Thyroid Cancer

[Guest Koalalou2]

I have a brood mama with thyroid cancer (will be 9 on Christmas Eve). She is doing SO well, especially considering the condition in which she arrived. She had x-rays back at the very end of August and it showed that the tumor is solely located in her thyroid area and has not spread to any other part of her body. We plan on doing more x-rays toward the end/middle of November to see where we are at.

 

A couple of things, the tumor is inoperable and she is not a good candidate for chemo because of her health when she was rescued and also the stress it would put on her to travel so often and go to the vets office (closest place is about 2-3 hours from here I am told, she is not comfortable in new situtations). So we are waiting it out and hoping for the best.

 

My question is, what can I do to keep her as healthy as possible? She's been doing great on the food and has reached a good healthy weight now (she was skin and bones) and her arthritis is being managed with pain meds and glucosamine.

 

I am thinking it would be a good idea to put her on Missing Link. Any experience with this? I figure it can't hurt and there is a good price for 5 lbs on dog.com ($12.99) where I'm getting their Christmas presents anyway (I do my shopping early).

 

Is there anything you can recommend in terms of affordable holistic/herbal treatments? We really don't have a lot of money but want to do what we can for her. I'd love to hear from others who have/had a dog with thyroid cancer and what their experience was. We have not been given any kind of time estimate from the vet as she had the tumor when she arrived so we don't know how fast it is growing. The vet thought weeks when she first arrived because she just didn't have a will to live, all that has changed now and we hope for a good 6 months (my heart wishes for years and years).

 

She is the happiest little girl in the world now that she found her family and got away from the horrible place she was kept and we want to keep her with us and enjoying life for as long as possible. She looks like a completely different dog now from when she arrived, with her constant playing and demanding cuddles and attention. I know she was meant to be with me and I would do anything to keep that grin on her face for many years to come, but I also know that we likely have a year at best. Any advice would be great!

[Guest simile]

I'm so sorry to hear about your sweet girl. I don't have any real knowledge of the disease, but I can tell you about my Husky, Quiche. She was diagnosed with thyroid cancer when she was almost 13. Like your girl, she wasn't a candidate for surgery or chemo. It was a very fast growing cancer, but prednisone slowed it somewhat. She was otherwise happy and healthy and didn't seem to experience any pain or discomfort until the very end. The tumor grew and eventually started interfering with her ability to eat (this was the last week), and finally her ability to drink. Up until those last few days, though, she was her normal happy, goofy self. The cancer didn't seem to affect her day to day living.

[silverfish]

I'm sorry to hear that she has thyroid cancer.

 

I'm very much afraid that you are going to have to resign yourself to losing her, possibly quite quickly. Renie's trainer had a house pet (she'd taken him in as a pup born with a deformed leg and he was very much her pet) who developed thyroid cancer. They tried to operate, but it's such a complex and delicate area and they couldn't get it all. It was quite fast growing and Bramble did in fact have to be put down only a few months later.

 

Hopefully other people will have more encouraging stories. Personally I don't know anything which will slow cancer down apart from surger/chemo/radiation therapy. But it can't hurt to keep her as healthy as possible by adding in plenty of supplements and antioxidant vitamins and omega oils.

 

There was a supplement a few people were trying around here to help slow down osteosarcoma. It's called Artemisinin. I have no idea if anyone found it useful. Perhaps someone who used it will jump in.

 

 

[GeorgeofNE]

My MOTHER had thyroid cancer. They took out her thyroid and put her on a replacement. This was probably 20 years ago, and she's 100% fine.

[silverfish]

My MOTHER had thyroid cancer. They took out her thyroid and put her on a replacement. This was probably 20 years ago, and she's 100% fine.

 

One thing I have learned is that it isn't always possible to compare similar conditions in humans and animals.

 

This was reinforced when I was talking to the specialist cardiologist about Jim - he diagnosed congestive heart failure and gave him three to six months. I already knew my mother in law had lived with it for over fifteen years, and a lady in the village is still going strong after nearly twenty years, but animals' systems do not always work the same way, and their anatomy is often different enough to make a condition more or less treatable. With the best treatment available, Jim lived for four months after the diagnosis and died peacefully in his bed.

 

Episcleritis, the eye condition which Jack has, is not painful in dogs, or even particularly uncomfortable - whereas in humans it is excruciatingly painful according to the veterinary opthalmologist.

 

The OP has already said the tumour is considered inoperable, and they will not be treating the dog with chemo, nor (presumably) with radiotherapy since the dog is not a good traveller. I don't know if the dog has seen a specialist though, and I think it she were mine, I'd do that. Still .. it does probably mean travelling a long way, and the result may not be worth it for her.

 

I'm glad your mother survived thyroid cancer! It's a wonderful thing that we can now deal so well with it in people.

 

[Batmom]

I would probably just keep an eye on her thyroid levels and the rest of her health.

 

When I was growing up, one of our dogs had a thyroid tumor. She was 9 when diagnosed, lived to be 12-13 and died of something else. It did grow some but didn't interfere with any essential functions and never appeared to bother her in the least.

 

Hugs to you, and scritchies for your girl.