Osteocarcinoma of the Jaw

[Anne]

Originally Posted by btrtevino

I have an appointment with an oncologist Monday. The wait is killing me but that is the soonest I could get it. Also, Anne, you say you feed an alkaline diet, do you have any specific suggestions. I have to use soft food because kibble irritates the tumor and causes her to bleed. I have heard good things about flaxseed oil so I bought a bottle to try. Does anyone have any suggestions to getting her pills down. I can't just put them down her throat because I think it hurts her mouth. She quickly wised up to putting it in a bite of canned food,crushing it in her food, and coating it with peanut butter on top of that semi-soft food that comes in a package like sausage. Also, today is the first time I tried the oil, and she would barely touch her food when she smelled it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Also, I wanted to let everyone know how much I truly appreciate your input.

I have a product called AlkaLife that I add to all liquids that Sophie drinks. It alkanises the liquids. For the alkaline diet I feed cottage cheese for breakfast with Flaxseed oil well mixed in. Mixing it well is important. She has always been on a BARF diet and has always had Flaxseed oil so it's no problem for her. I get the flaxseed from the refrigerated section of the health store. I can't detect any odor at all. Are you using that type of flaxseed oil? I would feed the flaxseed oil in some salmon, she won't notice any smell of the oil because it will be overpowered by the smell of the salmon and she'll become used to the oil in her food.

I don't feed any kibble for the reasons you mentioned, though I she's not often been fed kibble as she's always been fed BARF. She has all human grade foods, salmon, fatty minced meat, cooked chicken mince and eggs...all with the alkaline water added to make it easier for her to eat. Often I have to feed her with a spoon if it's too painful for her to eat on her own. I make all her meals mushy and soft with the alkaline water.

With the meds, Sophie is on a lot of medication on the metronomic therapy. I just roll a small ball of raw minced meat around each pill and she eats it without fuss. It has to be small though or otherwise she might try to chew it and discover the pill. She just swallows it so we have no problems.

I keep the carbs to the bare minimum and the oncologist suggested a fatty diet as cancer cells can't multiply with fat. Carbs feed cancer as does an acid environment in the body.

I did a google search on 'canine cancer diet'. It would be worth you having a look at the diets.

I'm glad you're seeing an oncologist. I don't think Sophie would still be with me if it wasn't for the oncologist. However I did have to resist the strong pressure being being put upon me to do surgery and chemotherapy. Neither work well with osteosarcoma and I won't put my dog through the pain and trauma of surgery or hospitalisation again for the sake of an extra couple of months of life. I want quality time for her over quantity. She has one chemo drug amongst the many other drugs she takes but I administer them all at home.

Once the oncologist finally got the message that I was definitely not going ahead with surgery and in house chemo we agreed on the metronomic protocol and it's working well and her pain is under control. Sophie's tumour did stop growing for 3 weeks but it's now growing again. We see the oncologist again tomorrow so we'll see what the blood tests show and find out if there are to be changes in medication. Also you will get adequate pain meds from the oncologist.

Please excuse this post being all over the place, it's nearly 3am and I'm not thinking clearly.

Please keep us posted on your progress. It would be great if we could email eachother but we can't put email addys on here and we don't have a private message function so I guess we'll just have to keep posting here.

[Liz]

All of my dogs have been such pigs you could wrap the pills in squishy white bread and they'd hork them right down Janni didn't like her flaxseed oil either though, so I used to mix it with canned mackeral. I also got my flaxseed oil in a refrigerated section at Whole Foods, and yes, it's pricey.

Liz

[Anne]

Originally Posted by Liz

All of my dogs have been such pigs you could wrap the pills in squishy white bread and they'd hork them right down Janni didn't like her flaxseed oil either though, so I used to mix it with canned mackeral. I also got my flaxseed oil in a refrigerated section at Whole Foods, and yes, it's pricey.

Liz

I agree Liz, the oil in smelly fish does it every time Taking the medication is a bit more difficult for our dogs with tumors in their mouths. They are understandably rather choosy because it's painful for them to eat. Some foods seem to sting their mouths because the tumour is like an open wound.

