.
Louie and Rolf playing
This is a game where Louie feigns indifference and Rolf incites him. It's one of their favorites. Louie has some very playful moments, but he's sleeping more than usual. A lot of that may be due to arthritis rather than the cancer. He gets half an aspirin each morning and each evening, stuck into half a hotdog. He LOVES aspirin time. He tap dances all around the kitchen in anticipation of the delightful treat.
So, that's had me down, as you can imagine. There are dogs, and there are great dogs, and there are dogs that are as much a part of the family as a person. Louie is a family member. So this is a tough time.
In other news, Postal the supremely intelligent got herself stuck high in a tree on a steep hillside. We couldn't get to her with a ladder or a tractor. So she stayed up there, and we heard her meowing in the mornings and evenings as we went about our chores, feeding the rabbits and the chickens.
I'd heard that a cat will eventually get itself out of a tree if left to its own devices. It may take three days, but the cat WILL come down.
We heard Postal meowing from that tree for six days, and then no more meows. Six days is a long time to go without water. We feared Darwin had won this round. And then she showed up at mealtime, ravenous. If that cat makes it through the winter it will be a miracle. But for now, she's holding her own.
Labels: pets
posted by Leslie @ 11:25 AM
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It's always hard letting go, but you guys are doing the right thing. I know you will spoil the crap out of him and make sure he knows he is loved. :) Give him a hug for Brian and I!
I stumbled across your blog a couple weeks back. My 5yo daughter was diagnosed with cancer about 18 months ago. After doing much research it became clear that poor diet is what has created all of the rampant illness that we see in western culture today.
Have you ever considered a raw diet for your dogs? We feed our dog raw meat and organs.
Canine oral melanoma (COM) results from a vaguely understood failure of the animal's immune system. At least, that's what several articles on the topic say. This failure is apparently triggered by the animals genetic makeup in conjunction with the animal's immediate environment. It is neither understood nor predictable in any useful way at all. No matter what you do, you are just as likely to increase an animal's risk as you are likely to decrease that risk.
Maybe raw meat will help, but it seems to me that it is just as likely to trigger cancer in any given animal as it is likely to suppress that cancer in another, depending on their genetic predispostion.
That said, it certainly feels 'right' to cast a wary eye toward the giant bag of factory kibble.
Sadly (and you may not want to hear this), "modern medicine" has progressed very little beyond the use of leeches and incantations, at least with regard to the treatment of cancer. Doctors have become very good at following ritualistic procedures that they don't quite understand and in which they themselves place little faith. Several times over the past weeks I have pictured cave savages in lab coats, pushing carts of machines with lively LED readouts and built-in speakers that go "ping", Monty Python style.
Oncological medicine, whether it is chemical or radiological, is similar to cutting off an arm to cure a hangnail....a hangnail that will kill you if you ignore it.
The VMDs I discussed this with agree that the most effective treatment for Louie's cancer is surgery; remove all the corrupted tissue and hope that it was really all removed. This would involve the removal of up to half of his lower jaw.
Surgery comes first and produces the best results. Then there are the experimental vaccines like the serum from Merial, or the serum from the University of Wisconsin.
These vaccines are intended for use on animals who have already completed the required surgical procedures to remove the cancerous tissue.
The Merial vaccine treatment consists of 4 injections, given two weeks apart, with followup injections every six months thereafter. Median survival (assuming that surgery was 100% successful) is 389 days (according to Merial - see below). Each treatment runs around $450. Merial has teamed-up with another vendor to produce a transdermal "patch" delivery system to spare the animals unnecessary stress from travel.
The onc. technician I spoke with felt that the 389-day median survival number is ..... optimistic. This person was more impressed by the results of testing with an experimental vaccine from the University of Wisconsin. Treatment is done in a similar manner and the survival expectancy is better aligned with the claims by Merial. There is no charge for this vaccine, although you must be a contributing supporter of the University's VM department to participate in the experiment ($1800).
In short, if the cancer is not in the bone, it may be possible to remove all of the tumor and suppress a recurrence with the Wisconsin vaccine. If there was no possible reduction in his quality of life, this is what I would do for Louie.
Most people in this predicament choose to keep their pet alive until it either dies from organ failure or until it is so riddled with agony that, confused and terrified, it attacks someone and has to be destroyed.
That, sadly, is the most common end for animals (all of them - including humans) with either this affliction or with its sarcoma cousins.
I'm sure they mean well...
Rachael, great to see you posting here, thanks for dropping by! Your profile isn't visible to the world (i.e. ME) so if you have a blog I can't see it - waaah!
Teambettendorf, I absolutely cannot imagine the pain, grief, and anxiety you are dealing with. My heart goes out to you. We have briefly considered a raw diet but Louie isn't at all interested in raw organs and when we give him raw meat he throws it up. Rolf is a much better candidate for a raw diet and we may revisit that idea with him. He could definitely do with less carbs in his diet if nothing else.
Anon, thank you so much for talking to the vets and specialists when I couldn't maintain a steady voice. You are my rock, and I am thankful for you every day.
Leslie - I am really sorry to hear the news. Its heart breaking, I know.
Oh, that is so sad. Now I'm all teary at work.
I know it is a hard decision, but I believe you really are doing the right thing. My grandmother recently died of multiple myeloma and watching her go through the pain of treatment was very difficult. Treatment couldn't have stopped the cancer, it would only slow it down. My family and I all agree that if we are in a similar situation, we will opt to not go through the treatment. Sometimes it's worse than the disease.
WF, thank you.
Annette, I'm sorry you had to see your grandmother suffer so. When we coupled the "it can't be cured, only slowed" with the suffering of the treatments AND Louie's inability to comprehend why all that stuff was being done to him, well, our decision was simple to make. Not easy, but simple.
So sorry, Leslie!
oh Leslie, I am sorry for your sad news. Sending good thoughts in your direction...and give Louie a pat for me, he certainly sounds like one of the great ones.
Sorry to hear your news about Louie. I described your situation and decision to my wife, a vet of almost thirty years, and she agreed that you've made the best and most humane decision. We wish you well.
The thought of losing a 'pet'(family member really) is very difficult,I am sorry you are going through this.
I think y'alls decision is the right one,your dog will be with you at home rather than being carted back and forth.
As to the raw diet,we started this probably a year ago and the difference is amazing,our two 'children' are much more lively,seem in better health(one had surgery on both rear knees and would periodically have a limp) and as an added bonus,poop a lot less...LOL
I like to drop in and read your blog,it is refreshing to actually SEE someone living th elife we hope to in the near future...
oz in SC
Leslie, what is the update? We haven't heard from you in a while. Hope it isn't bad.
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