Stomach Cancer

[Guest Olivia0208]

Have u tried Dr. Couto's link again from Charlies_dad? I was able to get through. Prayers and positive thoughts to your family.

[starhound]

Massive amounts of good vibes being sent to your poor hound. Thinking of you all.

[Guest cypselus]

Have u tried Dr. Couto's link again from Charlies_dad? I was able to get through. Prayers and positive thoughts to your family.

I got through, but don't really have anything to give them. There's no pathology report, just an ultrasound. A trip to Columbus is probably not in the offing.

 

Harrison's doing OK so far. He lost a lot of weight in the first two weeks after we learned of his mass. His rate of weight loss seems directly related to his prednisone dosage. The first week, he was on 40 mg a day, and lost about 4 lbs. The second week, he was on 20 mg a day (and a richer diet), and lost one. This past week he's been on 10mg a day, and while I won't weigh him again until tomorrow, it appears he's gained weight. He'll be off the prednisone early next week.

 

His vomiting is under control. He coughs up small quantities of food sometimes. He's off the ID swill and on mashed-up Orijen and EVO chicken and turkey formula with pumpkin, and lots of salmon oil. He loves it, but he always loves meal time. I've been giving him glutamine, arginine, HMB, and vitamins, too.

 

His mood is good. He gets excited for walks, visitors, meals, and occasionally for toys. He still enjoys his ear rubs. He doesn't seem to be in any discomfort. His energy level is lower than it used to be. The oncologist thought he had two or three weeks to go, and that was three weeks ago. We're thankful for every day.

 

I'll post his weight tomorrow.

[Guest cypselus]

The scale that had his weight at 64.8 lbs on July 28th, 61.0 lbs on August 7th, and 60.0 lbs on August 14th, showed 63.4 lbs today. The previous readings were lower than readings on other scales taken at the same time by about 1.5 - 2 lbs. I'm not sure how much confidence I have in a reading that says he gained 3.5 lbs this week (maybe they fixed their scale), but he's obviously gained weight, and that's a good sign.

[Guest DoofBert]

NO experience.. just a hug.....

[greyhead]

Yay for the weight gain! I'm so glad things have been going as well as they have.

 

I don't know if this information will be useful to you, but since prednisone melted weight off our then-7-year-old, he was switched to budesonide, which is also an immunosuppressant but targets the gut more selectively and has fewer systemic side effects. This treatment is for IBD in our dog, though, so I don't know if it's useful for something like cancer.

 

It would be interesting to know what the OSU team would make of the ultrasound and whatever other signs the oncologist is using for the diagnosis and prognosis. Are they going to look at those things?

 

In any case, you, Harrison, and your family are in our thoughts and prayers. I admire your efforts and devotion.

[Guest cypselus]

I just thought I'd add another update. I didn't make it to the vet today to weigh him, but he's clearly gained more weight this week. We've cut back his food in response. His energy level is up and he's sleeping normally, which he hadn't been. He's even started coming to bed with us again, which he hadn't been doing for the last few weeks. I've been running him a little with the squawker in our back yard to try and build his muscles back up a bit. Except for coughing a couple of times a day, he has no symptoms at all right now, and I have to remind myself that there's something in his stomach. He's off the Prednisone now (what a terrible drug that was for him), and taking only one ondansetron and two Pepcid a day. I don't know what the future holds, but at the moment he's doing very well.

[Guest Greytluv]

Harrison :candle

 

I'm glad he's feeling better Give him lots of ear scritches

[EllenEveBaz]

Hooray for energy level and weight gain!

 

How are you holding up?

[DesiRayMom]

Hopes & prayers for more time doing well. I'd probably be hoping the doc that read the ultrasound was mistaken. Queen of DeNial

[Batmom]

I'm glad he's plump and feeling well. Sending scritchies for him and hugs for yourself.

[Guest MyBoys]

Way to go Harrison . Keep on fighting big guy.

[Guest greysonly]

I am so sorry to hear your baby has stomach Cancer. My Jazz had stomach Cancer. I too opted not to put him thru surgury I knew my baby was in pain and didn't want him to go thru that.

I thought he had a bad tooth because he was being a picky eater and that was NOT Jazz. So I took him to the vets and they found a mass the size of a grapefruit in his tummy . I totally know what you are going thru. Jazz was too far along and after the diagnosis and was only with me for less than a week. I am so sorry.

 

I am glad to hear Harrison still has good spirits and is eating. My heart breaks for you.

[Guest cypselus]

Hooray for energy level and weight gain!

 

How are you holding up?

I'm exhausted. Work and a 2 year old and a 2 month old would do that regardless, and with my beloved dog sick on top of that, I'm feeling pretty worn down.

 

Hopes & prayers for more time doing well. I'd probably be hoping the doc that read the ultrasound was mistaken. Queen of DeNial

It's a pleasant place to be. I've been spending some time there myself lately. The vets weren't certain after all... But yesterday sitting on the couch while my daughter opened birthday presents (she turned 2 yesterday!!) I noticed his lymph nodes seemed larger than normal. His lymph nodes have always been rather pronounced, but now I'm really worried that it means it's spread or spreading through his body and that we're getting near the end. He's not acting sick. I think I'll take him to the vet again tomorrow. He hasn't been for an exam in a month. I don't know what they might tell me other than the worst, but maybe we can make him feel a little better.

 

Thank you all so much for your well-wishes, your sympathy, and your prayers.

Edited August 31, 2010 by cypselus

[Guest cypselus]

He played with our little terrier on the family room carpet this week, and did zoomies on the floor. He greets us at the door with stuffies, too.

