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Some
things you should know...
VaccinationsPlease do
not allow
vaccinations to be given to your cat or dog with cancer. Vaccines are
described by vaccine manufacturers to be "Safe when administered to a
healthy pet." Clearly, a pet with cancer is not a healthy pet!
The Rabies Vaccine is required for all dogs. With approval from your State Health Department, you can side step the vaccine and receive a legal waiver of the requirement. This is done by submitting a form, filled in by the dog's veterinarian. If your dog with cancer is not aggressive and you are "as sure as you can be" that he will not bite anyone, submit a waiver form. You can us this one. Don't use a waiver form to avoid any vaccine for an aggressive dog. CLICK To print a Vaccine Waiver form. Surgery*
Tumors
If
your dog has a tumor that is accessible, your vet will attempt a
fine needle aspirate (FNA), to determine if the tumor is cancerous. If
this method fails, or if the tumor is not
accessible (in the brain or in an internal organ, unreachable by a
needle), the
vet will
recommend a surgical biopsy.
If you plan to have the tumor removed whether it's cancerous or not, then find out if the surgical biopsy and the surgery may be combined. If the presence of cancer will change the nature of the surgery significantly, you can opt to have the more extensive surgery done regardless, or you can agree to the surgical biopsy to be followed by . If there is any question about how to proceed, consult a board certified surgeon or oncologist for a second opinion before allowing surgery. Or ask your veterinarian to consult one. Make every effort to remove the tumor with wide, clean margins THE FIRST TIME to avoid the double trauma to your dog and the double expense to you of needing a second surgery. * Bone Cancer
When a pet has bone
cancer (osteosarcoma) in a leg, treatment options include amputation or
limb-sparing surgery. Surgery may or may not be followed by
chemotherapy with Carboplantin (alone or with another chemo agent,
usually doxorubicin).
By the time this cancer is discovered, it has almost always started to metastasize and almost always metastasizes to the lungs. When the spread begins, the micro-metastases (micro-mets) are not yet visible on x-ray or ultrasound, but they cannot be stopped. Surgery serves to prevent the fracture of the leg bone due to the growth of the tumor and in hopes metastasis has not started. Chemotherapy adds little if anything to the survival time. Pain MedicationChemotherapy* Extravasation
For some cancer
types, chemotherapy is the gold standard form of
treatment. For many cancers, it's the only effective treatment
available. If you have a dog
in chemotherapy, you must be aware of a possible consequence of
chemotherapy called extravasation. This is also called a "chemo leak"
and it occurs when certain IV chemotherapy agents leak outside of the
IV tube or catheter, and makes contact with your dog's tissue outside
of the vein.
Extravasation is not common but it's not rare either. It happens often enough so that every veterinarian should be sure that clients are informed about it and prepared that it is a possible consequence. I have helped people whose dogs experienced extravasation and not one of them was informed about it by their vet until after it occurred. * Multi-Drug
Resistance
Sometimes a dog is given Prednisone when diagnosed with cancer. If a dog is taking Prednisone for 1 week or more WITHOUT any chemo treatments given, this will cripple the ability for chemotherapy to work. It is called Multi-Drug Resistance. If you are planning to give your dog chemo - if he is taking Pred but has not started chemo, speak to your vet about MDR. * Chemotherapy Side Effects Dogs in chemotherapy may or may not have side effects. While some dogs sail through the protocol with no side effects at all, others do suffer from diahrrea or vomiting, or a plummeting white blood cell (WBC) count. These are the most common side effects from chemotherapy. Low WBC may be the most worrisome. Dogs with low WBC are typically lethargic, may be what I call "flat out," stop eating... the pink mucuous membranes in the gums may take longer-than-normal to regain their pink color after you press on them (due to a low RBC which also indicates bone marrow suppression). When the WBC (white blood cell) count is low, chemotherapy is postponed. How low? The cut-off varies according to the vet but 3,000 is a count often considered the cut-off count. Your vet may want to give your dog subcutaneous or IV fluids to speed up the recovery. Don't panic - the WBC generally recovers on its own within a week and chemo continues. Often chemotherapy is postponed for a week to give the marrow a chance to recover and start kicking out new white blood cells like it's supposed to. If your dog has diahrrea, be sure to add L-Glutamine to the daily supplements. This will protect your dog's small intestines from damage from the chemotherapy drugs. If the diahrrea is bloody, let your vet know and add Colostrum along with the L-Glutamine. If your dog is vomitting after chemo (more than once or twice), let your vet know and ask for anti-emetic (anti-nausea) medication such as Cerenia. Radiation TreatmentRadiation treatment
for pets is always (or almost always) palliative rather than curative.
It is grasping at straws when there is nothing that will help.
Radiation is often
recommended when surgery was not (or is not expected to be) successful.
The best way to get rid of cancer is to "cut it out."
 In April 2007 a
beautiful 10-year-old Siberian Husky named
Nakkai in Oswego, IL was diagnosed with a
nerve sheath tumor on her right front leg. Nakkai's owner, Sharon,
applied for help from the Magic Bullet Fund and Nakkai was accepted.
Amputation was discussed but Sharon chose surgery to remove the tumor
locally, followed by radiation therapy. This 10-year old Siberian Husky sailed through surgery. The surgeon was able to remove all visible traces of the tumor and the biopsy report showed clean margins. Still, there was a possibility that microscopic disease remained in Nakkai's leg. Sharon was against the rigorous radiation protocol recommended by the oncologist (radiation treatment every day Monday through Friday with Nakkai remaining in hospital for the week and returning home only for weekends).  I intervened at
Sharon's request. The vet rejected the possibility
of giving Nakkai a gentler protocol. After several discussions, she
agreed to my request for a 3-day a week protocol with treatments
Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This helped to minimize burns on the
treated area (shown here) and gave Nakkai more time with her
family while undergoing treatment.Today Nakkai is nearly 13 years old and still bringing great joy to Sharon and her family. In Sharon's words, "If it wasn"t for the Magic Bullet Fund, she wouldn't be here now! She just had her recent check ups and blood tests and is cancer free." Nakkai is a cancer survivor! She wears her Pink Diva bracelet to protect the radiation burn. HarnessesGET A
HARNESS FOR YOUR DOG - Harnesses
Protect Lymph Nodes
Use a harness instead of a collar. Apart from medical conditions that can result from use of a collar, it's downright rude! Just imagine being pulled around by your neck your entire life. As for the medical conditions, there are two: tracheal collapse and intraocular pressure (according to an article in May/June 2006 Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association). A third condition called laryngeal paralysis is thought to be congenital and not caused by pressure on the neck, but I do believe that it can be caused by and I know for sure that it can be exacerbated by a collar. Most harnesses press on the prescapular nodes. Find one that does not go across your dog's neck close to his throat. |
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REMEMBER...
Not
Today and Not Without a Fight!
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