My oldest dog was diagnosed with TCC in August 2016. This was presumptive based on her symptoms and on the location of the mass as shown by ultrasound. I learned it’s best not to biopsy a bladder mass because if it is TCC,the tumor can “seed” and cause a worse problem than if it stays contained in the bladder. Yeah, not operable due to location of the mass, so we wouldn’t gain that much more useful information than we already had anyway. (I am halfway tempted to do the CADET BRAF test out of curiosity as to whether all this time it wasn’t TCC, but I digress. If you are interested, check out sentinelbiomedical . com for information on the test. My vet just told me about it a few months ago and it is intriguing for getting perhaps more clarity of diagnosis.)
So my dog was put on Piroxicam and I took her back for numerous followup ultrasounds, about once per month to track the growth and hope it was contained. There was a little mass increase, but surprisingly little – which may or may not have been due to the Piroxicam.
Things went along well, but at some point (and I’d have to dig out my notes to confirm exact sequence but it really doesn’t matter) we switched her back to Previcox which she had been on for awhile due to her arthritis. Turns out, too, that some studies have shown some tumor control from Previcox also, which I found interesting.
Anyway, she started having trouble tolerating the Previcox, and then later developed a kidney infection which was cleared up by a course of antiobiotics and…she started feeling much better!! She started getting back to her old self, perky and interested in life again.
We tried one last round of Piroxicam and she wasn’t doing well on that either (vomiting and lack of appetite and just feeling punky) so now she is on…NOTHING. No meds. And is, knock on wood, still doing great. Last ultrasound STILL showed very minimal tumor growth, and frankly it could have been due to bladder fullness or not, or slight variances in positioning.
So this saga has been going on since August 2016 when she was first diagnosed. In March 2017, she was not feeling well and I really thought our time was limited.
Yet here it is March 2018 and she is doing just fine, off meds!! We’ll be celebrating her 14th birthday in two weeks, and she is a large dog so is exceeding life expectancy! woohoo!
So my point in relating all of this is simply to encourage you not to feel like the end is necessarily nigh. I know the statistics are dire, and that this form of cancer is very aggressive…but not in every single case. Piroxicam may do exactly what you want it to do, contain or shrink the mass. My dog tolerated it quite well for a long, long time. So I hope for the best for your dog!!
Based on my dog’s problems tolerating medicines this past year, even with Pepcid and/or Cerenia, I would not embark on additional chemo for my dog. (Technically, the Piroxicam is also chemo.) I guess if I were you, I would at least listen to what your vet thinks and possibly get a second opinion, but of course quality of the time that remains is the most important so go with your gut.
Good luck! If I think of anything else I’ll post again.
My suggestion is to start with a consult with an oncologist. They will give you all the answers and guidance you could ever want. Good oncologists wont push anything on you - just give you options and weighted outcomes.