Nasal cancer

[Stevemcb]

Very rough to deal with. We have a beagle who is 13.5 and diagnosed with nasal cancer in July. 4 months down the road and we can see the slow deterioration. We will not put him into a situation where it is no longer a decent life for him but he is still fairly healthy and happy for now. We are giving him Liquid Gold and antihistamines usually 2 times daily . Both help immensely.

[otterhere]

Anyone still here???

This was a very active thread for a long time; now it's CRICKETS.

I have a question...

[Bette]

Originally Posted by willpowerthesheltie

Bette & all --

My beloved sheltie, Willpower, began experiencing reverse sneezing in early September 2020 at the age of 12 years 3 months. After a few bouts of it and a vet visit, he was scheduled for some dental extractions and a dental cleaning later that month. But, the reverse sneezing continued for a couple additional months.

In mid-late December, one of his third eyelids became visible, all the while still acting his usual sweet, fun-loving self. In early January 2021, the tiniest, almost imperceptible bit of swelling appeared on his snout near/under that same eye. Within days, he had his first nosebleed -- his vet prescribed antibiotics and a NSAID in hopes that a possible infection would clear up, but, as I feared, Willpower did not respond and he continued to have nosebleeds. Our vet also did some x-rays, checked Will's medical records from the extractions for any oversights, and suggested a visit to a specialist for diagnostics but, upon asking, he said his professional opinion was that it was almost certainly a cancerous nasal tumor. After that conversation I decided not to put my Willpower through a rhinoscopy because the prognosis information I had found throughout the web seemed to suggest treatment would not buy us much more time together and would involve a sizable amount of struggle.

The nosebleeds were sporadic from early/mid January until late February, after that time they did not return -- all along, his spirits remained high. However, the swelling of his snout and tumor growth progressed fairly rapidly in March from under his eye to the middle of his forehead and bridge of his snout and his breathing became raspy. He was uncomfortable. Just this past weekend he began to have bloody discharge from the tumor side of his mouth and that same eye would close up after a night of sleep and resulting accumulation of discharge. Looking into his mouth, his gums were sustaining pressure and destruction from the tumor and one of his teeth was now pointed inward toward the center of his mouth.

After seeing these new symptoms, looking at my photos of the progression of his disease, and reading the majority of the stories on this thread for guidance, I decided to say goodbye to my soulmate yesterday, 3/30/21. I could not bear to have him experience any additional decline and for his last days to be full of misery. So, my family and I spent his last few days with him outside, at the forest preserve, feeding him freshly cooked salmon -- his favorite -- and doing all of his favorite things. Even with a facial deformity from the tumor he was still breaking hearts on his last day on earth, getting comments from several passersby about how pretty of a dog he was. During these two days we kept Will so distracted that he managed to find it in him to be nearly as energetic as he's known for being and I started questioning things. I was beating myself up about the decision but then just 2 hours before our appointment at the vet to say goodbye, my Willpower and I were sitting in our yard with the last few pieces of salmon when he had the salmon right up to his lips, turned away from me, refused the piece of fish, walked to the back gate and sat there facing the other direction. He stayed there for the next 30 minutes until it was time to leave -- and even then I had to pick him up and carry him inside. My literary-symbolism trained brain took it to mean that he was telling me he was ready to go and that he would be okay.

I am devastated and irreparably heartbroken with him now gone.

I just read this and as a fellow Sheltie lover, I feel your loss. Our best friends.
Prayers for you. We lost our Chase in September 2021. Many vet visits and he suffered at the end. I made the call and my husband was with him and misses him every day.

Sounds like you were wonderful parents to Will.

[otterhere]

My question being: has anyone's pet experienced ataxia as one of the symptoms? I would think it's possible if the growing tumor encroached on either the inner ear or the brain itself.

[Dashdog]

Originally Posted by otterhere

My question being: has anyone's pet experienced ataxia as one of the symptoms? I would think it's possible if the growing tumor encroached on either the inner ear or the brain itself.

Am not on this forum as much these days so just saw this. Dash did not develop ataxia but I would see that development as not a good sign and could be from either of the reasons you stated above or possibly even a tumor getting larger as there is only so much room in a skull so a growing tumor could probably press on the brain and cause increased pressure. With brain injuries often the cause of death is increased ICP. I would be watching out for seizures as they are likely if the brain is being affected. Sorry you and your dog are dealing with this.

[otterhere]

Yes, I expect seizures at some point and am watching for them. Honestly, I would feel justified in letting him go at any point now, but he continues to eat heartily, love mightily, and enjoy his sunbaths, so as long as there's quality of life, I can see no urgency. Seizures would be the tipping point, however, as would signs that he's lost the will to live. Not yet; he's still in the game. This has gone on longer than I expected; what's the average time frame from the onset of symptoms?

Thank you for your input. Is everyone here gone now? I assume that means all the pets are, too.

[ScottieDog]

I hope no one minds me reactivating the thread; it has such a wealth of information. A very handsome Corgi has had a recent diagnosis and treatment. I am trying to make the info more accessible. Hugs to Gatsby and his Dad. And hugs to all who have fought this battle.

Sandra (Ozzie’s mom)

It has been over 2 years. I was talking to my trainer today about Ozzie and still felt the tears.

[otterhere]

Thanks for rebooting it. Lots of helpful info here. My own baby passed away nine months after his first nosebleed. From the symptoms, it seems likely it spread to his brain... I miss him every day!