Sophie is a mixed-breed dog living in Portland, Oregon.
We pretend that she was born on April 1, 1998. What she did for the first six months of her life is a mystery. We found each other at the Willamette Valley Humane Society.
About Me
I’m not a vet. My only experience in the medical field was being named Candystriper of the Year in 11th grade. This blog is only a journal of our experiences, beginning the week Sophie was diagnosed with nasal tumors.
Nothing in this blog should be considered advice or suggestions. Follow the delicious links for information from trusted sources. I’ll also be posting summaries of books on the topics, so try them, too. And, of course, talk to your vet.
Best wishes and good health for you and your pet.
October 14, 2007 at 2:52 pm
Hello Sophie-dog’s owner. Thank you for this website.
My husband and I just learned today that our mixed breed mutt, Jamie-dog(lab/shepard xxx?) has the same thing as Sophie.
She started with something the vet thought was kennel cough…mucous from one side of nose and reverse sneezing at night mostly. That was over 6 weeks ago. I wish we have done an endoscopic biopsy sooner but…now we have to think what next?
I don’t think we have a vet that will do the therapy you are getting for Sophie.
Did you take Sophie to a holistic vet? Have you explored herbal remedies at all to contain the tumor as much as possible to extend life? This is what we are thinking about?
I hope Sophie stops the chattering… Again I thank you for all the good information and your sharing…off to the library next.
Barb
From North Vancouver
October 31, 2007 at 9:19 pm
Hi! Sorry to hear about Jamie’s diagnosis. We haven’t done anything holistic but I know that a lot of pet owners do.
One book that I read with holistic and diet information was called “Help your dog fight cancer : an overview of home care options” by Laurie Kaplan.
Another good resource is the Canine Cancer Yahoo! Group: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/CanineCancer/
You have to ask to join and be warned– there are dozens of messages everyday. Lots of people on that list are treating their dogs’ cancer holistically.
Good luck to you!
May 30, 2008 at 10:37 am
Dear SophieDog, I’m glad to read that Sophie made it through radiation and is recovering! My dog, Shelton, who is 13 years old was diagnosed with a squamous cell carcinoma tumor in his nose. Unfortunately, it is inoperable but we are hoping that Prednisone will slow it down so we have a few more months with him. Thank you for creating this blog – it helps to know that others are going through this with their pets as well. The links were very helpful to understand a little more about dogs and tumors. I plan to request the books you mentioned at the library in an effort to learn more. All the best to you and Sophie – she is a pretty dog!
SheltieDog
July 2, 2008 at 9:59 am
Hi,
Our dog was recently diagnoses with nasal chondrosarcoma and we are deciding how to go about treating it. Did you find the debulking surgery to be very painful for Sophie?
Our vet is considering 10 rounds of high dose radiation followed by the removal of any tumor that is left.
It sounds like Sophie had a really great response to the radiation. Would you do it again?
Amanda
December 13, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Reading this blog about Sophie gives me great hope for my girl. Her name is Lilly, she’s a six year old Australian Cattle Dog or Blue Heeler. We just found out on 12/9 that she has chondrosarcoma. Type 4 tumor to be exact. We start treatment on the 12/21.
I think one of the reason’s for going through with treatment was reading about Sophie and her being her two years later. We can only hope to have that much time left with our girl.
Best wishes to you and Sophie!
Happy Holidays too!
Kim and Lilly
April 11, 2011 at 10:33 pm
Thank you so much for this blog. This morning a large mass was found in my 8 year old Golden’s right nasal cavity that creeps so far back its now blocking the left cavity. He’s been sneezing, wheezing, and snoring for months, but I was told it was allergies and I wish I had been more insistent. Still, I’m told we found it relatively early. I’m waiting for the biopsy to confirm its malignancy, but I was told by a rather inappropriately peppy radiologist to expect the worse. This blog is a port in the storm. Thank you.