Chemo for Dogs??

ValerieD

Hi all, my poor dog has secondary lung cancer and im contemplating sending him to chemo. He is almost 14 but quite alert and in great shape for his age...well other than the coughing and choking due to the tumour.

Anyone know how the chemo will affect him? Is it so bad that I would be better off doing the unspeakable??

Anyone know what the prognosis is for this kind of thing? He's a mixed breed (collie/lab)

lorebringer

Chemotherapy in dogs has the same kind of side effects as it does in humans (exhaustion, weakened immune system - and as a result, more susceptibility to infection, hair loss/thinning, diarrhoea, vomiting etc.). Generally, a combination of drugs are used so it really depends on the specific combo and the particular dog how badly the animal reacts to these drugs. Often, in dogs, chemo does not totally kill off all cancer cells but stops them dividing and spreading. Prognosis differs depending on individual dog and drug combinations. All decisions are up to you and nobody on this board can tell you what is the best thing to do.

All I'll say is that if your dog is suffering, in pain or distress in any way putting the poor thing out of its misery may be the best option. Nobody wants their beloved pet to suffer. 14 is a ripe old age and if you prolong his life the most important thing is the quality of the remaining time he has, it really is all up to you.

mikemac

Chemo is tough on anyone, dog or person

Sorry but if he's 14 he's had a good long life, you don't want him to suffer
Talk it over with the vet anyway and ask every question you can think of

seamus

I'm very sorry to hear this.

It's something you really need to discuss with your vet or the specialist who would be offering the procedure.

Chemo is not a pleasant experience. For humans facing poor prospects, they have the option and the understanding. Even if the chemo doesn't ultimately work, they will understand why they're suffering and be able to deal with it.

Your poor dog on the other hand will not understand the suffering and IMO if the chances of survival are poor, then I would feel like all I'm going to do is make his last few months of life a miserable experience. I would rather get my hands on a barrel of painkillers to take away the discomfort and share the time with the dog in a comfortable and dignified way.

You also have to consider time. For an old human, 6 months of chemo may be regarded as worthwhile sacrifice for 5 or ten years more life. For a dog, even 3 months of chemo to extend life for 6 months total seems like a high price, perhaps it's worth paying. He's an old dog, you also risk the chemo reducing his lifespan rather than curing him.

It's something that only you can decide. If the vet feels that chemo stands a very strong chance of sending the cancer into remission, then it could be worth the pain.

tazwaz

hi valeried,

i can only tell you of my experience with giving a dog chemo.
in march 2010 my dog was diagnosed with lymphoma, he was a 5yr old springer. i had a good chat with my vet and anniehoo here on boards and i decided that since he was already sick (vomitting) i wouldnt be doing anything worse to him by going ahead with the chemo and give it a chance. i was lucky in that i had a very accomadating vet, she let me sit with taz in the back of her surgery for the few hours every saturday that he was getting the chemo, i didnt want him going through it on his own.
he got it once a week and had chemo tablets at home to give him during the week. like a human getting chemo he had to have blood counts done, if bloods were too low we couldnt go ahead with chemo. that was the only similarity i found between dog and people. he used be tired on a sat after it, sunday he'd pick up a bit and by mondays he was demanding walks . no hair loss, no loss of appetite etc.
unfortunately, the chemo didnt work and he passed away the end of june but i dont regret giving him the chemo, i had to give him every chance i could.
taz was young and i had pet insurance that covered all expenses, chemo is very expensive.
good luck with whatever you decide is best.

Groom!

Hi ValerieD
Sorry to hear about your dog.

Our experience - our 13/14 year old springer was diagnosed with a lung tumour in July 2009. He wasn't supposed to last till Christmas.

However we had him until November 2010. We decided on no intervention. Only medication. His condition was managed extremely well and he was on steroids. He developed a lot of coughing and wheezing, but only at night, so he was given something to stop the bronchioles going into spasm (hope I have that detail right).

Anyway he had a good quality of life, just a bit slow and that was mostly because of his age. My theory was that he was not ALLOWED suffer at all. No way.

He became unwell over a couple of days, then had a bad fall and didn't really come back from that. Once he refused food, I knew.

We said our very sad goodbyes and my friends and family came to say goodbye to him. It was totally heartbreaking, but I would not have done anything different.

If he was a 5 year old dog, like the above poster mentioned about his dog, I would def have tried chemo, but at my dog's age, I just thought it would be unfair.

Good luck with whatever you decide. You know your own dog best so you be the judge.

It's a really hard time and very heartbreaking so thinking of you.

TooManyDogs

ValerieD, you poor thing. I haven't had a dog with cancer but I looked after my mam when she had lung cancer. She had chemo and to be honest the side effects were awful and it was never going to be a cure, it was only to buy more time. She lost her hair, had permanent nausea, her tastebuds changed so that nothing tasted the same and she couldn't enjoy food the same way anymore. She got extra thin because she was too sick to eat, so had no energy, she regretted having the chemo in the end. Based on her experience with chemo I made a decision never to get chemo myself unless I knew it would cure me, and I'd make that decision for any of my animals.

So my advise for what its worth would be to not get the chemo, he's lived to a really good age, let him live out the rest of his days well until he begins not to enjoy life and then let him go.

luvdogs

Really feel for you and this is something i`ve been through with one of my own.
My 13month old girl was diagnosed with a very aggressive tumor in an inoperable place....nasal cavity and under her eye etc.....my vet in ucd didnt suggest chemo as it was never going to be a cure, in fact he wanted me to let her go straight away as it was so so aggressive! But i still considered the chemo/radiation etc and decided against it for the reasons mentioned above, it wasnt a cure and i wanted the time she had left with me to be as healthy as possible.:(
So for a month i spoiled her rotten, macdonalds, icecream you name it.
A month was all i had as i knew when the time was right to let her go, she was uncomfortable and tired easily! she said her goodbyes to everyone and slipped away to the rainbow bridge with me holding her tight, been 8months now and am crying writing this:(
So, id say to you.....spoil your dog and make memories...then let them go...harder for us then them.
thinking of you x

ValerieD

Thanks for the replys guys. I didnt realise he could last as long as a year even without the chemo. I was worrying incase we only had weeks with him. The vet didnt think it was fair to put him through chemo and i have to respect that. I just didnt want him to go when i knew there was still something i could do to save him.