My Beloved Abacu Racey Has Lung Cancer :(

[Burpdog]

The pred will help him breathe.

 

Sending prayers

[sabrina]

sorry for the bad news

[Neighsayer]

Sounds like he is still full of life! Enjoy your time with him! Hugs!

[maryz]

Your boy is so handsome. I hope he has much more quality time left with you. I'm sorry you're having to deal with this.

[Guest IrskasMom]

Praying for some Quality Time with Abacu

[Guest june]

Sending hugs and prayers for both of you. Enjoy every minute you have with him and try to not worry about the future.

[Guest mtoddy123]

Last week we took Abacu to another vet for a 2nd opinion; a place where they're able to get better x-rays without sedation. The doctor does not think it looks like lung cancer, but thinks the xray shows a pulmonary bullous, and the rest of the lungs are irritated from it. She put him on antibiotics to help with anything secondary that might be going on. Also did testing for parasites, including heartworm and lungworm (all negative). She suggested a tracheal wash to see if they could determine whether there was an infection and what it is. He's at the vet right now having that done. I'm so worried about my billygoat. It was very hard to leave him there this morning. I'm waiting for the doctor to call and say he did ok with the procedure.

[TheFullHouse]

Hoping you get better news!

[Charlies_Dad]

That is would be fantastic if the first diagnosis is wrong! Hope that is the case.

[duncan41]

Oh, my! What a handsome guy! Praying for a different diagnosis!

[Guest undergreysspell]

Hope he does ok and has a better diagnosis!

[Remolacha]

hoping for good news!

[Batmom]

Sending prayers!

[racindog]

Praying for good news! He is BEAUTIFUL! Love that pic on his data page in the green flowers.

[MerlinsMum]

I have no experience with this, I just wanted to say how very, very sorry I am. I hope you have a lot of quality time left together.

[FluffyDuff]

Sending prayers.

[Neighsayer]

Hoping for better news!

[carronstar]

Hoping that you get a better idea of what is going on with your gorgeous boy.

[galgrey]

Will be checking back for an update.

[Guest grey_dreams]

Sending prayers for your beloved boy.

[Guest mtoddy123]

UPDATE--

 

Shortly before 11:00 a.m., on Friday morning, April 26, 2013, we lost our beloved Abacu Racey.

 

I had wanted to follow-up sooner after we got the confirmed diagnosis, but at the same time, it was just easier to try to focus on enjoying our remaining time with him. On 3/28, Abacu had a tracheal wash at 2nd opinion vet (who after x-rays didn't think it looked like cancer); we got the results on 4/30 -- serology consistent with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma. He started on 10 mg prednisone on Easter Sunday, 3/31. That first week, the coughing was much improved, and his energy was still normal, running and playing and happy, and eating well. He did start drinking more than normal, but no accidents yet. On Saturday, 4/06, after some intense playtime in the yard with greyhound brothers, he started to seem really lethargic, which was much more noticeable on Sunday, 4/07. That evening Abby had his first peeing accident in the house. He just stopped squeaking when he needed to go out, and just stood up and peed. We got some belly bands which we lined with a washcloth, which helped while we were at work, and overnight. He grew increasingly reluctant to eat, and we had to keep upping the palatability of the food, so he couldn't refuse.

 

On 4/11 (my birthday), we went back to the vet for a check-up, due to stiffness and some difficulty walking. By this time he had stopped running and playing like normal, but would still try to bounce around while watching the other dogs play. As of that visit, he'd lost another 4 pounds. I had been worried his lethargy was prednisone side-effect, but the vet suggested increasing the dosage to 20 mg per day. So I started alternating 10mg / 20 mg, every other day. The vet was also concerned about lack of appetite, and said to feed him anything he'd eat. (That evening, we made his liver birthday cake, because I felt he would not make it until May 20, which would have been his 11th birthday.) So in addition to little bit of dry food mixed with wet food, we started giving him boiled chicken with rice or pasta. He started eating better, but last week he was slowing down more and more, and noticeably having trouble walking up the 3 stairs from outside.

