Sick Dog

[elfe]

i'm very sorry that it seems your golden has cancer. did you get a second opinion/examination. what did the biopsy reveal?

there are many ways to treat this disease, some quite promising. a friend of mine has an 8 yr old dog which has been diagnosed with liver cancer (and other) and is doing much better now after she feeds certain things and is doing a therapy (forgot what it was but can ask) and is far from dying now!

it really seems that goldens and labs are quite hard struck with diseases you read a lot about cancer and other diseases in these breeds. might be because they are so popular and many around or from overbreeding. friends of mine had a seemingly perfect healthy lab and age 3 he suddenly got diarrhea which could not be treated and then it was found he got intestinal cancer and died within weeks they also suspect chemicals in surroundings and other things as they grieve and won't accept such disease in their still young and otherwise fit and spoiled dog but who knows.

i hope you find a treatment which can prolong your dogs life in relatively good quality, chance is it is quite possible. good luck and all the best!

[Old Man River]

i'm very sorry that it seems your golden has cancer. did you get a second opinion/examination. what did the biopsy reveal?

there are many ways to treat this disease, some quite promising. a friend of mine has an 8 yr old dog which has been diagnosed with liver cancer (and other) and is doing much better now after she feeds certain things and is doing a therapy (forgot what it was but can ask) and is far from dying now!

it really seems that goldens and labs are quite hard struck with diseases you read a lot about cancer and other diseases in these breeds. might be because they are so popular and many around or from overbreeding. friends of mine had a seemingly perfect healthy lab and age 3 he suddenly got diarrhea which could not be treated and then it was found he got intestinal cancer and died within weeks they also suspect chemicals in surroundings and other things as they grieve and won't accept such disease in their still young and otherwise fit and spoiled dog but who knows.

i hope you find a treatment which can prolong your dogs life in relatively good quality, chance is it is quite possible. good luck and all the best!

Elfe, I really appreciate your message. A biopsy was taken yesterday at Thong Lo Animal Hospital and we await the results. I did ask their senior oncologist about which breed has the highest chance of getting cancer and he sad by far it is Golden Retrievers. I then asked about Labs, thinking they also are retrievers and he said all other breeds are less than Goldens. He blamed the in breeding of goldens over the years for this.

A biopsy was done yesterday and we await the results.

From my discussions at Thong Lo Animal Hospital (the main branch at Thong Lo), they have not mentioned any type of treatment available for liver cancer, only that there are ways we can make our dog comfortable. The Dr. did mention that some Dr's use Chinese medicine, but the Dr. didn't sound hopeful. Hence, any suggestions you might have for other alternatives would be very, very highly welcomed by us.

Thanks,

OMR

[Old Man River]

OK, we were told by a specialist at Thong Lo Animal Hospital not to do a biopsy as it was liver cancer and there was nothing they could do. We did the biopsy and it is bile duct cancer, and we are still being told there is nothing they can do. We sought a second opinion from a doctor who comes in from the outside to Thong Lo and he said it is operable, but the chances at survival are only 50%.

Let's see, zero chance at survival or 50%, which to do? Duh!

I cannot believe several doctors at Thong Lo are still telling us to make her comfortable and let her die. We feel that these dogs ask us for so little and give so much that it is our obligation to do what is possible to give them life. Hence, once our dog gets strong enough, we will try to save her life. Now, she is home with us, running around the house and wagging her tail. We would like to give her the opportunity to dig up our yard and chew our furniture for at least another 10 years.

[katabeachbum]

Now, she is home with us, running around the house and wagging her tail. We would like to give her the opportunity to dig up our yard and chew our furniture for at least another 10 years.

Thats love

[Mobi]

Good luck OMR.

We will pray for your dog.

50% are not bad odds.

Keep us informed.

[Old Man River]

Good luck OMR.

We will pray for your dog.

50% are not bad odds.

Keep us informed.

Thanks Mobi.

I have learned a lot and offer my experience to anyone else whose dog has cancer and who lives in Thailand.

My wife and I agree that our dogs are members of our family. As members, when they are sick we go all out and try to help them just like we would ourselves or any other member of our family. I have been told by several Vets in Thailand (Thai) as well as several friends (Thai) that our position is a minority one here. Most people think first about how much something will cost and then think of the dog. The doctor who would do the chemotherapy, should we go this route, said that while Thailand has the capability to do chemotherapy, the vast majority of people won't and instead let their dogs die and then buy another one.

Our main Vet is an Oncologist at Thong Lo Animal Hospital, and whatever the outcome I am thoroughly impressed with him and the other doctors here. I think Thailand's brightest Vets end up going private as the university hospitals pay a pittance. Right now our Vets are reticient to do surgery on our golden retriever as their view is that the liver cancer is spread throughout the liver and would kill the dog. We spoke to the doctor who first thought that surgery is the way to go, but after talking to the doctor that did the biopsy, she said best to do an MRI first and be sure. If surgery is a possibility, she will do it. If not, then chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy would improve the quality of time the dog has left and prolong it to some extent. Chemotherapy will not cure cancer. We have discussed local hyperthermia, a newer technique for humans, but the expertise in Thailand is not yet there for humans, let alone dogs. In reality, this technique is still being studied in the US for humans. Over time, those of us who get cancer may well benefit from this, but not now.

Hence, we will do an MRI on the dog this week and see where we go pending on the results.