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Spindle Cell Tumors and C-CAPS
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Member Since:
19 May 2012
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1
22 May 2012 - 2:06 am
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Hi There,

I have a gorgeous blue eyed husky now almost 15 years old.

She was recently been re-diagnosed with a tumor (spindle cell) after last surgery 12 months ago. Yep its come back again.

She has had her share of issues and now it seems this horrible thing has come back compounded with her arthritus issues in her back legs. Fortunately still 4 legs intact no spread anywhere at this stage that we are aware of.

We cant have the tumor removed due to her age and also its in very complicated location on lower skull area under jaw bone.

She has been on K9 immunity Plus ever since two years ago when this tumor first poped up. No chemo- only surgery and extra supplements (DHA Fish oil, fish treats, green lipped mussel,  a good healthy diet, she is only 20kg so not overweight)  .   I guess my question is - has anyone else had similar experience with this type of tumor ? Also if C-CAPs have helped. I think they are like Apocaps .  I dont know how long I have with her , all the vet has said is to keep her healthy and happy and give her a good quality of life,  there is no point for chemo or ex-raying her as cant go down surgery path,  I just want to help slow the potential of this thing spreading /metastising. Any one who has had experience similar or some advise info anything would be appreciated.

 

Kind regards

Lauran

knoxville, tn
Member Since:
12 February 2010
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22 May 2012 - 7:58 am
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hi lauran, your future posts won't require moderation.  gayle had spindle cells, a soft tissue sarcoma - grade III in her right front leg.  her tumor was too entwined, and amputation was our option, followed by five rounds of doxorubicin chemo.  she did fine, until we found oral melanoma which took her last december.  i don't know that you can do more than you are already doing, as head related cancer is a bitch.  we did two surgeries to remove tumors on gayle's tongue, but still the cancer spread to the lymph system. 

you've done a great jog - fifteen is a grand age...i know we want them to be with us forever...   hope others can jump in with suggestions.  what's your pup's name - we'd love to see a picture of those blue eyes!!!

 

charon & spirit gayle

Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included).  She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.

Love Never Ends

http://etgayle

krun15
3
22 May 2012 - 8:32 am
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Gosh, 15 is a wonderful age!  Sounds like you are doing great by your pup- what's her name?

I've dealt with other types of cancer, not spindle cell.

Here is some information on Apocaps from the Nutrition Blog, scroll down past the K9 Immunity section. There is some discussion there about Dr. Dressler's Dog Cancer Kit.  I know several members have used that supplement, hopefully they will add comments.

 

Karen and the pugapalooza

San Diego, CA
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22 May 2012 - 11:04 am
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Hi Lauren and pup,

Wow 15 is awesome. I too have dealt with other kinds of cancers so don't know about spindle cell.

I never heard of C-Caps, so can't offer any advice on those. As for Apocaps - I want to start out by saying I really like Dr. Dressler and his book (The Dog Cancer Survival Guide ) helped me survive Abby's cancer (if not her...) when I was really overwhelmed by all the treatment/supplement options out there. But, having said that - I never did try the Apocaps . My onc. was opposed to them. He OK'd everything else I asked him about (K9 Immunity , Fish oil, grain-free diet, artemisinin , etc.) but said he believed the apocaps were not helpful and just an way to make money. Now - having not used them myself I can't really comment, but thought I'd pass that along if it's helpful. I also know of a woman on another canine cancer site who said she looked into the ingredients and found there were much cheaper ways to give your dog something similar (although I don't know what those were - I know she mentioned Berte's (sp?) Immune Blend and one other thing, but I don't remember).

Have you looked into artemisinin ? It's recently started to be studied a lot for use in canines (and humans) for fighting cancer and has been used for malaria for centuries so is known to have low toxicity. Dr. Dressler mentions it in his book. There's also a Yahoo group dedicated solely to cancer dogs using artemisinin . If you are interested in learning more from them (a very knowledgeable group!) go to Yahoo Groups and search on "cancer_and_artemisinin" (if that doesn't work or you have questions you can always PM me).

Hope you have a lot more quality time with your girl!

Jackie, Angel Abby's mom

Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!

Member Since:
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22 May 2012 - 2:48 pm
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Hi Lauran,

  Chloe was diagnosed with spindle cell sarcoma in July 2010. It was a tumor in her left hind hock (so we opted for amputation since it too was inoperable for excision at that location). Her vet said that spindle cell sarcomas are typically  slow growing and have low chance for metastasizing.   If that is what your vet also says for your pup, as a personal opinion I think your current regime will allow her to live out the best quality of life possible. We think Chloe has a little husky in her because of her "mask" face (even though she is short haired) and her love of howling (we call it singing).  We don't have any experience with Apocaps or C-CAPS but I would also suggest you check out Karen's link (2 posts above).

Best Wishes.

-Nicole

Chloe became a rear amp tripawd on 7-29-10. Another tumor was removed on front leg 2-20-14. Found 3rd tumor on neck 2-2015, but she's still kicking cancer's butt at age 14. Chloe's blog

On The Road


Member Since:
24 September 2009
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22 May 2012 - 5:16 pm
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Hi Lauran, welcome. When I saw your dog's age I had to re-read that. 15? WOW! Whatever you have done to help her live such a long, healthy, hoppy life, keep it up. Everything you've tried sounds spot-on, and if her first diagnosis was two years ago, I'd say that's a pretty good indicator that you are on the right path. I don't know about c-caps but I do know that Dr. Dressler's Dog Cancer Survival Guide has terrific advice about nutrition, supplements, etc. If you aren't happy with your vet's current advice, there's nothing wrong with consulting another holistic-minded vet who is more encouraging and knowledgeable when it comes to nutrition. 

