Dakota stopped eating... :*(

[MikeWalking]

Well, we went back to the vet today so they could take more samples of her lymph nodes. The Vet reiterated that her symptoms are pointing towards lymphoma. Does anyone have any experience dealing with chemo treatments for dogs? I was upset and I forgot to even ask what the cost for something like that would be. .. I'm just trying to go into this prepared

Saw a lot of Cancer in Dogs and Cats working for 3 different Vets as an Asst.  Sadly Chemo was never an option for most all, too old, too far gone etc...

I did see one woman though, spend  almost 30K for it.  An extreme case most likely.  It wont be much cheaper than it will for a person, same drugs, smaller doses.  It is a brutal thing to go through.

[DoubleJ]

Every time I see this thread on the right hand side of the forum, I HAVE to click it, but I hold my breath every time I do.  It's a weird feeling I haven't had from many threads

[MikeWalking]

Every time I see this thread on the right hand side of the forum, I HAVE to click it, but I hold my breath every time I do.  It's a weird feeling I haven't had from many threads

Me too.  I think most all of us have lost pets, some several.  My last furry pal got killed on my birthday years ago.  My heart goes out.

[wildweeds]

Queen,

  I feel for you something fierce,this is an awful thing to have to deal with,I've got personal experiance,know others that have as well,What I'm going to type here will be construed by many as mean,however it is not when you consider the animal first.I've known some folks(my parents) who have shelled out 4000 dollars to have a leg amputated at the hip socket for a cancerous tumor that completely enveloped a nerve,they got 6 more months with the dog and the dog was miserable for 3 of them trying to adjust to 3 wheels and then the cancer returned with a vengenance(which the vet told them would happen and guaranteed nothing),I Know another guy who spent a bunch(he did not say how much) on a dog with a tumor in it's mouth,it made it 4 months,A co worker spent a bunch on his 7 year old FT Lab last year and in the end put the dog down because he felt sorry for it's suffering.I had the dog with the massive tumor on her heart and put her down right then and there.For whatever reason the success rate with cancer and dogs even though they are practiced on is not very dang good and the dog is the one that suffers.Should the diagnosis become a reality with Dakota I would implore you to set selfishness aside and spend some quality time with her and have her put to sleep,spending an awful lot of money to gain time for yourself and misery for the dog is a losing proposition that nets regret as time passes(Guilty as charged myself with some other dogs and I'll never do it again). My parents used the "He's still wagging his tail " theory,I tried to tell them from personal experiance that they will wiggle that thing to the end no matter how bad they feel,it's not a good indicator of the right time.

  As a side note, your into it so far now....................I would demand and X ray to see if there was any other thing it could possibly be,telescoped intestines or a visible mass on something pertinant,75 dollar xray.I got me a dammed good WSU grad vet and he starts cheap,simple and positive and goes from there to spendy,tricky and brace yourself for the worst.

           What it boils down to is a personal decision on your part,one of the most difficult calls you'll have to make in life ,there is no real right or wrong awnser to it as it's your  own personal decision to make.

                                                                     

Well, we went back to the vet today so they could take more samples of her lymph nodes. The Vet reiterated that her symptoms are pointing towards lymphoma. Does anyone have any experience dealing with chemo treatments for dogs? I was upset and I forgot to even ask what the cost for something like that would be. .. I'm just trying to go into this prepared

[Cap.Silver]

Camo Queen ,first and foremost I think about your 4 legged friend Dakota and you every time I see picture of my dog when he was alive . Whatever you decide to do is your decision ,I just hope that neither of you two will suffer because of  it . I know it's hard because she is your baby .... just don't let vets tell you there is hope when there isn't and the other way around .We had to say goodbye to our baby once and I don't want to go through it again -therefore we have no more dogs .
I hope that next time we all ,who await good outcome from your post could read some good news . 