I tried soft Philly cheese to begin with and have always used that method to deliver medication but for some reason she refused to take the cheese. Then I tried liverwurst, that worked for only a short period of time too.

I think it had to do with pain management. Once I got the pain under control I found that a little minced meat wrapped in a small ball around the tablet did the trick and it still works for us. She would probably take the Philly cheese now but since what we're doing works for now I'll stick with the minced meat.

btrtevino: How is your girl today?

[jlaack]

I am also sorry to hear about your dog's diagnosis. I also wanted to mention the statitistics you initially posted are very positive but probably incorrect... The odds in favor of survival are much, much lower than what was posted.

Did your vet xray the lungs? If not you may want to consider doing so. This xray gives a good indication of how problematic the cancer is... Once there is evidence of disease in the lungs it is likely the cancer has spread beyond the tumor in the jaw meaning the prognosis is not good and time is shorter.

I agree with Anne and Liz; if possible feed your dog a raw, cancer starving diet. Cancer cells thrive on Carbohydrates so the diet should be very low in carbs. Cancer cells have a harder time using protein or fat to survive so the diet should be high in protein, moderate in fat. I would also recommend an immune booster since cancer is oportunistic meaning the immune system is not functioning properly. We use Immugen by Thorne Basic Research. It comes in a capsule but we open the capsule and dump it into raw meat so getting our dog to eat it isn't a problem. We use an herbal supplement called Hoxsey Bonsett too with is basically a detox specifically aimed at cancer cells.

While we did treat our dog with conventional medicine too; removing the only tumor and chemotherapy follow up we are also doing the above. Our dog will be two years out from when we started treating in April of this year.

I wish your dog the best. I know how difficult it is to deal with the news and the decision surrounding the diagnosis.

[btrtevino]

Thanks you for all the input. Sheva seems to be doing well. She seems so happy and playful, it is unfathomable to me that she has such a serious condition. I know I shouldn't, but everytime I leave her for any extended period of time (more than a few hours) I am so nervous that she will take a turn for the worse while I am gone. I have a 2 wonderful kids and a husband, and I know it sounds crazy but Sheva is such a part of my life, I don't know how I will handle the inevitable. Although I grew up around dogs, Sheva is my first dog as an adult. I feel like we have been through so much together. I probaly got her for all the wrong reasons. I was 19, living with my sister in an apartment and woke up to a man who had broke in staring at me. I asked him to leave, he said no, I stood up to run and for some unknown reason he ran out my back door. My sister had been about to adopt Sheva from the rescue, but thought I needed her instead because of the scare. Although it was probably irresponsible of me to take on such a burden while living in an apartment, I truly feel it was meant to be. For some reason, things have always worked out for us. We have never had to be apart. She has been through some of my roughest times as well as the best. She has been here to welcome both of my children home. I always tell everybody that she really is the easiest dog ever.Although she was a little less than 1 when I got her, she never chewed, was always potty trained, and took everything I threw at her. 1 husband, 1 horse, 2 kids, 3 cats and another rottie who I have to say at 2 yo is still quite the puppy! Sorry about the stroll down memory lane, but it almost seems therapeutic to talk about it.Anyways, I am going to try all the suggestions. Also, does anyone know if it is harmful to use the silver nitrate sticks to cauterize the bleeding in her mouth? The bleeding really worries me, and the vets act like its fine, but sometimes I get the feeling that they feel at this point since I am not doing surgery, they think I can't really hurt her. Oh yeah, I did have chest x-rays done and they were clear about two weeks ago. Wow, I can't believe how much has happenned in 2-3 weeks. Anyways, sorry about the rambling. I am also worried because some times the amount she eats fluctuates and I don't know if it is because it hurts too much or all the extras I give her with pills quelches her appetite.

