Chemo - is it worth putting a dog through it ?

[Asha]

Im getting a bit ahead of myself here, as its not 100% confirmed. But vets have found a tumour in my gorgeous boy this morning, and my head is just all over the place. Its an anal gland tumour, they have taken bloods and from there will be booking him in for xrays/scan to see if its spread. The treatment is surgery ( vets did say that's dependant on what the xrays show up, as it may not be in his interest to operate) followed by chemo.
Having never been through this before, and knowing nothing about it, I was wondering if anyone had put there dog through it, and how did they cope, was it worth it ?

 

[cobgoblin]

I only know one person that used chemo on a dog.... It cost a fortune, ate up all their insurance plus a great deal more and basically left them very upset. It involved multiple daytime stays at the vets and they said they would never do it again.

Forgot to add.... They lost the dog too.

 

[CorvusCorax]

I wouldn't, personally.
Sorry to hear your news, what breed is he, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Asha]

I wouldn't, personally.
Sorry to hear your news, what breed is he, if you don't mind me asking?

Hes a golden retriever, the most wonderful boy .

 

[The Trooper]

I'm so sorry Asha, personally I wouldn't do it as IMO quality of life is far more important than longevity of life.

IF he does have cancer I would be looking to make sure he was happy and not suffering but begin preparing for the inevitable.

How old is he?

 

[JennBags]

Really hope it's not the news you're expecting.
I also wouldn't put a dog through chemo.

 

[Asha]

I only know one person that used chemo on a dog.... It cost a fortune, ate up all their insurance plus a great deal more and basically left them very upset. It involved multiple daytime stays at the vets and they said they would never do it again.

Forgot to add.... They lost the dog too.

Thanks for the reply cobgoblin. Sorry it wasn’t a better outcome for your friends 😞

 

[Asha]

I'm so sorry Asha, personally I wouldn't do it as IMO quality of life is far more important than longevity of life.

IF he does have cancer I would be looking to make sure he was happy and not suffering but begin preparing for the inevitable.

How old is he?

Thanks Trooper , He’s 10 , but also has quite bad arthritis. Which we have been keeping on top of with Onsior . I initially thought it might be a reaction to the onsior . But vet found the tumour when he checked his anal glands . Poor Wallace found it very painful x

 

[View]

I am so sorry that you are facing this.

Given what you have said, I would not put him through chemo or surgery - I'd do what I could to keep him comfortable for a short while, make a big fuss of him, let him have all the banned treats and then let him go peacefully while he is still happy.

 

[BallyJ]

Hi Asha,

We sadly lost our beautiful Labrador to Cancer just before Christmas, we decided to say no to Chemo, because of the quality of life.

It is alot of strain for an older dog, and we wanted to remember her out shooting with us and loving life like she had been the week before she was diagnosed. It is entirely your decision! You know your dog better than anyone.
Our vets were trying to push us towards medicating her to keep her comfortable for as long as we could but again she was an older lady and in pain, our deciding factor was when she turned her head away from a piece of chicken, she would have normally taken your arm off for it

I really hope it isn't anything sinister! it is heartbreaking.

 

[Sandstone1]

Chemo for dogs is not always as bad as it sounds. They don't tend to get the nasty side effects people do.
It's really a decision for the owner with advise from the vet and the stage of cancer..
It comes down to quality of life but you need more information before deciding.

 

[ester]

I've always been told dog chemo is not at all comparable to human chemo.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I am sorry that you are facing this, I honestly don't know what I would do-it would depend on what the vets told me, what the treatment entailed and the dog in front of me. I hope the news you get isnt what you fear, retrievers are wonderful dogs x

 

[meleeka]

Chemo for dogs is not always as bad as it sounds. They don't tend to get the nasty side effects people do.
It's really a decision for the owner with advise from the vet and the stage of cancer..
It comes down to quality of life but you need more information before deciding.

That’s what I was told. It didn’t matter with my dog as the cancer had spread. Even so, she had another 9 months of happy life before we made the decision. It did help knowing what signs to look for to tell us it was time, so that we made the decision before she ended up suffering.

