Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Has anyone heard if there is a class action suit against Apoquel? There are some studies it has been linked to some cancers. Helping a friend whose pup has mast cell and was on the med for years
No I sight here, but I bet if anyone has hrard of this it would be Karen (stubborn Pug Maggie) or Jerry. Stay tuned.
P@ease let your friend know we will be thinking of her and sending positive energy. If we can support her in any way, let us know. I already know she has a great support in you!
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
I did do a quick Dr Google search "does apoquel cause cancer in dogs?" and, unfortunately, there were some links that indicated that was possibly the case
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Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Great to hear from you Heidi! Sorry to hear about the circumstances.
Various members have mentioned Apoquel here over the years, but no mention of any class action...yet! A quick Googe search suggests there may be reason.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
There is a label warning not to use if dogs have pre-existing malignant cancer since it is an immunosuppressant and may hinder the body's natural ability to fight cancer. I did have one client with a 4 year old Westie develop a splenic cancer after taking the drug 1 1/2 years and the company did work with her to defray the cost of treatment but ultimately there is no way to know for sure if the drug itself caused the tumor or just caused it to develop quickly.
Apoquel is a great drug for the short term but if used daily over months to years it can have other side effects including infections. I have seen many UTIs, a pneumonia, and many resistant Staph skin infections. A better drug is the newer Cytopoint injection.
Pam
Wow! Gator is on this for his skin allergies, and the vet never mentioned cancer, or any other side effects. I have been thinking it was like doggie Claritin. Going to have to discuss this with the vet.
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
Ollie is on it for skin allergies, too. I'll have to have a good long talk with his dermatologist. He has never showed any infections to this point.
Kathi
Murphy is a five year old Lab/Chessie cross. He was hit by a car on 10/29/12 and became a Tripawd on 11/24/12. On 2/5/13, he had a total hip replacement on his remaining back leg. He has absolutely no idea that he has only three legs!
UPDATE: Murphy lived his life to the fullest, right up until an aggressive bone lesion took him across the Rainbow Bridge on April 9, 2015 and he gained his membership in the April Angels. Run free, my love. You deserve it!
Hi all - I have a 9 year old jack Russell (Murphy) that has been on Apoquel since last summer/fall and just had a cherry-sized mast cell tumor, along with the swollen lymph node next to it, removed from her neck yesterday. It is in a spot just under the jaw where me or my family would never have missed it. What's scary is the tumor literally "popped up" out of nowhere about a week and a half ago. Now we are awaiting biopsy results for both the mass and the lymph node to determine grade and stage. According to my vet, my dog will need chemotherapy.
I am convinced the Apoquel is the culprit in my dog's case and will address it with my vet later this week when we go to get the drainage tube taken out of my dog's neck and hopefully have biopsy results. In particular, I would like to know whether veterinarians keep track of incidence of tumors/cancers in dogs whose tumors arise after being on Apoquel. Are they seeing a pattern now that this drug has been on the market for a few years.
While it is too late for my dog , I want other people to be aware of the potential dangers of using this drug. Clearly from surfing the web a bit, I am not alone. How do we get Zoetis to answer for this and get the word out to other unsuspecting dog owners?
Hello Jeanette,
Welcome. Your future posts won't need approval so post away. I'm so sorry to hear about your dog, and hope the pathology reports come back with good news.
I know there's been talk about Apoquel here and elsewhere on the web, but mostly about how it was designed to stop itching by preventing histamines from spreading in the body. As far as I understand about Apoquel, long term use can lead to infections because it's an immuno-suppresive drug, but I don't see much about it being directly linked with mast cell cancers. Two good veterinary blogs about apoquel side effects are:
Skin Vet: Apoquel safety: how Apoquel is like fine wine – Part 2
Here's what Dr. Plant says to one reader with concerns similar to yours:
John,
I am sorry to hear about the diagnosis. It may still turn out to have low grade malignancy after the biopsy. For instance, mast cell tumors are very common in dogs, representing 20% of all cutaneous tumors in dogs. But they can vary quite a bit in their malignancy. Overall, Apoquel hasn’t been demonstrated to increase the risk of developing cancer, but hopefully your veterinarian will report your pet’s findings to Zoetis once the biopsy is done. No conclusions can be drawn from one patient since many dogs develop cancer, but there is a process in place for identifying potential problems with drugs after they are released based on a large number of reports.