I know that you want to do all you can to keep the cancer from spreading, but remember to also enjoy these moments with her, rather than spend more time than you need to worrying. It's easier said than done, but time is so precious right now, always make the most of it. We're here to help however we can.

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

Member Since:
19 May 2012
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22 May 2012 - 10:50 pm
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Thanks you all for your kind comments and feedback I will have a read of all the links people have put on their posts.

 

 I really do appreciate it and at least I dont feel I am fighting this alone and have all of you to talk to.  I will also read up more on Dr Dresslers info, I do have his book and I had implemented some of his suggestions.

This morning I bought some "Earthborn Holistic" Grain free dry food  Its the first time i have seen it on the shelf of the petshop.(I am in Australia )  I was just planning to throw in a few tit bits as treats for her in her treat bottle.  (Normally I give Laska a few treats after her dinner every night ( dry fish treats, dry chicken bits  1 dehydrated greenlipped mussel all natural of course )  Earthborn, I see come from Evansville USA IN.  Does anyone also give there dog this product ? Is it anygood, I read label carefully and it shows no grains or by product of any sort, quite a few various vegetable and fruit constituents.

 Does anybody else give this to their pet  Or should I steer away from it ?  

Photo ? - As I am new I dont know yet how to add a photo to my profile or photos elsewhere. I would love to put photo of laska on as my profile.  

Than

On The Road


Member Since:
24 September 2009
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23 May 2012 - 10:38 am
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You're definitely not alone!

Earthborn is a wonderful, high quality food. We feed the grain free version to our Wyatt Ray and he's done well on it. This is the pup with a super sensitive stomach, so I'm impressed that he was able to switch over to it without a problem. 

Dog Food Advisor gives it 5 stars. Read his review here.

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

Member Since:
19 May 2012
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24 May 2012 - 11:58 pm
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Since my last post I have done a fair bit of research of C-CAPS looks like it has helped quite a few peoples's pets with cancer. I looked at a number of Forums and Posts on this.  Tuesday my first bottle C-CAPS came in for Laska, she is has been taking one a day rolled up in a little melted cheese. I will see how she goes with these.  She also loves the Earthborn dry food  but I am giving her only a few as treats.  Today she is not so good its cold wet and windy and she does tend to feel it more in her little back legs with the arthritus.  I have put a photo of Laska on my blog page but still cant seem to load up the avatar photo going through the dashboard. Not sure what I am doing wrong.

On The Road


Member Since:
24 September 2009
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26 May 2012 - 2:21 pm
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Hi Lauran, 

Feel free to share your researched links about c-caps here, that would be super helpful for us.

Admin can help with your avatar, stay tuned...

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

On The Road


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24 September 2009
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26 May 2012 - 4:39 pm
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lauran1234 said
...still cant seem to load up the avatar photo going through the dashboard. Not sure what I am doing wrong.

Make sure the file your uploading is either a JPG, PNG or GIF with the proper file extension, jpegs work best. The image needs to be at least 150x150 but not a huge file. Anything larger than 150KB is overkill and files of 1MB or more may stall the upload process.

If problems persist please provide some detail about what's going on with a new topic in the Tech Support forum. And if all else fails, just send us an image and we'll take care of it for you.

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

Member Since:
19 May 2012
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10 June 2012 - 5:08 pm
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Hi everyone,

I finally have been able to  uploaded photo of my husky little laska  as my avatar.

Took laska to the vet for a checkup a week ago for this tumor she has growing on neck. The vet measured it and said it was approx 3cm in diametre. I will be taking her back again in a week or so just to check if its size again. The very first visit unfortunately the vet didnt measure so I only have this measurement now to go by.

 

She still seems to be ok eating, loving her short walks, she does sleep alot I guess thats normal for a 15 year old husky. The C-Caps I have noticed do pep her up and seem to give her more energy but as for slowing tumor growth hard to tell at this stage. She has only been on C-Caps for two weeks. Crossing fingers the next check up shows no major change.

 

Her back legs due to arthritus are a worry especially now being winter here in Australia. For us its been pretty cold 5 degrees today . Luckily she likes staying inside in the warmth rather than go outside.   Last  night for the first time laska decided she wanted to eat out of her bowl sitting down after about 2 minutes so I sat down with her in the larundry and spoon fed her. Then she got up and tried to finish standing again she is very strong willed girl.  She has a powerful determination, even when we go for our short walks her mind tells her  "lets run" but unfortunately she forgets her back legs cant keep up with her front I and after a 10 seconds she slows down or I have to tell her to slow down.  She really is an amazing dog and tries so hard. I  wish I could do more for her but old age cant be stopped also this tumor I hope that its slow growing and hasnt metastized and spread anywhere yet.

San Diego, CA
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29 October 2010
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10 June 2012 - 7:11 pm
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She is such a beautiful girl! I know how she feels about the old age thing... My mind also seems to think the ol' bod can still do things that it really can't! 🙂

Hope the next appointment goes well. Enjoy every moment and snuggling up in the cold weather together.
Jackie, Angel Abby's mom

Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!

Las Vegas, Nevada
Member Since:
14 August 2009
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14
10 June 2012 - 8:04 pm
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She looks like an amazing dog! So beautiful too.

I've never heard of C-caps either but that's great if it gives her pep!

I hope the tumor slows and she has much more time!

Her Retired AvatarComet - 1999 to 2011

She departed us unexpectedly  January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.

She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.

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