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  1. #11
    Puppy kpbrock's Avatar
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    I’m so sorry to hear this.

    My sweet Maggie had a lesion removed from her mouth in 2012 (she was 8) and was diagnosed with epitheliotropic lymphoma, a rare cancer with average survival rate measured in months without treatment. We worked with a veterinary oncologist and started chemotherapy (CCNU, or lomustine) soon after her diagnosis. She tolerated the chemo—which was supplied orally every couple of weeks—very well, though her bloodwork was closely monitored and occasionally we had to delay treatment until her counts rebounded. I don’t think the oral chemo bothered her much, and she did very well for about 2 years. (We also started seeing a second vet who specialized in traditional Chinese medicine—TCM—and other alternative treatments, which I think contributed to the positive outcome.)

    Unfortunately we discovered another lesion in her mouth in 2014, and at that time our only option was radiation therapy. Of course, it targeted her face and mouth, and it was very hard. It burned and itched, she lost hair, one side of her face was raw. Because it was her face, it was impossible to ignore her discomfort. We lost her a couple months later.
    I’ve known others who treated their dogs with radiation therapy with varying results. For us—and hopefully for Maggie—the chemo (and TCM) gave her about 2 years of good-quality life and I don’t regret trying it. Knowing what I know now, I’m not sure I would do radiation again. But every case is different, and your options for anal gland cancer are surely very different than ours. Learn as much as you can about the treatments and side effects involved and ask questions. And hopefully you have a vet you can trust.

    It’s not easy having to make these decisions for our pets. Sending you all good thoughts.

  2. #12
    Best Friend Retriever
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    I just want to add that I'm sorry you are facing this, and I will be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.......

  3. #13
    Senior Dog Black Labbies's Avatar
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    Sorry to read about Yogi's cancer .

    Some dogs do well with chemo/radiation treatments, others don't. Our experience with chemo in a family member's dog, didn't go so well.

    We've treated/managed cancers with our own dogs with natural treatments with the guidance of our dogs' holistic/homeopathic vet.
    Here's some info to consider for Yogi:
    Holistic Options For Canine Anal Gland Issues - Dogs Naturally Magazine
    Holistic approach to anal gland problems in dogs I Dr. Peter Dobias
    There are also medicinal mushrooms that have worked wonders.

    Wishing Yogi and you all the very best.

  4. #14
    House Broken
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    This seems to be a pretty common cancer in Labs. These are usually anal gland carcinomas and even though they are malignant, they are classified as a low-grade malignancy. The problem with them is usually rapid recurrence. Your surgeon said that the margins were not clean, meaning that there were likely cancer cells remaining in the surrounding tissue. This is common because the surgeon has to be aggressive to remove the tumor but gentle not to enter the colon or cut the pudendal nerve that allow anal sphincter control. The problem I have with radiation and chemo for these tumors is that historically, carcinomas do not respond favorably as a cancer type. As you likely know, not all cancers are alike. Some of them respond to chemo/radiation better than others. I am currently treating two dogs that have this cancer, both have had the tumor surgically removed and neither opted for chemo or radiation. Both dogs are on wholesome food, supplements, acupuncture and Chinese herbs. Both have been coming in for several months and neither has had the tumor return at this time. You might do your own research as to the effectiveness with chemo and radiation for his particular type of tumor and alternative therapies as you consider your options. Good luck.

  5. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Dennis Thomas, DVM For This Useful Post:

    Jollymolly (03-21-2018), Mollysmomma (03-18-2018), SunDance (03-18-2018)

  6. #15
    Puppy Yogi's Avatar
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    Thanks everyone for the thoughts and advice.

  7. #16
    Real Retriever BogeyBaby's Avatar
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    Not that kind of cancer, but we did do chemo for Chico when he got sarcoma in his elbow and had to have his leg amputated. One year of chemo administered monthly. I think it was too much for his kidneys because he ended up with kidney failure and we had to put him down. When he was on chemo, he had very little reaction to it--perhaps a day or two of less activity but not much else. I think it was about 9 months in that I noticed his increased water intake and I think that was the beginning of the kidney failure. Sorry you have to go through this.

  8. #17
    Real Retriever amyb's Avatar
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    I am sorry to hear about Yogi and anal cancer. cyber hugs
    DOGS ROCK!!!

  9. #18
    Senior Dog Jollymolly's Avatar
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    Sorry to see you going through this. sending mojo

  10. #19
    Puppy Yogi's Avatar
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    Quick update: I returned to the surgeon today for a follow-up visit (surgery was two weeks ago). He went over the results and said if Yogi were his dog, he wouldn't do radiation/chemo, and that he viewed the margins as "clean." Next step is to reconcile his opinion vs. the oncologist's -- she didn't recommend radiation/chemo per se, but she called the margins "dirty," and my general vibe from each expert was inconsistent, so I'd like them to address whether this was a difference in opinion or whether something more objective is afoot (as in, God forbid they're looking at different results).

  11. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Yogi For This Useful Post:

    lovemylabby (04-11-2018), smartrock (03-23-2018)

  12. #20
    Real Retriever 3ChocMom's Avatar
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    Have you seen the pathology report? If not, get yourself a copy and ask your oncologist to go through it with you and explain what everything means. My 13-year-old dog had her left eye removed last year due to a soft tissue sarcoma in the conjunctival tissue. I had a hell of a time with pathologists trying to determine the exact type of cancer, so I am unfortunately now somewhat of an untrained expert. LOL I had 3 different pathologists evaluate her tumor and we still aren't 100% sure. Not only that, but there was some disagreement between her surgeon and the pathologists on the margins. If the margins are "dirty," the report will usually say something like "neoplastic cells extend into the examined margin(s)." In my dog's case, they actually used the word dirty. When the margins are technically clean, but narrowly, that can sometimes be called dirty. This is because there is usually a certain amount of healthy tissue surrounding the diseased tissue that should be excised when possible (sometimes 3mm or more). Depending on the location of the tumor, that isn't always possible. So even though they may not have seen any cancer cells extending into the margins, if the healthy tissue surrounding the excised tumor was less than 3mm (or whatever is the recommended margin for anal gland carcinoma), they may still consider it dirty. I hope that makes sense.

    As for chemo or radiation, I opted to do neither. Radiation requires repeated anesthesia for each treatment; my dog would not have done well with that. I was given 2 options for chemo - IV chemo or oral. The IV chemo scared the hell out of me. The dog has to be kept still during the administration because if the drug gets outside the vein, it can be fatal. The oral chemo involves a drug call Peroxicam, which is an NSAID whose number one side effect is gastric ulcers. My dog got a gastric ulcer many years ago from Metacam and since then, I have never given her another NSAID. Since she's prone to them, I knew it was a when, not an if. Her cancer has not spread, it was only in her eye, so like yours, the biggest risk was local recurrence. She wasn't sick and I didn't want to make her sick. I already fed her a home cooked diet, but I started giving her lots of supplements to boost her immune system and some Chinese herbs. It has been 11 months and she is cancer free. I still worry every day that tumor will come back, but so far, so good. Good thoughts for you and Yogi.

  13. The Following User Says Thank You to 3ChocMom For This Useful Post:

    Mollysmomma (06-26-2018)

 



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