Comments on: Life Quality in Dog Cancer: Dr Dressler’s Joys of Life Scale http://www.dogcancerblog.com/life-quality-in-dog-cancer-dr-dresslers-joys-of-life-scale/ Dr. Demian Dressler, DVM, the dog cancer vet blogs about canine cancer Fri, 10 Sep 2010 20:32:30 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Dr. Dressler http://www.dogcancerblog.com/life-quality-in-dog-cancer-dr-dresslers-joys-of-life-scale/comment-page-1/#comment-2621 Dr. Dressler Mon, 22 Mar 2010 06:59:11 +0000 http://www.dogcancerblog.com/?p=29#comment-2621 Dear Katie, I am sorry to hear this news about your Bobby. I feel it is very important that whatever you do though, you need to have a vet or oncologist on board. Every dog is different, and I cannot make recommendations for a unique dog. I would also lower the dose of the Apocaps with the prednisolone and monitor for digestive upset or just wait until Bobby is off the pred before starting. Please keep your vet involved in what you are doing, or find one that can speak your language! All my best, Dr D Dear Katie,
I am sorry to hear this news about your Bobby. I feel it is very important that whatever you do though, you need to have a vet or oncologist on board. Every dog is different, and I cannot make recommendations for a unique dog. I would also lower the dose of the Apocaps with the prednisolone and monitor for digestive upset or just wait until Bobby is off the pred before starting. Please keep your vet involved in what you are doing, or find one that can speak your language! All my best,
Dr D

]]> By: Katie Eldred http://www.dogcancerblog.com/life-quality-in-dog-cancer-dr-dresslers-joys-of-life-scale/comment-page-1/#comment-2611 Katie Eldred Fri, 19 Mar 2010 22:20:25 +0000 http://www.dogcancerblog.com/?p=29#comment-2611 Bobby, my almost 12 y.o. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, was a month ago diagnosed with "early cutaneous lymphosarcoma". I have purchased and studied your book. Bobby is on prednisone (3 tabs daily for 1 month, 2 caps daily for one month then 1 cap daily for a month). Now your Apocaps have become available. The dose on the bottle, for Bobby's size, says 2 caps two times daily. Would it be OK to give him 1 cap daily ? I live in British Columbia and my vet is President of the BCVMA so I suspect he may not be too open-minded about alternative treatments. Bobby has only been his patient for a short time - the vet who looked after all my animals for 30 years retired in 2008 & I have had trouble finding another with whom I can have the same relationship. I am preparing a dossier based on your recommendations and hope to talk to him about this soon, but I especially would like to start Apocaps quickly if you think it would be OK. Bobby, my almost 12 y.o. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, was a month ago diagnosed with “early cutaneous lymphosarcoma”. I have purchased and studied your book. Bobby is on prednisone (3 tabs daily for 1 month, 2 caps daily for one month then 1 cap daily for a month). Now your Apocaps have become available. The dose on the bottle, for Bobby’s size, says 2 caps two times daily. Would it be OK to give him 1 cap daily ? I live in British Columbia and my vet is President of the BCVMA so I suspect he may not be too open-minded about alternative treatments. Bobby has only been his patient for a short time – the vet who looked after all my animals for 30 years retired in 2008 & I have had trouble finding another with whom I can have the same relationship. I am preparing a dossier based on your recommendations and hope to talk to him about this soon, but I especially would like to start Apocaps quickly if you think it would be OK.

