My Young Dog Ned  (GWP)has been diagnosed with carcinoma he has had an operation to remove the tumour but as the carcinoma is aggressive we have been given no hope,the vet has offered Chemotherapy which he says will help to control the cancer for a while but we do not know wether it has already spread  the sample taken had veins which led them to belive it was "on its way somewhere else in the body"
Has anyone  experinced this?  would chemo make him feel worse?  any help or advice most gratefully received Ned is a most beloved dog and is only 4 years old.

Very sorry to hear this bad news for you Glenys :(.  I have heard that chemotherapy for dogs does not have the unpleasant side effects that it has for humans, ie nausea, hair loss etc.  It is so very much a personal decision and such a leap in the dark when you can never know anything more that the odds so all I can offer is to say that if he was mine and the vet seems so pessimistic I would be enclined to make the most of his life however long it may be and just accept that what will be will be.  At least is he oblivious to the emotional turmoil you must be facing.

So sorry Glenys, no advice from me as havnt been in that situation, but asked ages ago about my nanners dog here :-
http://www.champdogsforum.co.uk/cgi-bin/board/topic_show.pl?pid=758117;hl=meg;hlm=and#pid758117 and got loads of advice.
Meg is still alive.
Hope you have strength to work out what is best for the dog :)
{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{Glenys}}}}}}}}}}}}}
Lea.

So sorry Mattie. :(  Chemo in dogs is usually given in tablet form and at a lesser strength than humans avoiding the side effects.  The purpose is to control the spread and maintain quality of life rather than cure.  As you know drugs and chemicals are not my first choice but in this situation, then it would be the course that I would choose. :)

My dog had chemo, and had no side effects at all, some dogs are off their food for a day, a small percentage are sick for a day and the human anti nausea drug that is used for humans who have chemo is used to counteract this at a quarter strength.  The chemo was given introveniously (sp) in our case, it may depend of the chemo drug used too.  chemo can slow down the cancers and give more quality time, (we were lucky we are 6 years in remission but that is very unusual in our cancer case).  there are also drugs that are non chemo that can be used which are anti inflamatory but for some reason they seem to slow down the progression of the cancers, I know piroxicam has been used with some success on squamous cell carcinoma (out of a study of 17 dogs 1 had full remission, 2 had partial remissions, )
you might want to check out ARTEMISININ too, I know it can help alot with osteosarcoma, it may help with other cancers

There is also the navy protocal that has had alot of good results in some cancers

Have you seen an oncologist, they are more up todate with the cancer treatments as it is all they deal with.

Ruth

sorry forgot to put at the bottom of my previous post it may be worth joining the yahoo group for http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/artemisinin_and_cancer/ there you will be able to read people experiences using it to see if it is going to be any good for ned

Ruth

Thank you so much for your replies they have helped

When I got to the vets today  I had a chat to The Vet I was told that Ned could have side affects from the chemo that he would be open to infections etc.. also it wasn't pleasant as it had to go in with a catheter,they then told me he had weeks not months ,they got Mandy on the phone the vet who has known Ned since a puppy I asked her honest opinion and she said she wouldn't put him through it so I decided it was a no no he wasn't going to be put through that for a few extra weeks,so we have some tablets for him but I feel we need quality time not quantity so he will have everything he needs and when the time comes we will let him go with dignity.

That sounds like a very wise and caring decision, Mattie.

i am so sorry to hear this.
i to had to make this heart breaking choice, like you i opted out of chemotherapy, but i made the even harder choice to have rhea put to sleep, i have never cried so much in my life
rhea was just 2 years old
my thought are with you

Glenys, I think the decision has been taken out of your hands.  If the Vet thinks that that is all the time he has left then there really is no decisoon to make.  At least he will be comfortable for this short time.  Really feel for you at this traumatic time.

Oh Glenys I'm so sorry to hear this about Ned :( :(.
I know it is heartbreaking for you but I do think you are doing the right thing, it is so very very sad .  Just give Ned all the love and attention you possibly can, he knows you love him and that's all he needs right now.
Maria x 

What a very brave and caring decision :)

I do know exactly how you feel, been there myself. My thoughts are with you x

My sentiments as well Harley :)

I have met Ned and he is a wonderful boy full.I know how much he means to Glenys and how hard this is :(

Oh Glenys, I'm so sorry - but I would have taken the same action as you in the circumstances.   Better a short time with quality and love, than a long time with anguish and guilt.

{{{hugs}}}

Margot x

What a brave descision to make and how very caring you are too. Sometimes we get carried away when the end is near to prolong life to whatever extent for our own benfit not the dogs. I really feel for you at this traumatic time and your dog is blessed to have such a kind and caring owner. Enjoy the time left that you have together. Big hugs to you all xx

I'm so sorry Glenys. I think you've made a loving and unselfish decision. I hope his time left is comfortable and happy.

At the moment Ned is fine so we are enjoying his time sometimes you would think he was ill thank you for your kind words and thoughts x