 

On 4/24 when I came home from lunch, he was drooling excessively, and just really seemed exhausted. That evening we took him in for an emergency visit, and the vet suggested reducing the 20 mg prednisone down to 15 mg, so it would be 10mg-15-10, instead of 10-20-10. She gave him a shot for nausea (possible cause of drooling) and an antibiotic. Thursday the drooling was a little better, but still present. I stayed home with him that day, and fed him lots of bread with peanut butter. He had to go out to pee about 3 times during the night on Thursday, and at about 5am on Friday, he would just stand in front of his water bowl like he wanted to drink, but he wouldn't. I tried to get him to drink, and his tongue seemed to be really sore. He would try to drink, but there was too much saliva in his mouth, and that would just come out in the water. I tried to feed him some cold boiled chicken, which he really wanted (he was clearly hungry and thirsty), and he painfully gulped down a couple of pieces, but then he just took a bite and set it down on the floor. It was so sad, because he just kept standing in front of the water bowl, and then he'd look at me, and then move over to lean on me (his way of giving hugs). It was like he didn't understand why he couldn't swallow, and was asking for help. Through the night I had dreamed that it was time, and I also remember hearing him coughing in his sleep. It was a real weak cough, like he didn't have enough energy to really even try to cough. I knew in my heart that morning when he could not drink, that he was not going to make it through the weekend. We called to leave a message for the vet, and then lay down on the couch together. He was so weak and dehydrated, and clearly did not feel good at all. The vet called around 8:30, and we talked about how it seemed like it was time. I told her we really liked her (this was a new woman we saw on Wednesday night, really great ''bedside manner'' and Abby really liked her--he's a super shy dog) and so did Abby, could she please come to the house? Her schedule would allow her to come within the hour (for certain), or possibly after 2pm (but could not guarantee the later time). On the one hand, I felt that I needed a few more hours with him, but I also didn't want to risk missing the opportunity for a home visit, and Abby was clearly in pain and I knew that it was selfish to make him wait several more hours just for me to feel better.

 

The vet got there around 9:45. He was lying on his big cozy bed in the living room. He got up before the IV was put in, and then she gave him a sedative and some pain meds, and he really fought that. He did not want to lay back down, and his hind legs started shaking really bad (exhaustion). He seemed scared and tried to walk out of the room. It was just heartbreaking. Finally, after a couple of more pain meds injections, he lay down and was breathing really deeply. I was lying down behind him stroking his chest and rubbing his head and ears. When we were ready, she gave him a large injection of propofol, followed by a large injection of the pink liquid. I was concentrating so hard on rubbing him and being there for him that I didn't even realize or notice when he stopped breathing, or his final heartbeat. After the vet left, we cleaned him up and let the other dogs see him. Onion sniffed him and then lay down next to him. When we were ready, we carried him to the car, and I sat in the back seat with him, rubbing his head. It was the first time he ever went on a car ride without jumping up for every little bump. We will be picking up his ashes later this week. The whole experience was pretty surreal, and I just could not believe he was gone.

 

The weather has been beautiful since Friday, and it is quite upsetting, because Abby never really got to lay in the sun like he loves to do. (It had been too cold and windy.) I alternate between feeling good and knowing he's not suffering anymore, but then I just burst into hysterical tears, wondering how I'm going to go on without my soulmate. I've made myself a little crazy, thinking that he declined quickly after starting the prednisone (so maybe he never should have started). But then I remember how bad he was coughing up blood, and that stopped with the prednisone. It's so hard to keep running through every decision, wondering if something else would have kept him with us longer. I really just can't believe he's gone. Abacu was my first greyhound, and he is the first greyhound I've lost. I don't regret things; I know it was the right decision. I just woke up on Friday, knowing it was time. Thank you all for the comments and support. It really means a lot. It helps to know how many others have gone through this. I keep trying to remember what a wonderful 9 years and 2 months he had with me. Even with all of this pain, the joy he brought to my life makes everything worth it.

 

Melissa

[Houndtime]

Melissa, I have a Melissa too, who is going through some trials with her greyhound today too. I am so very sorry for your loss. Your posting broughts tears to my eyes. We always have to think of quality of like and not how long we want to keep them. If that were so, we would all keep them forever. You loved your boy and he knew and felt that love. You were his best friend and gave hime the gift of being pain free and at peace. G-d bless.

 

I do hate cancer. It is the thief who robs us everyday of those we love.

[Batmom]

I'm so very sorry for your heartbreaking loss.

 

Godspeed, beloved boy.

[greytpups]

I'm so sorry Melissa. You gave him the best gift of all...a wonderful life and knew when to let him go. The hardest decision is also the most loving and unselfish, albeit very painful. No matter how much longer he lived, it would not be long enough. May your sweet boy rest in peace, pain free, knowing he was loved by you.

[TheFullHouse]

I'm so very sorry for your loss.