Why Would Anyone Choose Chemotherapy?
ByVery few people overall will opt for chemotherapy for their dogs with cancer.
This is interesting, because in human medicine it is widespread.
It would seem that fear of life quality loss, expense, side effects, and lack of cure in true malignancy are the main deterrents.
However, there are some reasons why some do opt for chemo in treating their four legged family members.
Some cancers actually respond pretty well. By response, I mean that the signs of the cancers go away and the dog, for all intents, is normal again.
Although this is temporary, in some cases the remission can be very long, even years in the best cases. Granted, these long remissions usually arise when dog guardians combine the chemo with other steps in full spectrum care.
One of the cancers that really responds well is lymphosarcoma. Over 80% of lympho cases will get what is called a first remission, meaning the cancer signs and symptoms disappears for a period before needing a second round.
Many dogs handle the chemo well. The number of dogs that are able to deal with the toxic effects of these drugs does indeed go up if certain steps are taken. These are discussed at length in The Dog Cancer Survival Guide.
The best way to cure a true malignancy is to remove it with surgery. However, not all cancers can be removed.
We call these cancers “non-resectable”. A non-resectable cancer takes several forms. Most of these occur in masses (tumors) that require injuring vital structures to be removed successfully.
Other times, a cancer cannot be removed because it is found in the circulation (cancer cells flowing around the body). Lymphosarcoma or leukemias occur here. Also, cancers that have spread into the circulation from a growth fit in this class.
There are some tumors that spread into the surrounding areas in the neighborhood of the tumor. One cannot see the spread with the naked eye. However, when the surgery takes place, cancer cells are left in the surrounding neighborhood. Many of these cannot be removed and chemotherapy is one option.
Cancers that spread into the surrounding neighborhood of a growth are called “locally invasive“. Some include fibrosarcomas, squamous cell carcinomas, some hemangiosarcomas, and more.
Finally, if a tumor arises in one location and then shows up on another location (metastasis), chemotherapy is often considered.
The most important thing to remember is to arm yourself with the facts. Find out the success rates of the chemo, how many respond, for how long, what is involved, the cost, rough incidences of side effects, and what you can do to decrease toxicities.
All my best,
Dr D
About the Author
Dr. Demian Dressler, DVM is known as the "dog cancer vet" and is author of Dog Cancer Survival Guide: Beyond Surgery, Chemotherapy & Radiation. Visit his blog and sign up free to get the latest information about canine cancer. Go to http://DogCancerBlog.com.
6 Comments
July 20th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Hi Dr. Dressler,
I have written to you several times to keep you up-to-date on my female border collie’s mast cell tumor on the hock of her leg. We opted to have chemo done because we did not want to have her leg cut off. We had two opinions. So far after a very lengthy chemo regimen our Cassie is for all intent and purposes cancer free. While having the chemo done she had no ill side effects. Having said this it is a very costly affair and if you do not have some sort of insurance it may be prohibitive for most. We also give Cassie Dog – Immune – but she was on K-9 immunity firstly. She takes EFA capusules, tumeric capsules, she is on a wheat and gluten free dog food, we also add flax seed powder to her food and she also has yogurt – nautral. I am thinking of putting her on Co-Q-10 but have not discussed this with my vet. She seems to be a very healthy happy dog and no further tumors or metatisis have been found. We are hoping that she will live a long and healthy life. She is now 8. Most of my dogs have all lived to be 15 and my huskey was 17 when I had to have him put down. Naturopathic remedies are very good and help a great deal I think. I am on them also for my heart but most vets do not believe in this just as doctors do not believe in naturopaths. But, whatever works for the individual dog……you have to try everything as long as it is safe and does not harm your animal. This mast cell tumor would never have been fully removed by surgery as clean margins were impossible due to the location. So, chemo was the only alternative. I hope this helps some people who are considering chemo for their pets cancer.