]]> By: Dr. Dressler http://www.dogcancerblog.com/life-quality-in-dog-cancer-dr-dresslers-joys-of-life-scale/comment-page-1/#comment-2330 Dr. Dressler Mon, 08 Feb 2010 07:24:08 +0000 http://www.dogcancerblog.com/?p=29#comment-2330 Dear Paul, In cases like these we must defer to the wisdom of your veterinarian or oncologist, since these professionals know you particular and unique dog's case. As a general guideline, not knowing your dog, I would (at a minimum) get an ultrasound done every 6-8 weeks to assess progress. As to the second part of your question, this is quite open ended. Treatment of this cancer and cancer generally is a deep field. I assume you have considered mitoxantrone. Additionally I hope diet is being addressed, perhaps some of the other supplements like artemisinin and Neoplasene, life quality enrichment, decreasing stress hormone levels, sleep, pesticide avoidance, and avoidance of blue wavelength light to preserve melatonin levels and so on. You may want to check into the <a href="http://www.dogcancersurvival.com" rel="nofollow">Dog Cancer Survival Guide</a>, which is a complete answer to this quite expansive question. Best, Dr D Dear Paul,
In cases like these we must defer to the wisdom of your veterinarian or oncologist, since these professionals know you particular and unique dog’s case. As a general guideline, not knowing your dog, I would (at a minimum) get an ultrasound done every 6-8 weeks to assess progress.
As to the second part of your question, this is quite open ended. Treatment of this cancer and cancer generally is a deep field. I assume you have considered mitoxantrone. Additionally I hope diet is being addressed, perhaps some of the other supplements like artemisinin and Neoplasene, life quality enrichment, decreasing stress hormone levels, sleep, pesticide avoidance, and avoidance of blue wavelength light to preserve melatonin levels and so on. You may want to check into the Dog Cancer Survival Guide, which is a complete answer to this quite expansive question.
Best,
Dr D

]]> By: Paul Buehler http://www.dogcancerblog.com/life-quality-in-dog-cancer-dr-dresslers-joys-of-life-scale/comment-page-1/#comment-2294 Paul Buehler Tue, 02 Feb 2010 02:25:12 +0000 http://www.dogcancerblog.com/?p=29#comment-2294 Hello, my 11 year old chihuahua, Sancho was diagnosed via ultrasound with TCC. He is on Piroxicam and several vitamin and herbal supplements including fish oil, astragalus, "Bladder Support" supplement and Baytril. He has been on this combination for about a month and just seems to be doing very well. I'm wondering how frequently I should follow up with another ultrasound or other test to see if things are getting better or worse. He seems to be doing very well, no urinary problems and very energetic, eating, drinking and very playful each morning. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, Paul Hello, my 11 year old chihuahua, Sancho was diagnosed via ultrasound with TCC. He is on Piroxicam and several vitamin and herbal supplements including fish oil, astragalus, “Bladder Support” supplement and Baytril. He has been on this combination for about a month and just seems to be doing very well. I’m wondering how frequently I should follow up with another ultrasound or other test to see if things are getting better or worse. He seems to be doing very well, no urinary problems and very energetic, eating, drinking and very playful each morning. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Paul

]]> By: Beverly Harvey http://www.dogcancerblog.com/life-quality-in-dog-cancer-dr-dresslers-joys-of-life-scale/comment-page-1/#comment-1076 Beverly Harvey Sat, 13 Jun 2009 18:19:33 +0000 http://www.dogcancerblog.com/?p=29#comment-1076 I just took in a sweet little 10 yr old, 5 lb foster Yorkie who had 10 mammary tumors and 1 other tumor removed from her abdomen. The 10 mammary tumors were benign, but the other one was apocrine gland adenocarcinoma. The oncology sept at MSU does not have much info about this particular cancer and its location. She is so small nd the surgery so extensive, that she is not a candidate for radiation, and may not be a candidate for chemo. Do you know about this kind of cancer and a possible treatment for it? If so, what amount of time can be gained from the treatment available? Thank you. I just took in a sweet little 10 yr old, 5 lb foster Yorkie who had 10 mammary tumors and 1 other tumor removed from her abdomen. The 10 mammary tumors were benign, but the other one was apocrine gland adenocarcinoma. The oncology sept at MSU does not have much info about this particular cancer and its location.
She is so small nd the surgery so extensive, that she is not a candidate for radiation, and may not be a candidate for chemo.
Do you know about this kind of cancer and a possible treatment for it? If so, what amount of time can be gained from the treatment available?
Thank you.