[quadrafire]

Well, we went back to the vet today so they could take more samples of her lymph nodes. The Vet reiterated that her symptoms are pointing towards lymphoma. Does anyone have any experience dealing with chemo treatments for dogs? I was upset and I forgot to even ask what the cost for something like that would be. .. I'm just trying to go into this prepared

Lymphoma is more common in dogs than you may think. You can easily get to 2K in chemo tx. Their quality of life can be VERY good during treatment. It is rarely a cure, but may gain another year of life. Good luck with your decision.

[Camo Queen]

Well, again the cytology testing came back as inconclusive. What the vet did tell me though was not good news. She said they cannot say 100% that it is cancer, but with her symptoms and family history (her brother died of cancer at about 7 months old) it is very unlikely that it is anything else. We can do an ultrasound and 1 other blood test to try and confirm.. She told me the high calcium is probably what's really making her not feel great right now, and best thing to do at this point is to feed her as much as we can to lower the calcium level, and provide the best quality of life for what is left. With no idea on how far along it may be, there's no telling how much time there will be. She said it COULD be hyperparathyroidism but it is unlikely and rare. From what I've read, the hyperparathyroidism is treatable by removing the tumor that developes on the parathyroid gland. I think we are going to take her in on Monday to either confirm or exclude the hyperparathyroidism. I HAVE to know that it isn't something treatable, otherwise I will end up wondering if there was more we could have done.

Today she has been in pretty good spirits. We got her to play with a ball which is more than she's done all week, and she's actually hanging out in our living room with us instead of holing herself up in the closet. I think feeding her has definitely helped her feel a little better. She also ate a tiny bit on her own today.

I guess at this point it is a waiting game. I will keep feeding her until she gets to the point where I feel she is in pain. Right now with her still being playful and not knowing 100% without a doubt that it's cancer... I just can't bear the thought of putting her down.

6 years ago when we got our dogs I told my husband that losing them someday was just a fact of life, and that because I grew up on a farm it probably wouldn't be too painful for me since I was used to animals coming and going. Boy was I wrong... This is one of the hardest things I've ever been through in my life... Thanks for all the support and for wishing her well. I'm just gonna keep praying that it's something else and that she improves. It's all I can really do at this point..

[Smokepole]

I guess at this point it is a waiting game. I will keep feeding her until she gets to the point where I feel she is in pain. Right now with her still being playful and not knowing 100% without a doubt that it's cancer... I just can't bear the thought of putting her down.

You're doing the right thing, giving the dog some time, making sure she gets some food, and comfort.  Dogs can be resilient.  My experience with vets and inconclusive tests has been similar to yours.  Treatments for serious illnesses are so expensive, it just doesn't make any sense.  But what does make sense is your kindness and care.  Good luck, and keep doing the right thing.   

[SpringerFan]

We are pulling for you and your pup. I hope it turns out well.

[Leanne]

This thread makes me thankful that Bonnie got hit by a car and had her leg amputated.  At least I knew what was happening and what needed to be done and I knew she would come home. 

I am so sorry about your dog getting sick and I am pulling for you on this one.  There is NOTHING worse than seeing your best friend in pain and feeling miserable, I hope you can look forward to many years to come.  I have never had a dog pass because of cancer, I am praying for your pup and your family.

 

[ICEMAN]

Still thinking about you and your dog. Prayers from Lacey.

[Camo Queen]

