Intensive radiotherapy, old-ish springer spaniel

[adevilinmyshoes]

Obviously will be guided by our vets but wondering if anyone has any experiences to share. Spaniel isn't old old, he's ten and a half so potentially another 3 or 4 years of mischief, this course of treatment (plus surgery) gives him a 50:50 chance of survival - without it he has at most six months. Argh.

Is it debilitating? I know humans who've found radiotherapy the worst, most exhausting treatment.

[adevilinmyshoes]

Bump. Anyone?

[whenyouwish]

Personally if that was my dog then I wouldn't. 10 years is a good innings for a dog and I just worry that dogs won't understand why they're in pain and being subjected to different treatments that make them feel miserable. Dogs won't see the bigger picture and long term benefits so if it was my dog then I wouldn't. You obviously know your dog best though and ultimately it's your choice.

[whenyouwish]

I don't have any personal experience of this though, thankfully, so not sure how debilitating the treatment is.
I know younger dogs that have had chemotherapy and are in remission, but these dogs have been 3 or 4.

[adevilinmyshoes]

Thanks for replying he's not currently in pain and the treatment itself shouldn't be painful (light sedation, might be a little itchy at the site, not zapping the entire dog) and we are lucky to live close enough to take him back and forth each day. A separation would be horrible for all of us but especially him, although he also needs surgery it should hopefully be a straightforward day procedure.

I never thought I'd be that kind of person, but he's still so active and happy and all the vets concerned are so confident that the treatment prioritises quality over quantity of life. I do trust them, I'd just love to hear from anyone who's opted for this (there are other less intensive routes on offer but they have a lower chance of success).

[SparklingRaspberry]

Treatment for human cancer and canine cancer are completely different

The effects that chemo has on humans is not the same as it is in dogs. It's much worse for humans. Same as radiotherapy.

You say it's looking 50:50 however the most important question you need to find out from the vet is what his quality of life is going to be like should the radiotherapy work. What are the chances of it returning?

Unfortunately even if a dog becomes clear of cancer, its highly likely that at some point cancer will come back again sometimes elsewhere in the body. This could be 6 months later or it could be 6 years later.

My previous dog who was my absolute best friend died of lymphoma cancer. I chose NOT to give her chemo as it would've only given her another 6 months or so, and her quality of life wouldn't have been that great.

However, if the cancer had been elsewhere (which would've made it easier to treat) and treatment would've given her longer to live with a decent quality of life then I 100% would've given her chemo.

In your circumstances I would give him a chance and go for the treatment. Your vet sounds very honest. My vet openly told me he wouldn't recommend the chemo for mine as it wouldn't leave her much longer - as hard as it was to hear that, I was grateful for his honesty instead of him just wanting money from me.

Your boy sounds like he's got fight still in him. He deserves a chance

[abbey44]

I had this question with my last dog, a Weimaraner, who had a mast cell tumour on her back leg at the age of 7. They removed it by surgery, but because of the location, couldn't take as much margin as they'd wanted to, so recommended a course of radiotherapy after the op to make sure. I was told that she had a good chance of recovery with the combined treatment; without it, well....

I had to take her to Cambridge vet school (from Kent) every Friday for (I think) about eight weeks for the treatment. She was sedated for the treatment, and though the first couple of treatments didn't seem too bad, the cumulative effects of the course left her quite tired.

However, after the course of radiotherapy was over, she bounced back quite quickly and, apart from a little bald patch on her leg where the radiotherapy had been, you wouldn't have known anything had been wrong with her. She had another five years of very happy and active life after that, until she died at the age of 12, which is a good age for a Weimaraner.

It was expensive (I didn't have insurance) but I never regretted having it done for a minute. We had five more years together that we wouldn't otherwise have had, and she was a happy and active dog who enjoyed life to the end.

If your vet is confident/optimistic that it will give your dog a good quality of life, and if he'd do it for his own dog in the same circumstances, I'd say go for it.

Best wishes to you both

[adevilinmyshoes]

Thanks raspberry and abbey really appreciate your input. This will be daily over only a couple of weeks so very very short term in scheme of things, it's encouraging to hear of normal happy active life after treatment 😊 🐾

[ShaneBitchy]

Such a hard decision. One of my dogs is unwell at the moment and the vet has said it's either an infected abscess or worst case, a tumour. If it doesn't heal with the treatment he's on now he'll need a biopsy next week. He's already had one lot of anti biotics but that didn't clear it so he's on different ones.
The last few weeks though have been awful, he's seems so depressed and down. Normally he's a pain in the arse and full of energy and I miss that so much. He just wants to sleep and be left alone, he's only 4. He's got a massive bloody cone on his head as he won't stop licking it and I can't say explain to him why.
If your dog's treatment and illness doesn't affect his quality of life I'd be more inclined to go for it but on the other hand he is 10 and it's only a 50/50 chance. God what a dilemma. I don't think I'd do it honestly. My last dog died of a suspected brain tumour at 9, We never actually figured out what was wrong with him over the years but as he got worse as he got older the vet definitely seemed to think so.
If I had known years before what it was that causing his fits I would have had him PTS.

[whenyouwish]

It all sounds pretty positive for you and from other people's experiences the radiotherapy doesn't sound as bad as I thought it would in my head.
I don't envy your dilemma. I would probably take my lead from the vet to be honest x

[adevilinmyshoes]

😕 hope your dog will be ok Shane, I agree it is hard. We just want to do the right thing by them but it's not always clear what that is.

[adevilinmyshoes]

Thanks when we have a meeting this evening and will decide then. It's so tempting to put myself in the dog's position and think 'I wouldn't want that' even though I know dogs experience life very differently! He probably won't think anything of it.

[ShaneBitchy]

Thanks adevil
He's laying in the garden now and I've taken his cone off for a bit and he's not relentlessly licking it like he has been so that's a good sign. His whole foot was manky on Monday and it smelt so bad.
Please come back later and update after your meeting.
I know what you mean about being in the dog's position. Dogs live for the day they're in, not the future and they won't know they'll be fine in 6 months but they have to feel shit for weeks first

[adevilinmyshoes]

It seems radiotherapy doesn't make dogs feel very shit at all, maybe a little lethargic but as they live in the moment they seem untroubled by it. Which is reassuring but in our case not such an issue now, vet discovered something else last night which she described as 'a total game changer' and 'a real spanner in the works', looks like spaniel has another even more aggressive cancer. We meet a specialist next week to determine how best to manage things and keep him as happy and active as possible until the end.

[Veterinari]

Dogs usually have to be anaesthetised or well sedated - they absolutely must be positioned identically for the sch session and cannot move during treatment.

It's sometimes better for them to be hospitalised for the whole period. The radiotherapy itself can cause reactions (burns) but these vary in terms of severity and can be quite mild. Good hospitals will use lots of positive reinforcement/treats to counteract any aversive experiences. Ultimately though it's very individual - some dogs cope fine, others don't

[adevilinmyshoes]

Thanks veterinari they described the sedation as 'light' and said he'd most likely be fine to come home each night as we live nearby but it's all changed now anyway.

[BiteyShark]

So sorry to hear the updates

[abbey44]

So sorry to hear your update as well

[Veterinari]

So sorry

[ShaneBitchy]

Oh no, I'm so so sorry.
Just try and think of all the lovely years you've had and that you've given him a super life x

[NewBrian]

No experience of dogs having radiotherapy but I also have a 10.5 year old spaniel with cancer so I know what you're going through.

[adevilinmyshoes]

Thanks everyone 🤗 love to you and your spaniel NewBrian, would be interested to hear about it if ever you feel like sharing.