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my 10 year old shar-pei was diagnosed with having lung ...
Sent to Dog Experts August 22 11:35 PM

my 10 year old shar-pei was diagnosed with having lung cancer and is anemic from that.

my question is how to take of him, the vet does not think anything else can be done for him/

 

Customer (name blocked for privacy)
Status:  Closed   Value: $30
Answer
August 23 12:18 AM (43 minutes and 24 seconds later)
         
REPLIEDCheck Mark
Hi Customer (name blocked for privacy),

Often, this prognosis seems like we are just giving up. Usually not, however. Many times animal problems are compared to similar human ones. This is usually misleading. Animal problems usually move faster, we usually don't diagnose the problem till later in the course of the disease, and because of later diagnosis, treatments are less successful. Economics usually appears somewhere in all this, too.

There will come a time when he is having a great deal of difficulty breathing. We can do a lot to relieve this sort of distress in people, but there is considerable expense, and I'm not sure it is available to vets. Anemia will aggravate the respiratory problems.

Your question was what can you do for him, and how to take care of him. As with people, nutrition is very important. Whatever he will eat and not upset him, give it to him. Balanced nutrition comes after nutrition. Get some child vitamins and give him one a day.

Dogs seem to know what their limits are, so don't force him with exercise, etc. If he wants to walk, take him, but watch him...he will fade fast on a walk, and you may get to carry him part way, if you go too far.

Owners often wonder 'when will it be time?" After being with him thru his illness, you will get to know him better. You will know. Don't jump the gun, but don't put him thru too much because you don't want to let go.

There is a time too soon, and a time too late, and a time that seems right. You will know.

I hope this helps make things more clear. If you have questions, just ask.


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Peter Bennett, DVM -- Veterinarian -- 100% Positive Feedback on 706 Dog Accepts
20 years experience as a Small Animal veterinarian
Reply
August 23 5:17 AM (4 hours and 58 minutes and 30 seconds later)
         
Reply to Peter Bennett, DVM's Post: we already has low protein from his anemia, so what you recommend to feed him?
what about pain management, how do we keep casper comfortable? could you give your thoughts on meds and any holistic interventions we might try. Thanks again.
Customer (name blocked for privacy)
Answer
August 23 11:32 AM (6 hours and 15 minutes and 26 seconds later)
         
REPLIEDCheck Mark
Good morning,

Thanks for the reply. Holistic is not a topic I am adept at, BUT there is another vet that has had training and uses it quite a bit. I will give her a call and ask if she will look in..

She has a real job, so she may be a while in getting back to us.

Thank you for the patience you are about to give Images available only to Customers.



Please check just one ACCEPT box. Feedback is nice, too.   Medicine comes in doses of Science, Art, and Miracle, given as needed.
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Peter Bennett, DVM -- Veterinarian -- 100% Positive Feedback on 706 Dog Accepts
20 years experience as a Small Animal veterinarian
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August 23 9:08 PM (9 hours and 35 minutes and 20 seconds later)
         
Reply to Peter Bennett, DVM's Post: i'll accept after you reply back regarding the topic of holistic interventions
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August 23 9:13 PM (5 minutes and 15 seconds later)
         
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Peter Bennett, DVM -- Veterinarian -- 100% Positive Feedback on 706 Dog Accepts
20 years experience as a Small Animal veterinarian
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August 24 12:24 AM (3 hours and 10 minutes and 48 seconds later)
         
REPLIEDCheck Mark

Hi,

I am so sorry that you are dealing with the dreaded "cancer". It is always difficult to watch our senior pets battle these types of diseases. As far as pain management is concerned, I am really big on a drug called "tramadol" or "ultram (trade name". Your vet can phone a prescription in to the pharmacy. It is a weak form of morphine and very inexpensive (about 15 cents/tablet). It works quite well alone or combined with non-steroidal anti inflammatories.

I am a homeopathic veterinarian as well - homeopathy is a science that does it's prescribing based upon symptoms and observations. That being said, I can't give you a "cook book" remedy for lung cancer. I would be more than happy to help you however. If you could detail the most prominent and/or unusual symptoms that your pet has - difficulty breathing? excessive thirst? restlessness? anxiety? Anything you can think of -- and also if the signs are made better or worse by anything and if there is a time of day occurence to any of the symptoms. That will help me make a reasonable attempt to help you find the right remedy for your pet.

Awaiting your reply -- looking forward to helping you and your pet further.



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Dr. Lisa Boyer -- Veterinarian -- 100% Positive Feedback on 246 Dog Accepts
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Integrative Medicine (Western and Homeopathic Medicine)
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August 26 2:27 PM (2 days and 14 hours later)
         
Reply to Dr. Lisa Boyer's Post: hi doctor,

thanks so much for getting back to me.

history is that we noticed a swelling on his back leg but after 5 days the swelling didn't go away so we went to our regular vet. we figured since he's 10 he was getting old and probably had arthritis. so the our vet did some blood work indicating he was anemic so our vet referred us to a specialty hospital for that.

he was admitted tuesday night and just released from specialty hospital (this friday) and was treated by an internist and was diagnosed as having 2 lung masses (one small, other larger) by x-ray, then he had a u/s that also found a small mass near his liver and cancer was confirmed by needle biopsy (vet there said casper has a form of "agressive" untreatable cancer plus "moderate" anemia) and released him after w/ Rx of predisone (2 tabs daily for 14 days), that's it. they did not transfuse him.

well, at this point casper, he is alert and wags his tail and still interested in taking a walk, (maybe 2-3x/day) and he wants to take a long walk but he gets "winded" maybe 30% time (sounds like a pug breathing) and then needs to sit down awhile. so now we keep it to short walks and he seems to handle that. he does have a fenced in backyard, but we have always walked him and he is used to getting out of backyard.

otherwise, casper has always has been a man of leisure, lounging in his backyard looking around or sleeping (not in the same place, he has 4 "spots" where he lounges and still moving from place to place)

he is still interested in eating and drinking. so we're feeding him beef/steak, chicken, liver mixed with rice (about 4oz per day of either meats) with some of his dry nutro for seniors and of course snacks (nutro chicken & rice sticks or lamb and rice sticks as well as peanut butter snacks) meals in small frequent feedings about 3x/day. snacks maybe 4-5x/day/

i'm also adding a little extra virgin olive oil to his for his morning feeding and add some fish oil w/ q10 at night.

he's able to tolerate the food & water we give him (no nausea & vomiting)

right now he has no problems with urine or bowels.

we spoke w/ a shar-pei breeder/rescue person w/ over 30 years experience with shar-peis who also suggested we try shark cartilage (mega dose) 1 tab/day for 14 days and suggested a multi-vitamin (petvetamin?)

but if you any other suggestions, please reply, especially for down he road as we anticipate his breathing and energy level will get much worse. we just want to keep him as comfortable as possible.

sorry i did reply sooner but we were travelling back & forth to the specialty hospital everyday after work which is 40 miles from our home (garden state, in tinton falls, nj).

we appreciate your comments. thanks
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August 27 3:03 AM (12 hours and 36 minutes and 9 seconds later)
         
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