cah1708

Hello everyone--thank you so much for taking the time to help those of us who suddenly find ourselves dealing with the devastating news that our dog has cancer.

Dexter is a 7-year old lab-hound mix (we call him a Southern Biscuit Hound). He weighs 48 lbs. He had two lipomas on his right hind leg for at least 2 years. Recently, the larger one suddenly increased in size and our vet recommended removal of both. The larger one was the size of a chicken egg, the smaller one a pea. Both were removed two weeks ago, and the biopsy revealed that the masses were grade 2 mast cell cancer. Our vet thinks she got wide margins on both. Both masses have a mitotic index of 1, so that was good news.

We took him the oncologist right away. She did an ultrasound of his abdomen and biopsies of his liver and nearest lymph node. The ultrasound was clean and biopsies negative.

The oncologist wants to start him on chemo (Vinblastine) next week. However, our vet thinks that, given the low mitotic index, wide margins, and negative ultrasound and biopsies, it would be better to watch and wait. Another vet we consulted advised the same.

There are a couple of complicating factors:

--he had a lot of bleeding after the surgery that necessitated a pressure bandage being placed on the incision the day after the surgery. The pressure bandage caused a seroma that went all way up to his chest. It went away quickly once the pressure bandage was removed, but we're worried that any remaining cancer cells may have been spread away from the original tumor site.

--he has had allergy problems for the last couple of years and is on Atopica (100 mg every two days during the summer, less frequently in the winter). When he has a flare up, we give him prednisone for 3-5 days. We're worried about combining the chemo with the Atopica. How do we boost his immune system to fight the cancer without aggravating his allergies?

He is taking 50 mg of Benadryl twice a day, and we've started him on a high-protein/low-carb diet (Orijen). We've also started him on a cancer supplement suggested by the oncologist which is compounded by a local pharmacy and contains the following:

--astragulus
--cordyceps
--maitake
--soy
--milk thistle
--rice bran

We plan on taking him to a homeopathic vet next week for an evaluation and recommendations on diet and treatment.

Our dilemma is this: do we go ahead and do the chemo? Or do we skip the chemo, but watch and wait while pursuing homeopathic options? Or do the chemo and homeopathic treatment (making sure one doesn't interfere with the other)?

Dexter is tough as nails with a cast-iron stomach, so we're not terribly worried about how he will react to the vinblastine. We will request a chemo sensitivity test first. We're a little reluctant to do the chemo when all indications are that his cancer did not spread. Then again, since it's a grade II MCT, there's no guarantee that it won't return, but the chemo doesn't guarantee that either.

I'm sorry to have rambled on so long--thanks for listening. Do you all think we should do the chemo? If so, is Vinblastine the right treatment? Or should we go the homeopathic route with no chemo? Or do both? Right now, my husband and I are leaning towards doing both.

Thanks again.

Pegasus

if still bleeding try Yunnan Paiyao, well.....personal I don't like chemo

Yunnan Baiyao for Bleeding Dog Tumors and More - DogCancerAdvice.com | Dog Time - Dog Blog Network

cah1708

The incision finally stopped bleeding about five days after surgery. He had the sutures and staples removed last Friday. It's a huge, ugly scar, but it looks healthy.

Kellie

so sorry you are going thru this. your dog sounds a lot like my dog cody. cody has had severe allergies ever since we moved to the east coast in 2002. he had special allergy injections prepared for him and in march we were getting ready to start Atopica. then in april he was diagnosed with a MCT - stage 1, grade 3. the vet got clean wide margins and his liver and spleen were clear - no sign of cancer in the lymph nodes. given the high grade of the tumor (which was not very big but deemed a very agressive strain) we decided on chemo (vinblastine) as preventative/cleanup in case any cells had already escaped. my understanding is that since Atopica affects the immune system that it is no longer an option for cody.

cody handled the chemo really well and aside from some major energy for 2 days after treatment (it was like he was on crack!), you could not tell he was having chemo. he was given the all clear on his last chemo session in july. and yesterday we had another checkup and he is still doing great.

i felt the cancer would be harder to combat if it had a chance to take hold somewhere else so i opted to go the chemo route and i am glad that i did. but you will need to make up your mind about which way to go. cody is allergic to corn so he was already on a grain free diet (taste of the wild). all other snacks with carbs and sugars were eliminated and i supplemented with the budwig protocol, NuVet tabs, omega 3 fish oils, and all the veggies and fruits i could stuff him with. he was also on prednisone (still is until january), benedryl and pepcid. he has not had any allergy issues at all since we started chemo and my vet said yesterday that some dogs that have severe allergies before chemo for MCT will have much less allergy problems after chemo - so i am hoping that is the case for him.

best of luck and know that whatever you choose it is the right choice for you and your dog.

kelie

TJandDante

Only you can judge whether or not to go the chemo route, but you are on the right road by consulting with a holistic vet. They will be honest with you and give you their recommendations for getting your dog back to health and keeping him there.
Standard Brands makes an excellent immune builder with Canine Immune System Support.
Keep us posted!
TJ

Benpaws

Dear Friend,

Glad you found this place. Wonderful people with tons of advice and great information.

Our Benny also had MCT on his right side. He was operated on and the pathology report came back as Stage 2 without clean margins. Our vet recommended no chemo at that time. We researched the net and found help and advice on diet and supplements. He was put on a no carb, high protein diet and lots of supplements: CoQ-10, Essiac Tea and capsules, Artemisinin, Reishi (Chinese Mushroom) pill, Wild Salmon oil capsules, Budwig Protocol etc. He got lots of steamed organic veggies, mainly broccoli and spinach and loved Seaweed which I soaked in filtered water.

For 8 months he was in remission and then the cancer returned and even then we were not advised to do chemo.

I wonder if chemo might have extended his life? He was only six and with the diet and supplements, lived a great and happy life for 17 months after the surgery.

Talk with your vets and do what you feel is right after you get all the information.

Good luck. Hugs to Dexter.

Terrible disease.

Blessings,
Joanne & Shadow

cah1708

Thanks for all of your kind and informative responses!

Will keep you updated on Dexter's progress.

Amanalee

My dog has surgery tomorrow to remove his believed MCT. I fear I will be in your situation in days and I don't know what I will do either. Keep us updated and know you are not alone.

cah1708

We decided to postpone the start of chemo for a week to give us time to see a homeopathic vet, plus get more info about other options if we do decide to do the chemo (vinblastine, chlorambucil, Palladia, CCNU?).

One of our other dogs had knee surgery last month (he tore his CCL) and we thought deciding which type of repair to do was a hard decision. It was nothing compared to this. BTW, if anybody has any questions about CCL repair, let me know. Smokey (8yo Lab-pit mix) had TightRope surgery on 14 July and has already gone back to the dog park.

I thought this was odd: I called our nearest homeopathic vet today to schedule a consultation. They want a $50 deposit and all of Dexter's records before they'll schedule a consultation. Out of all the vets and specialists we've seen over the years for our many critters, nobody has asked for a deposit before you can even make an appointment. And this vet is a member of the AHVMA. I think we'll find someone else.

Kellie, thanks for the info on Cody and so happy to hear your good news! I've been worried about the Atopica, especially since this is the worst time of the year for his allergies. I'm hoping the homeopathic vet can help with that as well as the MCT.

Joanne, I've been reading about Benny in your posts and feel like I knew him. Please don't be hard on yourself--you sound like you're an excellent Mom.

Amanalee, good luck with the surgery tomorrow. I have lots of websites I can send you if you'd like.

Thanks again to everybody, and I'll be thinking good thoughts about you and your babies.

Carol & Dave Henson