[PuppyLove]

My best friend's border collie was diagnosed with osteocarcinoma in her jaw a couple years ago. It was in a bad spot and the veterinarian oncologist wasn't sure if they could even get to the tumor surgically, or successfully remove enough of the tumor if they could reach it. My friend went forward with the surgery and they were able to remove a great deal of the cancerous matter. She then followed up with chemo treatments. The dog handled the chemo quite well and only had one off day where she really wasn't feeling well. Wilma was 6 when she was first diagnosed and it has been two years since then with no recurrence of the cancer as of yet. The surgery and chemo haven't slowed her down a bit and she was back to running around with the horses fairly quickly. She has been very fortunate, as I understand the outcome for this type of cancer appearing in the jaw is not often a good one.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your girl. I wish you the best during this difficult time.

[btrtevino]

I know I should limt her exposure to chemicals, but I noticed she was scrqatcing alot, which I think irritates her jaw. She has never really got fleas, but this morning, I know I saw one. Do you think it is okay to use advantage on her? Or Does anyone have other suggestions? Thanks again.

[Liz]

Originally Posted by btrtevino

I know I shouldn't, but everytime I leave her for any extended period of time (more than a few hours) I am so nervous that she will take a turn for the worse while I am gone. I have a 2 wonderful kids and a husband, and I know it sounds crazy but Sheva is such a part of my life, I don't know how I will handle the inevitable.

I think we all go through that. Janni was very old when her cancer hit and she used to sleep very soundly. I would come home from work and poke her to wake her up just to make sure she was o.k. - poor girl And after she died I think I spent a long long time waking up in the middle of the night and reaching for her to see if she was breathing. She used to sleep right next to my bed and towards the end I was always waking up and putting my hand on her rib cage to make sure she was still with me. As I told a very dear friend, I still reach out for Janni in the middle of the night sometimes, I know she's there, I just can't touch her yet.

Liz

[jlaack]

I know I should limt her exposure to chemicals, but I noticed she was scrqatcing alot, which I think irritates her jaw. She has never really got fleas, but this morning, I know I saw one. Do you think it is okay to use advantage on her? Or Does anyone have other suggestions? Thanks again.

Have you tried a natural product first? That would be my recommendation. There is a site Only Natural Pet Store - Dogs Cats Holistic Supplies Products Food Treats Vitamins Medicine Supplements that offers a lot of natural flea protection products.

I also understand the worry. I am going through that right now. I stopped working for a year to take care of and spend time with my boy. I just went back to work part time and I was very nervous about doing so. I've been working now for almost a month but I always relax a bit when I get home and see my dogs smiling face.

[Anne]

Originally Posted by btrtevino

I know I should limt her exposure to chemicals, but I noticed she was scrqatcing alot, which I think irritates her jaw. She has never really got fleas, but this morning, I know I saw one. Do you think it is okay to use advantage on her? Or Does anyone have other suggestions? Thanks again.

I'll be asking that question of the oncolgist today. I'll come back later and let you know the recommendation.

Sophie has Sentinel Spectrum and is due to take it again in 2 days. I gave it to her last month but she's not as well as she was then. I've noticed a decline in her over the last couple of days.

My inclination is to still give flea and parasite protection. I think she is coping with so much without having a flea infestation or worm burden to cause further discomfort.

[hokisteph5]

Originally Posted by btrtevino

I know I should limt her exposure to chemicals, but I noticed she was scrqatcing alot, which I think irritates her jaw. She has never really got fleas, but this morning, I know I saw one. Do you think it is okay to use advantage on her? Or Does anyone have other suggestions? Thanks again.

When getting rid of fleas from the house (e.g. couch, carpet, etc.) I swear by Fleabusters. If you google the name, you'll find the product.

[jlaack]

I've noticed a decline in her over the last couple of days.

I'm really sorry to hear this... You are in our thoughts.

[btrtevino]

I hate to hear about Sophie's decline the last few days. All I can say is good luck and I hope things look up for you again.

[Anne]

Originally Posted by btrtevino

I hate to hear about Sophie's decline the last few days. All I can say is good luck and I hope things look up for you again.

The oncolgist said it's ok to give Sophie the Sentinel Spectrum.

We had a much better report than I was expecting. Although Sophie's tumor is growing her bloods were well within the normal range and she's still strong and energetic. She was dragging the vet nurse around. I told her to tell Sophie to heel. That got her back under control.

How is your girl going btrtevino.