So sorry you’re facing this x

 

[paddy555]

I'm sorry about your dog, he is beautiful, such a shame. Mine, a BC, got a tumour on the side of her jaw aged 12. Vet gave us the choice to operate or not but he would have had to remove a part of the jaw. No pushing by the vet, entirely our choice.
We decided on no treatment. This was horrible as this was the fittest dog ever, not a sign of ageing or arthritis. If she had had any other problems it would have been less of a problem to decide.
We decided the time she had left would be wasted to some extent in recovering from the operation and she was nervy and wouldn't have liked it at the vet clinic. The vet also had no guarantee it would not return after the op. She lived for another 7 months. The tumour constantly grew and by that stage we had to call it a day after many false starts at PTS.
PTS was difficult as in the morning I felt she was not so good, rang vet for pm appointment, after lunch she would be back to chasing the tractor (her favourite sport) and I would be ringing the vet to cancel.

In hindsight I am sure I made the right decision. If she had been, say, a 4 yo dog otherwise healthy I would have done a lot more tests etc and may have gone for it. Fingers crossed you get good test results.

 

[rara007]

Wait until you know more. My own dog I PTS with an anal gland tumour with no treatment yet I have dogs in remission from localised lymphomas 18 months on who have spent less than £200 (mainly lab fees on the biopsy) and 5 visits (3 10min appointments, 2 day stays) to me on my books, maintained on low doses of oral steroids with no side effects the owners report. I’m sorry but a 10yo goldie with concurrent OA I doubt has a fantastic prognosis to a long term good quality of life. The surgical recovery itself (both walking again on the old joints and healing a messy area) would worry me more than chemo options.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I know someone with a small dog (cockerpoo?) with a bladder tumour which makes her wee small amounts frequently. The dog has been going for chemo every month(I think) for the last 8 months and gets very distressed when put in the car now, although she was a good traveller previously. This shows me that the dog does not enjoy her experience at the vets. The dog is insured.

My 6 yr old Rottweiler was diagnosed with a splenetic tumour a couple of weeks ago. I had a long talk with the vet when she did the scan about the fact that we would have anything possible removed but no chemo. Vet told me she wouldn't put her dog through chemo. Sadly our tumour was found to have spread, so she wasn't brought round from the op.

I certainly wouldn't put a 10 yr old arthritic Retriever through invasive treatment, unless surgery was guaranteed to be completely successful. I opt for quality of life over quantity every time.

 

[leflynn]

I've done chemo for my dog (greyhound Boots) who was 10 at the start of the treatment. He tolerated it very well (I think I was more of a wreck than him), he had no stays longer then a couple of hours (other than his op) and the only illness he suffered during was one UTI, we did do a shortened CHOP protocal as his cancer hadn't spread and was pretty much removed with the lump. I think it depends on your dog, the severity of the treatment as there are many diff protocols and treatment options. His cancer never returned but I sadly lost him in an accident in February this year at 12.5which showed his arthritis was much worse than I thought (possibly due to softening of bones due to chemo, no one can be certain).

He had localised lymphoma in his jaw, had a tooth out and the lump removed, it took them 4 weeks to confirm the cancer type. I decided to do chemo as I could always stop it if he wasn't coping. He bossed it, our lovely vet and I cried when she put him to sleep, she even called me a month later to check I was okay.

Feel free to PM or ask any questions on here, happy to help as its a scary thing to do for anyone or pet.

The pic was taken two weeks after his last chemo session :

https://flic.kr/p/263BZqE

 

[MyBoyChe]

Personally I wouldnt, not on a 10 year old larger breed. My reasoning would be that the negatives outweigh the positives. However, it is a very personal decision and you have to do what you believe to be the best for the dog. Listen to your vet and be guided by him/her along with your gut feeling. If it were a younger dog and the prognosis was good I would be tempted to try but with an older dog who has a limited lifespan ahead anyway, my feeling would be to let him go whilst he is still enjoying life and all your memories will be good ones

 

[Tiddlypom]

So sorry to hear this, Asha. He’s a lovely chap.

If it were a younger dog and the prognosis was good I would be tempted to try but with an older dog who has a limited lifespan ahead anyway, my feeling would be to let him go whilst he is still enjoying life and all your memories will be good ones

This.

 

[scats]

My friends dog had chemo and had no side effects at all. Apparently it’s not like chemo in humans.

