Canine Lung Cancer

[Guest greyhoundude]

One of my boys, Stoker, has been diagnosed with canine lung cancer. He'll be 10 on 9/18. The diagnosis (via chest X-rays read by a radiologist) was made a week ago after he developed some rather harsh coughing/hacking, occasionally coughing up a small amount of blood.

 

His appetite is good, he's not lethargic, not limping and is able to go for short walks, which he does enthusiastically. His breathing is becoming a bit harsh, though he doesn't labor while on a walk. His major overt symptom is the coughing. The coughing "attacks" happen infrequently, but regularly, and last for up to a minute.

 

I've opted to not go the surgery route. My question is, has anyone here had a Grey that was diagnosed with lung cancer? If so, how did you treat it? Are there any homeopathic/natural remedies that can help?

 

Thanks to all of you in advance.

[Guest boondog]

I'm sorry you and Stoker are going through this. I do not have any personal experience, but one of my friends recently met someone at OSU whose greyhound was there for lung cancer treatment. It was not osteo metathesis, but actual lung cancer. I strongly recommend contacting OSU.

Edited September 4, 2011 by boondog

[tbhounds]

Does your vet have a guess whether it's a primary tumor or mets? I think I would have an abdominal ultrasound and further radiographs performed to rule out a distant primary tumor. I personally know of 2-3 other dogs (non-gh's) that had (have) primary lung tumors and they appear to be very slow growing and the dogs are currently doing really well. These dogs , however, were not clinical and were in otherwise good health-- the tumors were found by doing a pre-operative work up.

[Guest greyhoundude]

Does your vet have a guess whether it's a primary tumor or mets? I think I would have an abdominal ultrasound and further radiographs performed to rule out a distant primary tumor. I personally know of 2-3 other dogs (non-gh's) that had (have) primary lung tumors and they appear to be very slow growing and the dogs are currently doing really well. These dogs , however, were not clinical and were in otherwise good health-- the tumors were found by doing a pre-operative work up.

 

I believe my vet said it was a primary tumor. If I remember correctly (the day was sort of a blur to me) he said he very rarely sees this type of cancer in dogs.

[Guest bethac]

I am so sorry you are going through this. We had a terrier mix that developed lung cancer after having lymphoma. We went through 2 rounds of chemo for the lymphoma, getting her into remission twice. But when she developed lung cancer at nearly 15 yrs old, we chose not to treat it. A tissue biopsy would have been needed to determine the exact type of lung cancer and at that point we chose not to put her through more invasive procedures and treatments.

 

My heart aches for you.

[Guest greyhoundude]

I am so sorry you are going through this. We had a terrier mix that developed lung cancer after having lymphoma. We went through 2 rounds of chemo for the lymphoma, getting her into remission twice. But when she developed lung cancer at nearly 15 yrs old, we chose not to treat it. A tissue biopsy would have been needed to determine the exact type of lung cancer and at that point we chose not to put her through more invasive procedures and treatments.

 

My heart aches for you.

 

Thanks. I've been down this road before. I lost two Greys to cancer within 6 weeks of each other in the Spring of 2004. Not a fun time.

[robinw]

I had a Labrador retriever that had long cancer. I went the "keep him comfortable" route and he stayed with us for three more months.

 

I'm sorry and hope you have lots of quality time together.

Edited September 4, 2011 by robinw

[Guest FawnFan]

I'm very sorry to hear about the diagnosis. I'm hoping you can find a treatment plan which will help to extend his life as long as possible. Lung cancer is a tough one.

 

And I have had experience with this. I had an 8 yo female greyhound, CiCi, who I adopted in Jan-10 who was diagnosed with lung cancer in Apr-10. She too had the cough. She had this when we adopted her though. And it was so frequent we almost renamed her Coffee instead of CiCi. Anyway, we didn't know CiCi was so sick until she spit up blood. Once the x-rays came back and the diagnosis was given, we opted for the surgery. The Vets we went to (surgeon and x-ray specialist) both thought the cancer was contained in her lower lobes. They thought they'd be able to pluck it out and then we'd have another year with her. They did warn us the cancer would come back though.

 

She did fine with the surgery. I had more issues with the recovery than she did. And she seemed to be in great health for about 2 months. No cough. She was lively. She was happy every single day. And then the cough returned. It was downhill from there. Sadly, CiCi was helped across the bridge just about a year ago on Sep 24th 2010. She had been home for 8.5 months.

 

From what I was told by the surgeon, the cancer had spread to the central area of the lungs which connects all of the lung lobes together. He couldn't get all of the cancer out.

 

In addition to the surgery, I also did acupuncture, Chinese herbals and started doing home cooked meals. Neither seemed to help (imho.) Then again, I later found out from another Vet, Dr. Deva Khalsa who is a highly recommended natural remedies Vet and who is also known as the "last ditch" effort Vet, that the Chinese herbals I was prescribed weren't the best for CiCi's condition. That's another story though.

