Stomach Cancer

[Guest cypselus]

Long-time reader, first time poster.

 

Our sweet, beautiful 9 yr, 4 month old greyhound Harrison was presumptively diagnosed with stomach cancer around the pylorus last week. A fine needle biopsy was inconclusive, getting mostly blood and few cells, and given the prognosis we don't want to subject him to exploratory surgery to confirm exactly what it is. He'd had a problem with vomiting for about two years, but our vets were dismissive and here we are, after a trip to another vet and an ultrasound - cancer. The oncologist put him on Ondansetron for vomiting, Tramadol for pain (at my insistence), and prednisone in the unlikely event that it will help. He's holding down food for now. We've opted not to treat any further, not seeing the point in cutting him open to buy him a few weeks, weeks during which he couldn't do his favorite thing - eat. We're devastated.

 

Have others here gone through the same? What can we expect? I guess I always expected he'd get osteo.

[Guest Mom2Shiloh]

I'm so sorry about your diagnosis All cancers suck I would have p.m.'d you, but if you're new you might not be able to get private messages yet. I highly recommend joining Circle of Grey on YahooGroups as well as the good advice and support you'll get here. The people there have experience with just about all types of cancer and someone may know of some type of supportive care that I'm not aware of. I have experience with osteo and hemangiosarcoma but not with stomach cancer... Again, I am so terribly sorry.

[Guest cypselus]

Thank you. I haven't seen much about stomach cancer here. I'm really worried about how this will progress. I guess it can go anywhere.

[Scooby172]

Sorry about the bad news. I had a grey with gastrointestinal lymphoma, supportive care with prednisone and metronidizole he lived for another 6-7 months after his initial diagnosis. Best of luck to you and your grey.

Linda

[tbhounds]

Did the vets feel that the long history of his vomiting is do to the mass?? If so it must be a very slow growing tumor--are they sure that it's not resectable?? I do know of a dog (wirehair terrier) that was diagnosed with gastric cancer and her owners opted not to get too aggressive with her treatment. Watering down her food helped the food pass and she did well for about a year. One thing I meant to mention--GH's don't do very well with Pred. Their weight seems to just melt off of them--they tend to lose muscle mass rather quickly. It will also make them really hungry--making hard on a dog that has trouble eating and holding food down. You might want to contact Dr Couto at Ohio State University--are you aware of his Greyhound Wellness Program? They are cutting edge with cancer treatments and GH's and he may have another suggestion for treatment for your hound.

 

edited to add--sorry Harrison isn't well but, I'm glad you found us--GT can be really supportive

Edited August 4, 2010 by tbhounds

[Batmom]

My heart goes out to you. My angel Batman had a tumor that compressed his esophagus. We pureed most of his food so that he could still have goodies like steak and chicken. Will keep you and your pupper in my prayers.

[MP_the4pack]

Why not contact Dr. Couto for his opinion? He's an oncologist, so all cancers not just OS are in his field.

[JohnF]

So sorry to hear of that diagnosis. I'm also one who would urge you not to give up just yet. I'm remembering reading somewhere of a human with cancer (ECL 'hyperplasia') around the pylorus which was NOT malignant and was indeed resectable with a successful outcome. Go that extra mile and a half to be 100% sure. With effective pain relief and euthanasia when quality of life is too low as Plan B there will be no blame in looking further.

http://www.nature.com/modpathol/journal/v15/n2/full/3880499a.html

[packmom]

So sorry. This is not one we hear much about.. I agree with tbhounds about the pred. Side effects are not nice so why give it if you don't have a real reason.

[Guest Tes623]

I'm so sorry. I had a doberman that had stomach cancer before we got into the greyhounds. The vet did not realize it was stomach cancer until they did exploratory surgery on him and found that he was full of cancer.

 

I don't agree about greyhounds not doing well on prednisone. My William has been on it since he was 5 years old and diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. He just turned 13 and is doing just fine. The side effects suck but we are used to the routine since he's been taking it for the last 8 years.

