HOD and Cancer

jasminesmom · Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:49 am Post subject: HOD and Cancer

I am so glad that I found this site. It is wonderful to see that there are other people who are addicted to their weimaraners besides me. : ) I have a puppy who is almost 10 months old. She was diagnosed with HOD when she was 6 months old and last Monday had a mast cell tumor (grade 2) removed. Does anyone know a good cancer food that may also be good for a dog with HOD? If anyone has advice about mast cell tumors I would appreciate it. I have owned weims for over 25 years and have never dealt with either of these problems. I was going to have a consult with an oncologist from Auburn but my vet asked me to wait until he spoke with the pathologist. I have been waiting for the return call all week and the vet states the pathologist just hasn't called back. I am considering just taking her-the wait is very frustrating.

krisnkaipo · Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 12:21 pm Post subject:

My old dog (a weim mix) had mast cell tumors. It was like once we diagnosed and removed one another would come up. He also had hemangiomas, so it was a continual battle. I dragged him all over. I saw a wonderful holistic vet, who really recommended the RAW diet. Being a vegetarian, I couldn't do it......I did a lot of supplements. She specifically told me to avoid the mixed essential fatty acid stuff, as OMEGA 6 was thought to contribute to already abnormal cell growth.

I am a huge believer in my own peace of mind. if you have another resource you can take your dog to I say go for it! Do you have an appointment with the oncologist? I would make the appointment for next week and you should have the pathologist report in hand by that time to take to the appointment.

My old boy ended up dying of a spinal tumor. Nobody knows how long it had been there (we discovered it when he woke up and his hind end did not work) or if he had internal tumors as well. Mast cells are dangerous, the vet can usually tell by an aspirate if there are mast cells in the lump, but you have to be careful, 'cause mast cells can be released and the vets love to throw steroids at you....the whole thing was a long battle for us. I say utilize any and every resource at your disposal to fully understand what you are dealing with. It has been 2 years since i lost my old boy and I still wonder "what if".

jasminesmom · Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 12:45 pm Post subject:

Thank you so much. I am sorry to hear about your dog. You are right. I am going to have the vet make the appointment and that will probably motivate my vet to speak to the pathologist quickly. I have a friend that rescues dogs and her dog passed away from cancer a year ago. She recommended that diet also so I am definitely looking in to it.
I took Jasmine to Auburn for her HOD and at the time she had 2 large lumps on her neck. We had them x-rayed (my home vet) to find out they were not attached to the bone. My vet also aspirated them so we asked that Auburn check them and find out what was wrong. When Auburn called us to advise she did have HOD and was ready to come home we quickly checked out of the hotel and rushed to get her. When we arrived and spoke to the vet about the results they still did not have any info on the lumps. A student ran to that dept to check and advised us that after they were aspirated again the results were inconclusive. They advised that I could make an appt with an oncologist there and come back another week. I hated to leave not having the results I needed. About 2 months ago Jasmine had a lump on her side by her elbow. I had it checked twice and they advised me to not worry unless it changed in size. I noticed it changed and had it removed immediately. My vet thought it was a lymph node and did not remove any tissue around it. I hope that they are not part of the problem and there was nothing that could have been done sooner.

samckinner · Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 1:04 pm Post subject:

Welcome to the forum. I wish you luck with your baby. It's so hard when they're sick. I lost a 12 year old Cairn to cancer about two years ago. I am sorry to say that I don't know what kind of cancer it was. I'm sure you will have better luck.

Sam and Haus

jasminesmom · Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 1:19 pm Post subject:

Thank you. I am so sorry to hear that. It is so hard to have seen Jasmine so sick as a puppy. When she had HOD my vet could not properly diagnose her. Her temp was 105.8 and giving her steroids was only lowering that at times. I stayed by her side at the vet and on day 2 I took her out of the kennel to potty. She lost control of her front limbs and had a seizure. I called my husband and we quickly rushed her to Auburn. I "googled" common diseases for weims while sitting in the hotel that morning and within 3 minutes was sure I had the correct diagnosis-HOD. I insisted upon speaking to the vet at Auburn to have them check for HOD first. The vet explained that the x-rays were so clear cut that they were actually going to use them for training.
I know that Jasmine may not be meant to be here forever but I do know that I will give her the best possible life while I am lucky enough to have her. She used to have a last name (and was very well trained) but since she became sick we now just call her Jasmine "I do what I want" because we are just so grateful that we have her.

NenaGunther · Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 8:06 pm Post subject:

My brother's Rottie was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer a few years ago. He changed her diet to a raw one and then used several supplements from www.naturalcanine.com

I'm not sure which ones, but I think they have a cancer section. She outlived the vets timeline by quite a bit.

I'm sorry you are going through this, explore all your options.

jasminesmom · Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 11:36 am Post subject:

Thanks for all of your help. I really appreciate any info. I have been doing a lot of research just to make sure I am doing all I can. Between me and my husband we are constantly calling each other with new info. We are both so attached to this new baby. She is just amazing!

Tonia · Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 3:47 pm Post subject:

Auburn is great! They treated my weim for Grade 4 Lymphoma for a little over a year and a half, we actually live in Memphis but I wanted to go to a vet school that would be up to date on the latest research and I really felt like Auburn did. We saw Dr. Smith and Dr. Broughman. Both are excellent vets! They gave Clyda excellent care and consulted with our oncologist here in Memphis. She was a miracle dog for all of us because her cancer had spread so bad they had given her three months even with chemotherapy, well she showed them, she lived for 17 months in great health and she felt great, I was so grateful to them. We did do chemo for her because her cancer was systemic and couldn't be removed, we could only put her in remission which she did three times! I really can't say enough great things about Auburn's vet school.

Rubychewsday · Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 5:01 pm Post subject: Mast Cell tumors

First of all, I am so sorry to hear of your pups diagnoses. I just lost my 8 year old Weim. She had a very tiny mast cell tumor removed from her hind leg. It was stage 2, but no signs of spreading. She was in perfect health otherwise and had no behavioral signs that she was compromised in any way. The vet gave us an excellent prognosis, however, she died suddenly and completely unexpectedly within 2 weeks of the removal. Although we did not do a necropsy, they assume it was anaphylactic shock related to the cancer. Woulda-shoulda-couldas, are neither here nor there. However, if it ever happened again, I would consult a specialist immediately and treat it much more seriously than how it was presented to me. Healing thoughts to you and your baby...

weimdawgs · Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 8:50 pm Post subject:

Scout was diagnosed with acute onset HOD at 14 weeks. It was horrible. Instead of several episodes as most dogs have, Scout had one long episode that lasted several months. Our vet did not recommend steriods. At the time I was pissed as the one breeder was telling me he should be on them. John was dead set against it. I am so glad we did not treat him with steroids.

He is doing good now. He does have some bone deformities as a result....his case was the most severe I have seen so far.

jasminesmom · Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 2:50 pm Post subject:

I am so glad for all of the info and stories. We were in the process of making an appointment with Auburn when my vet advised he spoke with the pathologist. The vet stated that there are 0 mytotic figures over the power of 10 (well I know I am not saying it right.) The pathologists said that she strongly feels if any more show up they will be on the skin. She said that if it was her dog she would by no means do radiation or chemo. I truly want the best for my dog. After hearing the story of the 8 yr old weim, I am taking my dog back to Auburn. It will make me feel better that I am doing the BEST that I can for her. I am so sorry to hear about your loss. I will let yall know what happens.