Sophie’s cancer has dominated our lives for the last two months. It was early August that her unusual sneezing sent us on this roller coaster– surgery, diagnosis, radiation, worrying.
We don’t know how much cancer remains– but we know it’s there. Sophie, however, only knows that she’s feeling better than ever. She’s got energy to spare– today, she practically dragged me all the way to the pet store. I’m just starting to realize how long she must have been affected by the tumor before we treated it. We had just assumed that her decreased endurance was due to age.
Cancer will eventually get our dog but for right now, life is really good.
I started this blog because I didn’t find much that captured the experience of having a dog with cancer. The blog stats show me that, sadly, lots of other people are looking for that kind of information, too. I hope this little blog provides some useful tidbits and a bit of hope.
Good luck to you and your pet.
November 2, 2007 at 2:35 pm
It truly is amazing how cancer in a pet quickly dominates your life. Like you, my Logan first showed mild symptoms, in late July, early August. His symptoms were subtle, head tilt, slight wobble when walking and slow performance on the agility course. After much persistence, my vet finally referred us to a veterinary neurologist after Labor Day. Life has not been the same since. I have been introduced to a new vocabulary and watched our savings disappear. MRIs, surgery, CT scans, specialist consults, radiation treatments, more CT scams. And of course the daily 200 mile trips to the clinic and gas station.
Survival rates for dogs are not measured in years as they are for humans, but months. It seems anything beyond 12 months post diagnosis is considered close to a cure. But the official line is ‘treatable, not curable’.
Life is different. I love the time spent on the agility course even more. That’s where my team mate and I have the most fun and those are the moments that are most precious.
I will send continued prayers for a long remission leading to a full recovery.
November 19, 2007 at 12:35 pm
I’ve been through the cancer trauma with the last three dogs I’ve had and it’s devastating. It puts life in perspective and gives you an appreciation for each day that you have together. Luckily, one of my dogs beat his cancer with a combination of chemotherapy, high protein diet, essiac tea, and several immune boosting supplements. I will keep Sophie in my thoughts and prayers.
I just want to remind everyone that November is Pet Cancer Awareness month. Please be aware of the cancer symptoms in dogs (listed below). The sooner cancer is detected and treated, the better the prognosis. For more information visit http://www.caninecancer.com
The 10 Early Warning Signs of Cancer (From the American Veterinary Medical Association)
Abnormal swellings that persist or continue to grow
Sores that do not heal
Weight loss
Loss of appetite
Bleeding or discharge from any body opening
Offensive odor
Difficulty eating or swallowing
Hesitation to exercise or loss of stamina
Persistent lameness or stiffness
Difficulty breathing, urinating, or defecation
December 2, 2007 at 9:37 pm
Thanks for your comments. Logan is lucky that you are so observant and didn’t dismiss his symptoms as just getting older.
Sophie used to do agility years ago when we lived in another city. She loved it! We still practice some of the commands at our local dog park.
December 28, 2007 at 11:27 am
How is Sophie?
My sister’s dog just had the exact symptoms of Sophie – I’ve been researching for her while her dog Rolin is at the vets, that’s how I came across your site.
I truly hope Rolin doesn’t have cancer, but it’s a waiting game right now while he has tests and xrays.
Thank you for such an informative blog!
I hope Sophie is doing well and happy.
~B.
January 3, 2008 at 10:19 am
Hi, our dog Sadie (11 yr old collie-x) has aggessive nasal cancer and has just completed a course of radiotherapy (last session Christmas Eve). It was wonderful to have her happy and playing on Christmas morning when only a few months earlier she was sneezing blood and being told could also have renal failure.Thank you so much for your blog, it has been so useful. How is Sophie now? Sadie post radiotherapy has started losing facial hair, sore mouth and losing sight in her eye. Each day is now precious but as long as she wants to go for long walks and is enjoying life and breathing easier it has been worth the terrible roller-coaster ride. My one worry is her continued use of predisone. I read you took Sophie off it. I’m concerned about long term use for Sadie (she has other health problems – osteoarthritis, etc) Did you stop immediately or come off gradually and are you aware of any problem for Sophie not taking it. We wish you and Sophie a very happy and healthy New Year. G
January 23, 2008 at 12:46 pm
I’m thrilled to have come across this site. I too was searching the internet for answers about an abnormal amount of sneezing that has been occurring in my sweet Simba.
Miraculously, Simba was diagnosed in Oct. 05, yes I said 2005, with Cancer (Mast Cell Tumor). We made the decision to go forth with the surgery, which would test the stage and grade of the Cancer. However, in the course of sedating him, the vet discovered another tumor on on of his testicular. She called me at that point and said that she didn’t feel comfortable performing the surgery as it appeared that the cancer had already spread, as it was on two ends of the body.
So, we brought him home and I prepared to deal with the reality that he would be dying in the very near future. I made arrangements for vet to come to our home in the case that we needed to have him put down. I could not bare the thought of having him put down in a cold, vet office. The only time in his nearly 12 yrs. that he has been disobedient, is when he is taken to the vet or the groomer. He hates being apart from us soo much. I also made plans for his burial with a friend who owns a backhoe. I also couldn’t handle having him cremated (strange I know, but I have a thing about cremation).
Well, to sum this up a little. After a LOT of prayers for this baby of ours, he is still with us, over 2yrs since his diagnoses. We’re still amazed.
I am now starting to see some things that have led me to believe that either his cancer or his age are taking its toll on him.
-I’ve noticed that he has been leaking urine when he gets up off the floor.
-I just last week discovered another lump on the left side of his throat. About walnut size.
-He’s been making odd facial movements. Almost like someone is tickling the inside of his mouth. He raises his jowls in an odd twitching manner.
-Lately, past few days, he has been sneezing a lot. No discharge, just sneezing. But he hits his face snoot on the hardwood floors every time.
If any of you have any ideas about any of this I would deeply appreciate it. My heart goes out to you that have lost your babies. I am dreading the day I lose Simba. I have been trying to prepare myself for this for over 2yrs now, but just like losing anyone, you can never truly be prepared for that type of pain.
Thanks,
Connie
dzcz@comcast.net
February 13, 2008 at 1:30 pm
About 35 minutes after i got off the phone with my vet with Honey’s diagnosis I was googling Chondrosarcoma and I ran across your blog. I probably wouldn’t have started Honey’s without seeing Sphoie’s, and I can’t tell you how much it’s helped me.
I worked in a public library in FL for 2 years before I moved out here. And before that, I lived in Bend for about 25 minutes