[Guest ChasesMum]

So sorry to hear about harrison's diagnosis. My Chase we just lost to some form of cancer - we never really got a good diagnosis (we were told 'highly suspicious but not diagnostic of an infiltrative neoplastic process' but the cardiologist saw nodules in the heart muscle and we could feel things in her abdomen), and she went very quickly.

 

She was on pred and she did lose a great deal of muscle mass but why, we don't know. It could have been the pred, could simply have been an invasive cancer thing. but we were told that pred can often stop progression of some cancers. Make sure that you are giving soem form of stomach protectant like pepcid or something a half hour before the pred, and you offer it with food to help minimize stomach side effects.

 

hugs to you, it so hard.

Edited August 4, 2010 by ChasesMum

[greytpups]

Our grey Bailey (see my siggy) was diagnosed with stomach cancer on December 16th. As you can see, we put her to sleep the next day. She was vomiting and could not keep food down. Our vet mentioned she must have been in a lot of pain with stomach acids and bleeding tumours so we chose to say good bye and release her from pain and the inability to keep any food down.

 

People always say they give you a sign but I didn't get one at all. Dh and I were blindsided by the diagnosis. although she had been vomiting on and off for about 2-3 months, we thought we were dealing with dietary issues until the ultrasound revealed the tumours. She was still playful and loving, her eyes were shiny and bright, she didn't look sick at all. But she couldn't keep any food down and I could not bear to think she was in pain.

 

Geez, 7 months later and I still cry when I write this...I am so very sorry for this news.

[mychip1]

So sorry to hear. Best of luck with your baby.

[Guest kydie]

I'm am so sorry, we had a old english that had cancer of the stomach,,, when the time came I knew he was in pain, he just stood and looked at me,,, as if to say "help make it go away".that was 30 years ago,,, and tears still come as I type this white light to you and your pup from north western Pa.

[Guest cypselus]

The oncologist we saw on the 30th at Southpaws in Fairfax thought the mass was perhaps a couple of weeks old, but I don't know why she concluded that. He's had stomach problems for two years, though they have worsened in the past month. The previous weekend he had begun vomiting most of his food back up, hours later and undigested, and then responded to my attempt to feed him chicken and rice with vomiting and diarrhea which prompted me to take him to a new vet (having lost confidence in our regular vet practice) who treated his symptoms and suggested an abdominal ultrasound. This was performed on the 28th, and she called me with the terrible news that they had found a mass that evening at work. I left work in tears, and I've been crying ever since.

 

The oncologist changed his medication - he's on:

ondansetron - 4 mg 1-2x a day

pepcid - 20 mg 2x a day

prednisone - 20 mg 2x a day

tramadol - 50 mg 2x a day

He's been eating Hill's ID since last week, and is holding it down, though he heaves occasionally and produces small quantities of liquid, sometimes with small particles of food in it, most days. He doesn't wretch convulsively - they're almost more like isolated coughs.

 

I don't know his weight currently - he seems in good spirits usually, but somewhat frail. I haven't had a chance to weigh him since last Friday, and of three weights we got for him last week on three scales, each was different. He's either 65 lbs or 68 - I don't know.

 

The oncologist thought that surgery would be difficult, but she only did a partial ultrasound. We're reluctant to do surgery since the mean survival time is so poor and the chances of a cure negligible. If I thought he could be cured, I would do it. I'm not sure what my wife would say. I think she's in willful denial about the whole thing, though she's less depressed than I am.

 

We have two small children and another healthy dog. I was already spread thin, and now I feel like I'm sinking.

 

How does one get in touch with Dr. Couto?