 

If given a do-over for CiCi's situation, I would have contacted Dr. Khalsa at the initial diagnosis instead of waiting. I really liked her treatment plan. She also seemed to be open to more possibilities than what my local Vet was open to. The tough part was getting my local Vet to work with her (she's an American Vet from Pennsylvania who has moved to Australia yet still keeps an stateside location in Florida.)

 

My experience with it wasn't a very long time yet I felt I did everything I could for her.

 

Again I wish you all the best with this challenge. I will keep you and Stoker in my thoughts and prayers.

~Jean

[krissn333]

There is a medication called Palladia which has been used in dogs with osteo in order to prevent and/or treat lung mets. Might be worth investigating it's use for a primary lung tumor.

 

I would definitely contact OSU. They provide chemotherapy for osteo dogs, they might also provide it for other cancers. They will be able to give you some good information and treatment recommendations at the very least

 

Very sorry you're dealing with this-hoping for continued good quality of life for your boy

[joejoesmom]

I just wanted to give you the info on how to contact OSU. Email / phone consultation is free, but you need to send a request through their online consultation request form:

 

https://greyhound.osu.edu/consultationservice/

 

Someone mentioned Palladia. My Joe is will be taking Palladia for the rest of his life in the hopes of preventing lung mets from bone cancer. He is in a study at OSU. I don't know if they have studied it in regards to primary lung cancer, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. Palladia was initially approved for use in treating mast cell cancer in dogs.

 

In any case, I'm sure OSU could give you an opinion on the treatment that they recommend.

 

Jane

[Guest greyhoundude]

I just wanted to give you the info on how to contact OSU. Email / phone consultation is free, but you need to send a request through their online consultation request form:

 

https://greyhound.osu.edu/consultationservice/

 

Someone mentioned Palladia. My Joe is will be taking Palladia for the rest of his life in the hopes of preventing lung mets from bone cancer. He is in a study at OSU. I don't know if they have studied it in regards to primary lung cancer, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. Palladia was initially approved for use in treating mast cell cancer in dogs.

 

In any case, I'm sure OSU could give you an opinion on the treatment that they recommend.

 

Jane

 

Thanks for the information!

[Guest MorganKonaAlex]

I'm sorry to hear about Stoker. My Demon developed osteo. He had an amputation and chemo and did well. 6 months later, I had to board the dogs for a week-end. Demon and Cobb came back for the kennel coughing. We treated for kennel cough but Demon then coughed up a blood clot. He had a chest xray which showed a tumor. The oncologist thought it was a new primary lung cancer instead of lung mets from osteo since it was 1 large tumor. osteo lung mets are many small tumors. The treatment option at that point would be surgical removal and the median life expectancy was 6-12 months. Systemic treatments are not very effective. They would be the Metronomic protocol or Palladia. Palladia was experimental, inhibits blood vessel formation and requires a lot of monitoring. The biggest side effect are GI trace issues. I had a previous dog, Alex, on the Metronomic protocol for a short while. We had to discontinue it because it was so hard on his stomach. We didn't want to try it on Demon. Since Demon had already been through osteo, we decided on palliative care only. The oncologist gave us a median survival of 1-4 months. We treated with prednisone, tramadol, codeine cough medicine and sucralfate. A few weeks later we added Aminophylline (a bronchial dialator) when his breathing became more difficult. From diagnosis to euthanization was 7 weeks.

[Charlies_Dad]

I am sorry you and Stoker are going through this.

[carronstar]

I am so sorry Stoker and you are going through this. Sending lots of good thoughts and prayers.

[Burpdog]

I had an older grey with a lung tumor that was visible on xray. We kept him comfortable on pred for about 6 months before I had to say bye...

 

Sending prayers.

[Guest greyhoundude]

I had an older grey with a lung tumor that was visible on xray. We kept him comfortable on pred for about 6 months before I had to say bye...

 

Sending prayers.

 

My main concern with Stoker, at the moment, anyway, is his coughing. It's not to the point where it's incessant, but I can imagine it getting to that point.

 

I'm making another trip to the vet tomorrow. I'll ask my vet about pred.

[Guest greyhoundude]

Update: Stoker passed away today from complications from cancer. He was 10. Thanks for all your input and support!

 

For a couple of photos of this wonderful pooch: http://wvgl.blogspot.com/2011/11/rip-stoker-september-18-2001-november-8.html

 

RIP Stoker.

[TheFullHouse]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

[DesiRayMom]

I'm so sorry.....Rest in Peace, handsome.

[Batmom]

I'm sorry for the loss of your handsome boy.

 

Godspeed, Stoker.

[greyhead]

I'm so sorry he had to leave you. He was a beautiful boy.

[robinw]

I'm so sorry

[joejoesmom]

I'm so sorry for your loss. He knows he was well loved.

 

Jane

[Houndtime]

I am so sorry for your loss. Too many taken, too soon.

[Charlies_Dad]

I am very sorry for your loss of Stoker. He was a beauty.

 

Run free Stoker, run free sweetie...