Our 3 year old Ddog very likely has cancer. Beyond devastated.

[ItBurns]

Hi,

So Friday afternoon I got the call that nobody wants. Our vet asked me to pull over, as I was driving with hands free and she wanted my full attention. Right away I knew it must be bad.

They've found what they strongly suspect is a tumour in her bladder. She said it could be something less sinister, but she's fairly certain it's bad news. She also said how incredibly rare this is in a dog of her age.

I basically haven't stopped crying since then. Feeling utterly drained and I just can't seem to get my head around it.

She's still a pup. Bouncy and full of life and of course, mischief.

We have already made the decision that if it is that, we won't go down the chemo route. We don't want to put her through all that for a few more painful months, but then I suddenly realised that with covid, we probably won't be allowed in with her when she's being PTS and I can't bear it, quite honestly.

If she was an old dog, I think I could accept it. I would still of course be mortified, but at least she'd have had a full life. This just seems so wrong. We also have another dog who will miss her to pieces. It breaks my heart.

I suppose I'm just posting for a bit of moral support. I need to find my strength from somewhere. This is likely going to be an incredibly difficult few months...or weeks

Just to say I really hope your dog is okay, ItBurns.

“Were they ok in the end?“

Sort of, huge touch and go operation - which he did recover from, but he was a problematic dog, the ulcer was caused by his painkillers, nothing else ever worked on his joint pain as well and I had to have him PTS when he was 6 anyway.

But no cancer... lol

@Collidascope, thank you.

Oh, bless him. Sorry to hear that.

Any news OP?

Morning. So the urine test results came back clear and we are now deciding between two specialists for referral.

As I said before, the vet did say that a clear result doesn't really tell us much, so this needs to be our next step. The more research I've done, the more it seems as though this procedure is usually performed through a specialist, as it's very intricate and there is very little scope for error.

We're still mentally preparing ourselves, but I do feel a little clearer about things at least. Even though we still don't have an answer yet, at least we now know what the plan is for the next step.

That's good, not having a plan is so incredibly stressful. Which procedure is being discussed? Is it a biopsy via cystoscopy, or ultrasound-guided catheter? If so, that should give you a definite answer whether it is a tumour, and if so, which type.

They will likely want to do other tests under the same GA to check for any evidence of spread - e.g. chest xrays, abdominal ultrasound.

@LittleCabbage, we're not sure yet. Depends on what the specialist says. The procedure our vet was going to do was the cytoscopy, so I'm assuming it will be that initially.

Tbf your vet doesn’t sound very experienced at all, I went in with concerns on a Thursday and my girl had the tumour removed on the Tuesday and biopsy results with 7 days.
Don’t be afraid to go elsewhere, time is of the essence and this does seem to be dragging on. The vets seem to be dithering and unsure.

Sounds like you now have a plan. Hope the referral doesn't take long

@SBTLove

Tbf your vet doesn’t sound very experienced at all, I went in with concerns on a Thursday and my girl had the tumour removed on the Tuesday and biopsy results with 7 days. Don’t be afraid to go elsewhere, time is of the essence and this does seem to be dragging on. The vets seem to be dithering and unsure.

Are you referring to a suspected bladder tumour @SBTLove? If not, it isn't a fair comparison. Some tumours are much easier to biopsy than others, and there are many GP vets who won't have the right equipment for cystoscopy. If the vets feel unable to perform the procedure well, tjen they are absolutely doing the right thing to advise referral.

@LittleCabbage
From what OP has said they haven’t gave her anything decisive it’s very oh maybe this maybe that and OP is having to push them.
No urgency.

I'm not saying that they haven't had poor or delayed communication, but you specifically said they didn't seem very experienced because your dog had a tumour biopsied 2 days after a consultation, but you are not necessarily comparing similar medical situations. Many tumours are easy to biopsy but bladder tumours are not.

Not being comfortable to biopsy via cystoscopy does not mean your vet is inexperienced, and referrals do take a while to set up if not immediately life-threatening.

Have you managed to get a referral appointment OP?

Not yet, no. We were told to call the vet tomorrow if we haven't heard from them.

Really hoping they can get her in quickly. Can't think about anything else right now.

Oh I'm so sorry to hear this. We dealt with this last year. Our ten year old lab had a tumour in his penis in August, had it amputated and the urethra rethreaded. Took him a while to recover but is now right as rain. At the end of November our nine year old lab was diagnosed with cancer of the stomach lining. It was only a week between diagnosis and him being pts. We had a wonderful vet that came to our home. Do you have a vet that can do this in the garden maybe? Or, as a op has said, many vets are doing this in the car parks of their surgeries. Obviously this is not ideal but at least you will be there. Sending so much love to you at such a difficult time

@Notasyoungasiwas, thank you. Trying to keep a little hope, but we are obviously looking at our options.

Sat in the garden right now and she's bounding round with ddog 2 like an absolute nutter like usual. You'd never know if there was a problem. I keep forgetting and then get that churn in my stomach when I remember.

Ah, this waiting is tough. Hope you get a definite appt date tomorrow.

Still nothing and the vets close at 12, so guess we now won't hear anything until Monday at the earliest and it could still take 2 weeks after that to get an appointment.

Ddog seems a bit more subdued this morning. I might just be looking for things now, but I feel so helpless.

Even if it isn't what the vet thinks it is, the location of the lump means it's almost impossible to remove anyway, so I'm finding it difficult to see any light again today. If the mass continues to grow, eventually she won't be able to go to the toilet

So have you called your vet to get the direct number for the specialist ?

Yes

I don’t understand what the hold-up is? Has your vet sent the referral online and is waiting to hear back that the specialist will accept the referral? If so, I would ring your vets on Monday morning, and ask them to ring the specialist to get confirmation, so that you can then ring the specialist vet’s reception to book the appointment.

Make sure your vet has definitely put in the referral request.

Is your dog on any anti-inflammatory medication? What symptoms is he currently showing?

@LittleCabbage, I called our vet this morning and they said that if we haven't heard anything by Monday to call them again. They said the referral has definitely been put in, so I'm not really sure what the hold up is tbh.

She was taking some anti inflammatories, but they were giving her diarrhoea, so we stopped on the advice of the vet.

Her only real symptom at the minute is needing to wee a lot. I've also noticed that she's started cocking her leg up a bit. She doesn't appear to be struggling though. She's always done lots of little wees, mainly on walks, but I always assumed it was just a bit of territory marking. Not sure if that is even a thing in females, but she's done it forever, so that's not unusual for her. She's been getting reoccurring infections for about 18 months. She occasionally wees herself whilst sleeping. She hasn't done this for a couple of weeks now though.

Okay, it sounds like a hold-up with the specialists then. I was going to suggest anti-inflammatories but obviously you've tried that. Maybe some alternatives can be tried if she becomes more uncomfortable. Was she on Metacam?

I agree that some female dogs territory-mark. Mine definitely did. She sometime cocked her leg slightly too.

Really hope you get news from the specialists on Monday morning.

@LittleCabbage, yes, it was Metacam. Thing is, I have no idea how uncomfortable she us. They can't tell you can they She's not yelping or crying though.

Thank you. We're all very much in limbo right now.

Hey OP, how are things now?