Best wishes for a successful surgery,
Dr. Plant
Another vet blog, Pet Dermatology Clinic, says:
We don’t know long term side effects of Apoquel in dogs, time will tell. The product insert warns that Apoquel may exacerbate neoplastic conditions. There is no good evidence of this as of yet, we will keep monitoring. I would recommend Apoquel over cyclosporine in a dog with previous cancer. Comfort and quality of life are absolute considerations when deciding which medications to use.
Some members here are using Apoquel so hopefully they will chime in soon.
Keep us posted about your pup OK? And thanks for sharing your story with us.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Apoquel was prescribed to my French Bulldog. She was on it for two months. She died September 23rd from a cancerous mass in her abdomen. The gut kicker is that she was only two years and two months old. I am convinced that the Apoquel caused her death. I was not informed by the vet that this suppresses the immune system and that blood checks were needed periodically to check for infections and for cancers. I am devastated for her. She should not have died.
Please let me know if anyone hears of a class action lawsuit because I want to join in.
Really sorry to hear about your dog Cherri. Our hearts go out to you.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Oh Cherri, so very, very sorry to hear avout your beloved French Bulldog.
I don't have any insight into a class action suit, so maybe someone here does.
I just want to tell you again, how very sorry I am. If you feel like it, we would love to know more ,about your sweet pup. We already know she's adorable because she's a Frenchie. What her name? I'm sure, even though your earth time together was way too short, you shared lots of happy times. May those happy memories help to eventually heal your heart.
Surrounding you with your pup's eternall light💖
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
I'm so sorry to hear of the loss of your dog. I understand your grief and outrage. I had it for a long time too knowing I gave my cat cancer by giving her a vaccine that was supposed to protect her.
I don't believe class actions suits against pharmaceutical companies for pet medications have been successful. Since the FDA has protected pharmaceutical companies from lawsuits, here's an example where a woman tried to sue the vet for not warning her about the risks of the vaccine which gave her cat cancer: https://www.ani.....ciates-inc
I believe the legal back and forth went on for years and she incurred a lot of legal costs. She started this suit in 2011 and it was to go to trial in 2015. Here is her facebook page: https://www.fac.....tedSarcoma
I and many others have been successful in getting reimbursements for the cost of amputations due to vaccines from the pharmaceutical companies. They know their vaccines can cause cancer and I suppose they consider some form of reimbursement a cost of doing business.
You would probably want to talk to a lawyer about a lawsuit and also to discuss the adverse effect with the FDA (in the US or the CFIA in Canada) who approved this medication.
Hugs,
Kerren and Tripawd Kitty Mona
Over here (Germany) they warn against the long-term use of Apoquel. -Well, the vets do, I don't know if the pharmaceutical company does. They also kind of build up towards the use of Apoquel, so basically it's "use it only if all else fails because once they're on it there's no going back".
Which does not mean it is not prescribed but it is expected to have long-term side effects. Personally, however, I would not consider two months long-term. My friends dog is on it because they couldn't get his allergies under control and has been for two years. He's 6 now and it was a matter of "will we let him scratch himself bloody or risk tumors in the future"...
Guardian of Manni the Wonderdog. -Or was it the other way around?
Osteo and amputation in Dec 2015. Second, inoperable, primary osteosarcoma found in June 2017.
The end of our adventures came Dec 10, 2017. 2 years to the day.
My Westie Grizz takes this seasonally (late summer - first frost); I'm not thrilled to give it to him, but if I didn't he'd scratch himself raw and have no fur left due to licking obsessively. Hopefully the month or 2 he's on it will not cause any of the supposed problems associated with this drug. If anyone knows of a safer alternative, I'd love to hear about it.
Paula and Warrior Angel Nitro
Nitro 11 1/2 yr old Doberman; right front amp June 2014. Had 6 doses carboplatin, followed by metronomic therapy. Rocked it on 3 legs for over 3 years! My Warrior beat cancer, but couldn't beat old age. He crossed the Bridge peacefully on July 25, 2017, with dignity and on his terms. Follow his blog entitled "Doberman's journey"
"Be good, mama loves you".....run free my beautiful Warrior
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