Talk Cancer

Question:

My dog just finished 10 days of chemotherapy which is lysodren. She was also on Prednisone daily which she continues to be on. 10 days of lysodren  cost about $37.00. She was kind of sick but my collie has cushings disease and without the chemo whe doesn’t have a chance. Good luck. RANDI

Response:

Diana, I’d take into consideration the age of the dog and the intensity of the illness.  Will it extend the dog’s life by a week?  Save it?  Make it miserable for the duration? I know you asked for advice from those who have done it, and I haven’t, so apologize.  My mother’s dog, who we brought home when I was 14, is now 12.  About 3 months ago we discovered a tumor in her neck.  The vet recommended removal, and was unsure as to whether it was cancerous.   After debating, my mother decided to wait a few weeks and decide whether the tumor had grown.  In the meantime, I talked with an established breeder here who had lost one of their prides & joy, a still-famous winner, to cancer.  He strongly recommended against it in an older dog, as did other breeders who had done it once, and never again.  For all of them, cost was not the issue.  We haven’t taken out the tumor, for several reasons–1)  cutting into cancerous tissue can actually spread the cancer faster  2)  it’s in her neck, where many nerves are–we didn’t want her to wake up paralyzed, when prior to surgery she was fine and 3)   She’s already outlived her life expectancy–for her to live another 3 months regardless is amazing. This is just my experience, and keep in mind is tempered by my own attitude towards medicine which is somewhat laissez-faire.  Having spent many years of my own life in & out of the doctor, hospital, tests, etc. for cancer detection & treatment, I made the decision years ago that it was harder on me to live that way than to die the other.  I’m happy, healthy, and alive, but I do know that I’ve made several decisions about my pets that reflects this value (i.e. deciding against hip surgery for Tanu’s dysplastic hip).                                      n, Sandi Shrager                      _/ | _ School of Social Work             /’  `’/ University of Washington        <~    .’                               _/      |                             _/      `.`.                        ____/ ‘   __ | |______

Response:

My regular vet and the specialists I’ve been seeing are on the verge of recommending chemotherapy for my dog — if I’m willing to put my dog through it and pay its high costs.  (Cost is not a real option for me — my dog is my FAMILY!) Has anybody put their dog through chemotherapy?  I’d like to get a feel for its cost, how it affected the dog, if it worked, and if they would do it again — all things considered. thanks   –Diana       * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *              Everybody is entitled to their opinion.                          Everybody is entitled to mine too!             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Public Broadcasting Service 1320 Braddock Place * Alexandria, VA 22314

Response:

My regular vet and the specialists I’ve been seeing are on the verge of recommending chemotherapy for my dog — if I’m willing to put my dog through it and pay its high costs.  (Cost is not a real option for me — my dog is my FAMILY!) Has anybody put their dog through chemotherapy?  I’d like to get a feel for its cost, how it affected the dog, if it worked, and if they would do it again — all things considered.

We put our lab/huskie mix through chemo and it wasn’t bad at all. Of course, all chemotherapy treatments are probably not the same. Our dog had (or has) the tendency to develop mast cell tumors. She’s already undergone surgery on two previous occasions to remove tumors.  The treatment for this involved a human chemotherapeutic drug called Leukaran (sp?) and the corticosteroid prednisone.  Both are pills so they were easy to administer.  The combined effect of the two (mostly from the prednisone, I think) was to make the dog extra hungry and thirsty.  She finished her bowl of food every day, which was unusual for her, and drank a lot. She had a few pee accidents in the house.  She gained about 8 pounds.  Her energy level probably fell off a little.  But it wasn’t too bad.  The two tumors she had when the treatment started went away. The Leukaran was fairly expensive ($65/100 pills or thereabouts), but the prednisone was cheap.  She was only on Leukaran for about 6 weeks, but we’re still tapering down the prednisone dose now, six months later.   We’d certainly do it again, because we’re talking about a dog that’s less than 4 years old and should have many years ahead of her. — Steve Wall

Response:

: My regular vet and the specialists I’ve been seeing are on the : verge of recommending chemotherapy for my dog — if I’m willing : to put my dog through it and pay its high costs.  (Cost is not : a real option for me — my dog is my FAMILY!) : : Has anybody put their dog through chemotherapy?  I’d like : to get a feel for its cost, how it affected the dog, if it : worked, and if they would do it again — all things considered. : I have. Princess had lymphosarcoma and she was in chemo off and on for six months, at first monthly then weekly ( at $100 per treatment). She was 11 at the time, a beagle mix. She tolerated it very well. She didn’t get sick, or loose much hair. The cancer came back 6 weeks after we finished the first round of chemo, so we started again, although I knew her chances were not real good. I stopped treatment when she gave indications that she was not tolerating it as well anymore, and she was put down shortly there after, because she seemd to be in pain and had difficulty breathing. Would I do again? For a dog who’s been with me since puppyhood, stayed around longer than my husband? A dog I owed my life too? Of course I would! Even it did mean risking the loss of my house again, because the expenses was more than I could afford. I felt that that every GOOD week I could buy her was worth the money, so I bought her few. Now, should you do it? That’s something you have to decide. How old is the dog? What are his chances of recovering? How well can he tolerate it? And how well can your check book tolerate it? $100 per trreatment is cheap. I later found out my vet was chargung me cost only, so be preapred to pay a lot more. Let us know what you decide. Ute OR

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