 

[splashgirl45]

i know a few people who have had their dogs diagnosed with cancer and have opted for chemo, a flat coat retriever aged 8 only lasted 6 months, my friends trailhound was 9 and lasted less than 5 months. there are 2 labs in my village both about 9 who have had ops and chemo and are still here and seem fine at the moment, both have gone past 7months. the people who have lost their dogs have said they wouldnt put another dog through the treatment. the 2 labs who seem ok are both very laid back dogs who actually like going to the vets and dont worry that they have to go every week..i think it depends if a dog has any other ailments and if they dont get worried going to the vets so often. yours sounds like there are other health problems and you need to have a long chat with your vet about how he would cope with such regular visits to the vet and recovery from any operation...good luck

 

[Littlefloof]

I wouldn't personally now, just because my 11 year old goldie declined very suddenly with multiple, possibly linked, health problems, and in trying to aggressively treat what we saw as the principal one, the vet and I may have missed the overall picture of his QoL.

Hugs to you and your dog.

 

[SadKen]

Our old GSD was diagnosed with a thyroid tumour at 10. We agreed to have it removed and tested as he was an otherwise healthy chap. The prignodid was something like a year if not malignant, 6 months if malignant... I remember it wasn't long for a malignant tumour. His was malignant, but the vet thought they got it all in surgery. He lived another 3.5 brilliant years. I'm glad we did surgery, I would not do chemo (and will not have it myself if any nasties are found in me).

None of us are here forever, and in trying to hold on to life I think we sometimes lose sight if what it means to live.

I hope all turns out well for your lovely boy.

 

[Asha]

Thank you all for your kind comments, so sorry to read that you've all been through some tough times with your dogs. But your comments and experiences have really helped.

Ive spoken to the vets today, and they have confirmed that he does have anal gland cancer. They have said that from the symptoms he is exhibiting its does suggest that it has spread. But have still suggested surgery to remove the gland. I don't want to put him through it, so have suggested we give him some pain relief until ive had time to talk it through with the family. The vets have suggested to keep going with the onsior and add in some paracetomol. If he doesn't perk up over the weekend then we can try some steroids. they want to try the paracetomol first as they are worried about him putting weight on with steroids.

Part of me wants to do the scan /xrays to see if it has spread, will it make a difference to the outcome, I don't know. Can they do scans/xrays without sedating him ? Ive said I will ring back on Monday to discuss next steps

 

[splashgirl45]

sorry you are in such a horrible position, i agree i wouldnt want to put an older dog through an op and i think your idea of pain relief is good. i think they have to sedate to do x rays but sedation is pretty safe even for an older dog. you have to ask yourself, what will i do differently after i get the result? if it has spread you know nothing will work, if it hasnt you dont want to put him through an op anyway, or would you? its a difficult decision....

 

[Asha]

sorry you are in such a horrible position, i agree i wouldnt want to put an older dog through an op and i think your idea of pain relief is good. i think they have to sedate to do x rays but sedation is pretty safe even for an older dog. you have to ask yourself, what will i do differently after i get the result? if it has spread you know nothing will work, if it hasnt you dont want to put him through an op anyway, or would you? its a difficult decision....

That's a really good point, what would I do .. I don't think putting him through surgery is the right thing for him. Thank you x

 

[MyBoyChe]

Im so sorry its not the news you wanted. I think youre being very sensible, keep him comfy and pain free over the next few days whilst you have time to weigh up all the pros and cons. I think sometimes the very fact that vet medicine is so advanced these days is half the problem, just because we can doesnt always mean that we should. Thinking of you whilst you have this difficult decision ahead.

 

[deb_l222]

Personally I would have the tumour removed. That way you're assured he won't have issues going to the toilet. I don't believe however, I would have the chemo, although I've never been in that position.

Yes, it is cancer but he's not 'old' old, he's 10. The surgery risk in a 10 year old isn't massive. I put my 13 year old through cruciate surgery 2 years ago and she's still going strong and I don't regret it for a moment. She also has a lump on her anus that may have to be addressed at some point but at the moment it isn't troubling her.

Yes, keep him pain free and comfy but from the sound of your previous post, the vets are only suggesting the cancer has spread. Can they not confirm this? If it is confirmed, that's a different matter.

I trust my vet implicitly and would always be guided by him but I know not everyone is as fortunate. If he's says 'no hope', then I don't question it but if he said 'there's every chance', I would go down that route.

Not an easy decision and I do feel for you

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Anal gland removal can lead to faecal incontinence. I think the overriding factor for me would be the OA in a senior lab. Such a difficult decision, I don't envy you.

I'm not sure I would do chemo, my brother did it for his lab and the dog didn't survive long.

Different situation when one of mine was diagnosed with cancer, he couldn't walk and I wasn't going to put him through steroids and not being able to move for a potential outcome that might or might not have been positive.