]]> By: Lori Michaelson http://www.dogcancerblog.com/life-quality-in-dog-cancer-dr-dresslers-joys-of-life-scale/comment-page-1/#comment-51 Lori Michaelson Sat, 23 Aug 2008 01:19:10 +0000 http://www.dogcancerblog.com/?p=29#comment-51 Thank you! After I finally was able to read other threads, etc. you have now probably read that she had successful surgery (the veterinarian said that he was able to get it all) but the prognosis was grave since mast cell cancers are infamously known for their rapid growth and she has Grade 3 -- from the biopsy report on the tumor. From my other posts you'll see that I have a lot to think about but she has not changed her behavior in any way so we enjoy her every day as much as possible! Arrivederci, Lori Michaelson Thank you!

After I finally was able to read other threads, etc. you have now probably read that she had successful surgery (the veterinarian said that he was able to get it all) but the prognosis was grave since mast cell cancers are infamously known for their rapid growth and she has Grade 3 — from the biopsy report on the tumor.

From my other posts you’ll see that I have a lot to think about but she has not changed her behavior in any way so we enjoy her every day as much as possible!

Arrivederci,
Lori Michaelson

]]> By: admin http://www.dogcancerblog.com/life-quality-in-dog-cancer-dr-dresslers-joys-of-life-scale/comment-page-1/#comment-46 admin Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:28:46 +0000 http://www.dogcancerblog.com/?p=29#comment-46 Not to worry, I got ya! I believe your point was that she has a malignant cancer and she is in no pain, which is awesome. Indeed, many tumors cause no pain at all, for a long time. Only some do, and one dog may have pain with a given tumor type and another not so. Actually the majority of mast cell tumors do not produce discomfort that is noticeable from our viewpoint. I actually discuss this exact point in a product that should be out the end of this week called "The Dog Cancer Coping Guide," which is designed for dog lovers dealing with a new cancer diagnosis in their dog. Also, pain is only one of the factors that we use to assess life quality: http://www.dogcancerblog.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=28 Also please read: http://www.dogcancerblog.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=32 about mast cell tumor surgery and pre-medicating them with Benadryl. As to your question about deleting entries, I can do that, so just let me know and I will delete it for you so you can repost. Not to worry, I got ya! I believe your point was that she has a malignant cancer and she is in no pain, which is awesome. Indeed, many tumors cause no pain at all, for a long time. Only some do, and one dog may have pain with a given tumor type and another not so. Actually the majority of mast cell tumors do not produce discomfort that is noticeable from our viewpoint. I actually discuss this exact point in a product that should be out the end of this week called “The Dog Cancer Coping Guide,” which is designed for dog lovers dealing with a new cancer diagnosis in their dog. Also, pain is only one of the factors that we use to assess life quality:
http://www.dogcancerblog.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=28
Also please read:
http://www.dogcancerblog.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=32
about mast cell tumor surgery and pre-medicating them with Benadryl.
As to your question about deleting entries, I can do that, so just let me know and I will delete it for you so you can repost.

]]> By: odinaz http://www.dogcancerblog.com/life-quality-in-dog-cancer-dr-dresslers-joys-of-life-scale/comment-page-1/#comment-43 odinaz Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:30:45 +0000 http://www.dogcancerblog.com/?p=29#comment-43 Ouch! Having a severe disability, I use a voice recognition software program to write. I did not have time to proofread my previous comment and what a mistake! In any case, I hope one can weed through my mistakes seeing what it was MEANT to say! If there is a way to delete an entry to make a fresh one without errors... please let me know. :-) Ouch! Having a severe disability, I use a voice recognition software program to write. I did not have time to proofread my previous comment and what a mistake! In any case, I hope one can weed through my mistakes seeing what it was MEANT to say! If there is a way to delete an entry to make a fresh one without errors… please let me know. :-)