Edited August 5, 2010 by cypselus

[Charlies_Dad]

I am so sorry to hear about Harrison's diagnosis. Here is Dr. Coutu's info:

 

Greyhound Health and Wellness Program

Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine

601 Vernon Tharp Street

Columbus, Ohio 43210

Phone: (614) 247-6757 or (614) 247-8490

Email: greyosu@osu.edu

Website: http://www.vet.ohio-state.edu/GHWP.htm (registration and fee now required to get full access to this site)

 

This email goes to the team. If Dr. Couto is traveling, you may get a quicker answer from one of his team members. Drs. Marin and Zaldivar typically respond to greyhound owners. The consult is free but if you can afford to support the program please do so. You can sign up for full access to the website ($99 per calendar year) or donate through the giving page on the website. If you decide to donate, you can double your money by giving through the Greyhound Project. Just go to this website and scroll down to the appropriate donation button: http://www.adopt-a-g...g/donate.shtml. They will match the funds that you donate.

 

The Team:

 

Dr. Couto, Department Head, Greyhound Medicine, Oncology and Hematology

Dr. Lili Marin, Greyhound Health and Oncology

Dr. Sara Zaldivar, Greyhound Health and Oncology

Dr. William Kisselberth, Oncology

Dr. Cheryl London, Oncology

Dr. Cristina Iazbik, Blood Bank Director and Hematologist

Dr. Bridget Urie, Oncology Resident

Dr. Matt Sherger, Oncology Resident

Dawn Hudson, Vet Tech

Ashley DeFelice, Vet Tech

Stacey Gallant, Vet Tech

 

Drs Marin and Zaldivar are originally from Spanish speaking countries. If you have trouble understanding them over the phone, you might ask for one of the other vets or vet techs to “translate”.

 

Dr. Couto's direct email is:

couto.1@osu.edu

His phone number is also 614-247-6757. If he is in town, he typically returns emails in the early hours of the morning.

 

You should know that (in my humble opinion) they need more staff. Unfortunately finances do not permit it at this time. They do 20 to 30 greyhound consults a day along with all of their "in canine" patients. Depending on their workload there may be a wait for the consultation. If you are contacting them on an emergency basis, please let them know.

If you want to make an appointment to be seen in person/canine, you can call the main number to set up a date/time. The main number for the veterinary hospital is 614-292-3551.

[Guest cypselus]

Charlies_Dad, your donation link didn't make it through.

[Guest cypselus]

We reduced his Prednisone by half, after talking to the vet, of course, since he started peeing on his bed (and our couch).

 

His weight is down 3.5 lbs since the 26th, but he's eating every thing we give him and not throwing it up or pooping it out undigested. I'm trying to give him more food, but I'm afraid he's somehow just not metabolizing it. If he doesn't gain or maintain weight, he doesn't have long. He's in good spirits at least, still likes people, other dogs (especially other greyhounds), walks, and can't contain his excitement at meal time, but this rate of weight loss is not sustainable for long.

[Guest kydie]

I know this is hard for you ,, and easy for me to say,,, but just hang in there,,,give the meds time and have you considered the Satin balls,, to help with weight gain? To made Satin balls there is a thread here about thre ingrediants,, think under the Food section

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

I'm so sorry that your boy is not gaining/keeping weight. I have no advice, but my heart breaks for you.

[Batmom]

FWIW, when my angel Batman was sick, I fed 4-6 meals a day, with an emphasis on high-calorie, low residue things like meat (not too fatty tho) and eggs. We were able to keep his weight up that way. Sending more hugs and prayers.

[tbhounds]

The weight loss could be from the pred. itself not from the disease.

[Guest ChasesMum]

yup like batmom said, lots of small meals...maybe hills a/d in between meals of i/d? its what my chase could swallow easily her last days. soaked dry kibble mixed in maybe too? poor pupper. i know how you feel, stretched too thin, i have 3 kids: 5.5yrs, 2.75 yrs and 6 mos.

[Guest cypselus]

He is eating 7 or 8 times a day, small meals, wet food only. I am starting to work in low-fat meat, chopped really fine, and praying he turns around, while acknowledging that his time is probably short and we need to fit in as much living as possible. Thank you all for your support.

[Guest cypselus]

He is eating ID, but i am working in higher protein canned food. He has always had trouble with rice, and ID is full of it.