Has anyone else experienced this?
Kim
I'm looking for any advice/experience about a possible cancer/recovery
in a flattie.
My 3 year old flattie male, Sam saw the vet in early jan with a lesion
on his paw which was treated unsuccessfully with antibiotics leading
to a biopsy and swab to find out what was going on. He was very, very
ill -- lethargic, didn't eat etc. but this was put down to a serious
D&V infection that was doing the rounds. However, when the test
results came back the vet was amazed that he'd walked into the surgery
at all -- his neutrophil count was around 1.5 and his urea and
creatinine counts were so high that he was immediately admitted to
have his kidneys flushed. Over the next couple of weeks, his kidneys
improved very slowly but his paw and blood count didn't and
eventually, last Wednesday, his red blood cells were affected and he
showed the fatigue associated with anaemia. I decided to have a bone
marrow aspirate done, but had pretty much resigned myself to the
"malignant histiocytosis" that the vet said was most consistent with
his symptoms. We got the results of the marrow aspirate test on Monday
and there was no sign of anything which would cause the problems. The
neutrophils were going properly through their lifecycle and there was
no reason for any non-regenerative anaemia -- but I was warned that
this was not necessarily conclusive. But, surprisingly, his paw seemed
to be healing a bit. So we took a blood test there and then to decide
what diagnostic, if any, to try next. His results weren't quite
normal, but they were significantly better -- to the point where his
neutrophil count had reached the low normal count of 3 - double what
it had been 5 days previously. (The improvement was reflected in the
increased theiving and spinning 360 in the air to try to get me to
take him for a walk!)
So I'm left not knowing what caused the problem in the first place,
not knowing why he got "better" and consequently I don't know if this
is a "blip" and he will get worse again. We've decided to not do the
next logical test yet (testing a core sample of the marrow) but just
to do weekly blood tests.
Has anyone else had this experience? I'd like to know even if they
weren't very good because I'm finding the emotional rollercoaster ride
very difficult and would like to have a realistic expectation of his
chances.
Many thanks
Kim
num...@aol.com
Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.
Jean Glover
Sorry, no, I havr no experience. I am really sorry and feeling for you and you lovely licky flatcoat. I am just wondering, what you have fed your dog all these years.. cos i am shifting to BARF ish diet. I have lived in the MED for many years... and have always fed my kids the freshet of foods. if dried food is so good... why haven't they developed one for kids? I'm afraid it's a big marketing con and many of our dog's illnesses are to do with non natural foods.
Jean
From: "Kim" <kim_wh...@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: flat...@googlegroups.com
To: "Flatcoats" <flat...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [Flatcoats] Has anyone else experienced this?
Date: Thu, 08 Feb 2007 02:48:52 -0800
jean.car...@googlemail.com
I have to agree with Jean a bit about food. Elsa has had 5 major
surgeries for knee problems and although I do not feed BARF, I do feed
Naturediet which has no additives or preservatives and she is very
well on it, through all her antibiotics, painkillers, infections (MRSA
in the joint) her coat shone.
The only similar thing I had with her was a growth on her paw, next to
one of the toes. Vet decided to remove it whilst she was undergoing
another procedure and it was a histiocytoma (spelling?) They sent it
away for tests, but they were inconclusive. That was over a year ago
and there is no sign of a return
My fingers crossed that all is OK with your boy.
Jean
On Feb 8, 8:10 pm, "Jean Glover" <jeanglove...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Sorry, no, I havr no experience. I am really sorry and feeling for you and you lovely licky flatcoat. I am just wondering, what you have fed your dog all these years.. cos i am shifting to BARF ish diet. I have lived in the MED for many years... and have always fed my kids the freshet of foods. if dried food is so good... why haven't they developed one for kids? I'm afraid it's a big marketing con and many of our dog's illnesses are to do with non natural foods.
>
>
>
>
> Jean
>