 

I took him to the veterinarian today and weighed him. He's at 69.4 lbs! He's gained back everything he lost, and some of it is definitely muscle! The vet came out for a minute to see how he was doing and didn't seem too concerned about his lymph nodes. She could feel the ones in his neck, but nowhere else. I've always been able to feel the ones in his neck, too. He's doing so much better than I'd hoped, with no symptoms other than an occasional cough.

 

Every day is a blessing.

[Batmom]

Give him some scritchies for me, will you? I'm glad he's feeling so well.

[duncan41]

I don't know how I missed this, but it reads like a roller coaster. First, welcome to GT. I am so sorry that you decided to join our "family" under these circumstances, but please know that you aren't alone - a lot of us (me, too) joined because of a crisis. It's wonderful that your guy is still doing so well, and like you said, every day is a blessing. Sending prayers for many more good days with your boy, filled with blessings.

[Guest handpicked]

I am so sorry for this diagnosis of stomach cancer in Harrison!! I am a veterinarian and have seen stomach cancers vary in their presentation and prognosis. Can you tell me what Harrison's racing name is? I am doing a study on greyhound cancer and I am hoping that his information will help with my study. Please know I am praying for you and for Harrison. White light streaming your way!!

[robinw]

I just saw this. I'm sorry for Harrison's diagnosis but glad that he seems to happy. You're both in my thoughts

[DesiRayMom]

So glad Harrison is feeling better. If, in fact, his time is growing short, it sounds like you're both making it the best of times.

Blessings to you all.

[Guest cypselus]

I am so sorry for this diagnosis of stomach cancer in Harrison!! I am a veterinarian and have seen stomach cancers vary in their presentation and prognosis. Can you tell me what Harrison's racing name is? I am doing a study on greyhound cancer and I am hoping that his information will help with my study. Please know I am praying for you and for Harrison. White light streaming your way!!

Thank you. His racing name was JC David Star. We don't have pathology, just an ultrasound.

 

We have had another good week. He did throw up on an empty stomach twice this week, but he was coughing less on the other hand. He's still eating and is energetic. We cut back his food again to keep him from turning into Jabba the hound. We learned that ondansetron from Southpaws (one of the otherwise very pricey veterinary specialty centers in Northern Virginia) cost $70 LESS than Wal-Mart. I wish I'd know that a month ago.

 

Here's a picture of him from a month ago, with my son. You can see how emaciated he was.

 

Here he is a few days ago, resting on the bed with his partner in crime, Sophie. I didn't stage that. I woke up, and there they were, spooning next to me. I had to get the camera. You can see how much weight he's put on. A lot of it's muscle, but a lot of it isn't, too. Down 10 lbs and back up 10 in six weeks. D**n prednisone.

Edited September 12, 2010 by cypselus

[Guest MZH]

I'm the Queen of Denial too. I'd keep hoping it was bad acid reflux. That's awesome that he's gained all that weight!

 

I was wondering - did your vet suggest verifying stomach cancer or whatever else it might be with an endoscopy? They sure can see a lot of things in there that way. A friend had a dog who had an endoscopy and they found H. pylori of all things. The boy had an ulcer!

[Guest cypselus]

I'm the Queen of Denial too. I'd keep hoping it was bad acid reflux. That's awesome that he's gained all that weight!

 

I was wondering - did your vet suggest verifying stomach cancer or whatever else it might be with an endoscopy? They sure can see a lot of things in there that way. A friend had a dog who had an endoscopy and they found H. pylori of all things. The boy had an ulcer!

We've seen three different vets - the initial vet who suggested the ultrasound after seeing him for vomiting and diarrhea; our regular vet at a different practice who looked at the first vet's ultrasound; an oncologist at Southpaws who did another ultrasound while attempting a fine needle aspiration (which didn't recover any usable tissue). Endoscopy came up in discussion, of course, but they were all so confident that it was cancer. They didn't rule out ulcers or inflammation, but suggested rather strongly that the likelihood of either was vanishingly small.

 

My wife and I have discussed further testing. For now at least, given that his symptoms are largely under control; that his condition is not worsening; that if it is stomach cancer it doesn't do Harrison any good to know; that endoscopy may still fail to be definitive; and sadly, and I wish this weren't a factor, that it's a very expensive procedure (1500-1800) - we're not doing it right now. I'm very conflicted about this decision.

 

What happened with your friend's dog? What were its symptoms, and what was the treatment?

[Guest MZH]

He was sick a lot and they even had him on some expensive immune system drug. A different vet found the H pylori and cured it with the usual doxy and maybe an acid reducer regimen that people have. Then the unthinkable happened; he was diagnosed with metastaic osteo shortly afterwards. They were so focused on then digestive problems they missed the cancer. He was the "twin" brother of Cullen, the dog in my avatar. He died of another cancer.

 

Southpaws has some great vets. One of them wrote for CG Magazine when I was editor. He's in good hands.

[Guest MZH]

I just wanted to elaborate on the "he was sick a lot" comment. (I had to think about it a while.) He was not right since he was about two. He came from an oops litter so we saw that he wasn't quite as healthy as a young pup should be. At first they thought it was mega-esophagus b/c of lots or urping. Then it was a possible parathyroid problem - not - and then they just put him on an immune-suppressant, probably a form of cyclosporin. It was $200 a month from Canada. Then he was on thyroid meds and tons of supplements. He was also grumpy a lot b /c he just didn't feel well. But after $20,000 worth of meds and diagnostics it all came back to digestive issues. His vet died suddenly and he got a new vet who zeroed right in on the tummy issues. He finally felt better after the H pylori treatment and the slight limp he had had for a while turned painful. It was a cruel turn of fate that he'd get that after finally getting his GI issues taken care of. We didn't know whether to cry or scream.

 

I hope this helps.