Thanks Iceman. I was just getting ready to post an update. Quite frankly I'm pretty pissed off at my vet right now. When I talked to her last weekend she told me that the tests were inconclusive but that the symptoms point towards cancer. I asked if there was anything else it could be, and she said it could be hyperparathyroidism but that it was rare and unlikely. She also mentioned that they could do another test to confirm. So just to confirm that i wasnt misunderstanding her i said "so what you are telling me is that your confident my dog has cancer, you just dont know what kind or where?" she said yes. I asked her if there was anything we could give her to make her feel better and she said the best thing to do was to keep her comfortable and keep force feeding her as often as we could to bring her calcium levels down.
I spent the following days bawling my friggin eyes out thinking my dog is for sure dying of cancer. The vet called me on Monday and left a message saying she just wanted to check in and wanted to know if we were going to bring Dakota in for the additional test. I just wasn't in a place to talk about it without sobbing, so I didnt call her back for a couple days. Well, she called again on Friday so I answered and the story has completely changed. She asked me again if we were going to bring her in for the extra testing so we can figure out what is wrong with her and treat her. I said well honesty we weren't going to spend a couple hundred dollars on more tests to find out it isnt the "rare" hyperpara...whatever...   And to be told that yes in fact she does have cancer. So now her story changes to "well there's lots of things that could be causing her elevated calcium levels but we won't know how to treat her until we can do this test. At this point I'm thinking, Bitch, you just told me a week ago that it's pretty for sure cancer and there's nothing to give her to bring the calcium down and make her feel better. I've been force feeding my terrified dog for two weeks now and now your calling with an attitude like im foolish to not do the extra testing? So said "well, I'm confused. Last time we talked you said that you were confident that it was cancer and that all we could do is try to keep her comfortable." Then she said that the cause is most likely cancer, but they would like to do the extra $200.00 test to confirm what is really wrong with her. Normally I love going to this vet, and this girl has been very nice, but Im struggling with the change of story here.
GGGRrRrRrRrR..... I want to take her to another vet, but I can't afford another $500.00 in testing to find out in the end that Yup she does have cancer. . . Trying to figure out exactly what were going to do. ..

Dakota is pretty much the same. Force feeding her has not been fun. She doesnt want the food at all. She hides and has peed herself almost every time we feed her. The only thing that she'll get up for is her ball. When you get the ball out you forget there's anything wrong with her. We only play with the ball a little in the house though because I'm worried that she'll over exert herself outside. Might take her out regaurdless since its what really makes her happy.

Thanks again for all the support. This has been a really tough couple of weeks and most of my family aren't really pet people, so they just don't get it... it's been nice to have support from people that love their pets like I do and understand what I'm going through

[Happy Gilmore]

I'd go to the office, get all of her records and test results and say thank you and leave.

If I remember right you're up North. Look up Dr. Gary Johnson in Mount Vernon. He's up by the hospital on the same road. He's been breeding labs for many years. I think knowing the breed well helps him understand hunting dogs better in general.

He's also very reasonably priced compared to most. He's a great guy.

[MikeWalking]

I'd go to the office, get all of her records and test results and say thank you and leave.

If I remember right you're up North. Look up Dr. Gary Johnson in Mount Vernon. He's up by the hospital on the same road. He's been breeding labs for many years. I think knowing the breed well helps him understand hunting dogs better in general.

He's also very reasonably priced compared to most. He's a great guy.

If you want her records call first, give them time to make your copies.  I had many people walk in the door expecting to take Records off the shelf and go.  The information is theirs but not the paper it's printed on.  You'd be surprised how many people didn't realize that.

[Happy Gilmore]

I'd go to the office, get all of her records and test results and say thank you and leave.

If I remember right you're up North. Look up Dr. Gary Johnson in Mount Vernon. He's up by the hospital on the same road. He's been breeding labs for many years. I think knowing the breed well helps him understand hunting dogs better in general.

He's also very reasonably priced compared to most. He's a great guy.

If you want her records call first, give them time to make your copies.  I had many people walk in the door expecting to take Records off the shelf and go.  The information is theirs but not the paper it's printed on.  You'd be surprised how many people didn't realize that.

I disagree. You pay them to keep the record and you actually own that record. No need for copies. It is yours if you have paid your vet bill. This is mandated by the Department of Health which regulates hospitals, doctors and surprisingly enough, vets. This includes all x-ray films and any other data which may be stored on a computer. It shall be available on request. It would probably be "polite" to call ahead but, your records are your property and the vet must readily supply them upon request.

If the vets office wants copies, that is only their own policy. All original copies and notes are to be handed over to the owner. Same as medical transcriptions. It is illegal to alter them and as I mentioned, these rules fall under the guidelines of the Department of Health......The DOH is the only office which can basically shut down any operation in the State. They can close a Landfill, Water Treatment Plant, Hospital........Hanford.....U name it.....they gots some power...