]]> By: odinaz http://www.dogcancerblog.com/life-quality-in-dog-cancer-dr-dresslers-joys-of-life-scale/comment-page-1/#comment-42 odinaz Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:18:22 +0000 http://www.dogcancerblog.com/?p=29#comment-42 Our Golden Retriever, Brandy, was just diagnosed two weeks ago with mast cell cancer grade 3. There were absolutely no signs so when we found a medium-sized, but flat, growth on her belly... we automatically took her to the vet. Upon examination as to what we found after you shaved her to get a better look -- Mass celebrated three was the LAST thing he thought it could be. Anyway, she is acting no different and we are acting no different as dogs can pick up on that. She loves to act silly in front of us, playing with her stuffed animals, revolving her day around food and lighting us know about that!!! We don't have any children and she is our only pet so she does not have to vy for attention. She has never liked to be any further away from us than 6 feet or so and that has remained the same. We are so happy that she is feeling so good! And acting if she does not have cancer at all! Our Golden Retriever, Brandy, was just diagnosed two weeks ago with mast cell cancer grade 3. There were absolutely no signs so when we found a medium-sized, but flat, growth on her belly… we automatically took her to the vet. Upon examination as to what we found after you shaved her to get a better look — Mass celebrated three was the LAST thing he thought it could be. Anyway, she is acting no different and we are acting no different as dogs can pick up on that. She loves to act silly in front of us, playing with her stuffed animals, revolving her day around food and lighting us know about that!!! We don’t have any children and she is our only pet so she does not have to vy for attention. She has never liked to be any further away from us than 6 feet or so and that has remained the same. We are so happy that she is feeling so good! And acting if she does not have cancer at all!

]]> By: Rochelle Lesser http://www.dogcancerblog.com/life-quality-in-dog-cancer-dr-dresslers-joys-of-life-scale/comment-page-1/#comment-32 Rochelle Lesser Sun, 10 Aug 2008 21:06:57 +0000 http://www.dogcancerblog.com/?p=29#comment-32 This is what I believe needs to be included: The joy of playing or doing his/her favorite things. For my Ollie, who died from lymphoma, this was going in the car and anything to do with tennis balls. It was when he could not even be enticed by a tennis ball that I knew he was really unhappy. For my Darcy, it was when the fibrosarcoma that was pushing out her eye and growing larger in her mouth kept her from being able to play with her Teddy Bears which she always carried with her everywhere (after beating them up, of course). You can see her with these 3ft sized bears at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqAwur8ukZI . I just love acronyms and found much learning power in them when teaching graduate psychology and education courses. And, when such mnemonics are paired with sensible and helpful insights, it becomes a win-win for us all. You may like my Taking a Bite Out of Cancer at http://cancer.landofpuregold.com/bite.htm (folks can download a handy PDF of at cancer.landofpuregold.com/the-pdfs/takingabite.pdf) This is what I believe needs to be included: The joy of playing or doing his/her favorite things.

For my Ollie, who died from lymphoma, this was going in the car and anything to do with tennis balls. It was when he could not even be enticed by a tennis ball that I knew he was really unhappy.

For my Darcy, it was when the fibrosarcoma that was pushing out her eye and growing larger in her mouth kept her from being able to play with her Teddy Bears which she always carried with her everywhere (after beating them up, of course). You can see her with these 3ft sized bears at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqAwur8ukZI .

I just love acronyms and found much learning power in them when teaching graduate psychology and education courses. And, when such mnemonics are paired with sensible and helpful insights, it becomes a win-win for us all. You may like my Taking a Bite Out of Cancer at http://cancer.landofpuregold.com/bite.htm (folks can download a handy PDF of at cancer.landofpuregold.com/the-pdfs/takingabite.pdf)

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