Joanne and Cassie
July 20th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Just read Carol’s comments on chemo to treat her dog who has Osteosarcoma. I don’t think that chemo is based on weight but I am not sure. At least not in Canada. It cost us $5,000 less $2,000 from the Pet Insurance company. I know that it seems like a lot but if you can save your loving animal…………Cassie is like our daughter so we had to try and we feel we did the right think!!
Thanks
Joanne and Cassie
July 20th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
To Anyone Considering Chemotherapy for their Dog,
We opted for chemo with our Border Collie, Molly who was diagnosed with high-grade malignant lymphoma. It was a non operable tumor in her lower GI tract; the severity of which was unknown until the surgeon had split her pelvis in four places. The diagnosis and surgery where over a year ago, in June of ‘08, and I’m happy to say that she is completely tumor free and has been back running agility with her mom!
The chemo was tough, we had her on the Madison, Wisconsin protocol and had to adjust some of the drugs, (which are measured by the dog’s weight) because they were making her so sick. She lost a lot of hair too, but has since grown it back with a vengeance! We aren’t sure if we would put her through chemo again, knowing definitively that the tumor will come back, but we had to try it once, and keeping our fingers crossed, the chemo seems to have done the trick.
By the way Molly is also a rescue from hurricane Katrina, so I think this little dog is blessed somehow to beat the odds against anything mother nature throws at her!
Good luck to all of you facing this terrible disease.
Sincerely,
Gwen, Dustin & Molly
July 21st, 2009 at 5:30 am
Can anyone advise on Osteosarcoma of the oral cavity on a mixed breed female, spayed German Shepherd? She is about 7.5 years old and had this diagnosed July 3. The location is posterior to her upper right canine. I just returned from NC State last night for a consultation. The odds of her surviving for a year are about 45% if we go with a parital maxillectomy. I’m so torn as to how to take care of my girl. Her health is excellent otherwise but my concerns are that if we operate and put her through the surgery and chemo and the odds are that low, is it causing unecessary suffering for her to have to go through knowing that osteosarcomas are not typically given a good prognosis due to metastasis. At this time we were told they did not see any signs elsewhere in her body, but there may be some abnormality in her spleen. We have not heard back yet on that. I will do whatever i can to make her as comfortable and happy as possible, but i’m really struggling with this decision. ANY INSIGHT???
July 21st, 2009 at 5:45 am
My 6 year old siberian husky was diagnosed with high grade malignant schwannoma(Nerve sheath cancer)…the tumor started on her stomach and by the time we knew she was sick she had four more on her liver. She had surgery to remove the three tumors that we operable. Unfortunately two on her liver could not be removed. Our only option was chemotherapy to keep the two remaining tumors in check. I was hesitant but she handled chemo extremely well…very little side effect…a bit of diarrhea handled with meds. Her first round over we tried oral daily chemo pills which did not seem to work as well…one tumor has gotten bigger and there are four other small ones spreading to her bladder and kidney. We are trying another round of chemo…oral pills given every three weeks..so far so good. Tamaiijja is in great spirits…happy and sweet as ever. As long as she feels this good we will continue her treatment. She deserves all we can do for her. She was a chained dog the first year of her life..ran away only to be hit by a car and lose her leg. We adopted her 5 years ago and she is the light of my life…sweetest, most loving dog ever. She also did therapy dog work up until her diagnosis. We had no pet insurance but the sacrifices we make to pay for her treatment are so worth it. We just enjoy every moment we have left with her no matter how long it may be and make sure she is comfortable, happy and has a great quality of life.
Thanks-
Stacey
July 26th, 2009 at 8:19 am
Melinda,
see if the oncologists you are working with has access to open cell polylactic acid polymer impregnated with cisplatin. This is an sponge implanted in muscle that delivers cisplatin over a long period of time. It has been looked at experimentally in publications. I have not been able to find a source. It increased survival times of tumors similar to your dog’s significantly. I will address this in the recorded webinar:
http://www.mydogvet.com
Best,
D