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Kayos Has Cancer

11K views 52 replies 46 participants last post by  Stevenzachsmom 
#1 ·
Anal gland adenocarcinoma.

We found a mass on her back end when cleaning her up after a diarrhea episode on Monday so perhaps we got this early. The needle biopsy results just came back late yesterday afternoon so we have not had much time to do much other than talk about it.

We will see an oncologist and have an ultrasound done to see if the cancer is anywhere else. This is for me.

We will not treat this with anything other than palliative care. If Kayos were a year or two younger we would fight this aggressively. But she will be 12 years and 9 months on Sunday. She has HD and ED and is already having difficulty getting up and down sometimes. She would have been gone already if we had not replaced her right hip 7 years ago. She is wearing a harness to help us help her. We were already aware we would probably lose her soon. So we are not going to put an old lady through surgery and all the other stuff. It would be too hard to recover for her, if she recovered at all.

Kayos is my heart dog, I would love to fight a great fight with her and beat this but it would be to her detriment. It will be really hard to let her go.

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#2 ·
I'm so sorry, I hope the vet has good news regarding treatment or a good management plan if not. Hugs to you in this hard time :(
 
#8 ·
I'm so sorry to hear this. I also would be making the same choice you are. I have a non-GSD cancer dog in palliative care. Sometimes doing no treatment is really the kindest option, especially for the older dogs. I wish peace for you during this difficult time.
 
#11 ·
Carolina I know you lost Sam recently and they were pretty close in age, just about 9 months apart I think. My gut told me then - time is short for my girly. And it is. I hope we make it to her 13th on Jan 20.

Kyleigh, I will post Kayos story soon. It is a fun one!
 
#12 ·
I'm so sorry.

Please order a copy of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide (hopefully to arrive before your oncology appt), by Drs. Dressler and Ettinger. It's written by a vet oncologist and a holistic vet, with contrasting view points, side-by-side on the page. For me, it was a huge help to go into my dog's oncology appointments having already read, so that I could have an in-depth conversation about our options with the oncologist -- including a home-cooked diet to slow it down, supplements (mushrooms), and palliative radiation (which can give some dogs a half a year of pain-free life, for some cancers).

The book also has a lot of suggestions about self-care for YOU during this hard end-of-life journey. Some of the suggestions about little activities to do with the dog are precious and wonderful. Digesting the book made me feel less helpless during this sad time.

One last suggestion: bring a pet portrait photographer (or good friend who is great with a camera) to your home for one last set of pictures of the two of you together, before your dog starts any procedures. A good friend did that for me the week of our diagnosis...really, really special pictures to me.
 
#16 ·
I am so sorry. We're big believers in palliative care here too. Take care.
 
#20 ·
I'm so sorry Kathy. :(

Sucks to see our babies get old and sick. I know when I decided to not amputate Keeta's leg for pretty much all the same reasons you are choosing to not treat Kayos, doing NOTHING was hard! But when it was time to let her go, I felt that I had made the right decision for her.
 
#24 ·
I am so sorry Kathy, something told me to read here tonight, normally I avoid this place. I just lost Ozzy at 11 years 1 month, all I can say, I am here for you, if you need something, pm me. I am so sorry, it is so freaking hard, peace does come, but it's a long fight to get there. Love you and Kayos, may the next few days bring you peace with what has to be done.
 
#25 ·
Thinking of you while you go through this. Kayos will feel your love and devotion, that is what is important.
 
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