Doggie decisions

[stgulik]

Well, my poor dog Daisy has been diagnosed with cancer. She is 13. Sonograms and x-rays revealed a tumor in (near?) the bladder, as well as nodules in the chest.

I couldn't bring myself to ask how much time they think she has left, not with her sitting right there. :-)

The vet prescribed an anti-inflammatory to help her pee more easily. I'm glad to say it appears to be working. I'm not glad to say, it's generally working up and down my hall carpet.

She doesn't seem to be in pain yet, weirdly, but we are all keeping a close eye on her (still lively and trouble-making) behavior while we go through the steps to decide whether to permit chemo or let her illness run its inevitable course.

Chemo and surgery seem so extreme for someone who would not understand why she was being made to suffer through them. And they will really only buy her some time. I don't know. If you have any thoughts, I welcome them.

Comments

[alisanne.livejournal.com]

First off... *hugs you and your beautiful, darling puppy*

So, as an oncologist, I definitely have ~views. Of course, this is just my opinion.
It sounds like she has metastatic disease, which would be incurable. If there was a chance of cure I think it would be a harder decision (not that it's not difficult now) but in this case I think I would recommend keeping her as comfortable as possible since the treatment will only make her sick and weak (and she won't understand why she's being made to suffer) and it won't cure her anyway.
Yes, it may give you a bit longer with her, but at the expense of her comfort.

My heart goes out to you. This is never an easy decision and no matter what you decide I'm holding you both in my thoughts. *more hugs*

[mywitch.livejournal.com]

What a gorgeous girl! There is lots of love and support for you here, regardless of what you choose to do.

She reminds me of my lil Samantha Bones when he was on his last legs. I chose the comfort route and knowing it was near the end, I had the chance to lay with him in his little doggy bed and sing "You'll Be In My Heart" to him every night. It was quite a comfort to me as well.

💛💛💛

[stgulik.livejournal.com]

Thank you for sharing your story. ::hugs::

[stgulik.livejournal.com]

I didn't know you were an oncologist, alisanne. Thank you so much for weighing in. The vet did diagnose her as having a metastatic cancer--it's a bladder tumor that (they believe) has caused nodules elsewhere. She was prescribed an anti-inflammatory to make peeing a little more comfortable. And she is, but the side effect is more blood in the urine--actually, more blood than urine, truth be told. We're giving her vitamins and chicken to keep up her strength.