The next step

I have yet again grilled my oncologist and regular veterinarian ad nauseum about the pros and cons of the entire spectrum of treatment routes and their respective prognoses, and have gone ahead and scheduled Rio’s surgery for next Tuesday, Feb. 8.  Now I just have to stay busy and try not think about it too much between now and then…and remember to breathe when I do….

On a separate but related note, does anyone here have any firsthand knowledge of some of the holistic/naturopathic formulas on the market, specifically K9 Immunity, Transfer Factor or other similar?  Are they as effective as the websites they are sold on would have me believe?

5 thoughts on “The next step

  1. Hi Rio’s mom,
    I would again encourage you to check out the forums:
    http://tripawds.com/forums/.
    Most people spend there time there, and you will get many more responses and lots of input. Also check out the nutrition blog here:
    http://nutrition.tripawds.com/.
    There is another Maggie here, the agile cow dog. Her mom Tracy is treating her Mag holistically. Her blog is here: http://maggie.tripawds.com/. That Maggie does not have Mast cell cancer, I don’t remember what cancer she has. But she is going strong more than a year after her amp.
    Keep breathing, and be strong for Rio. She will take her ques from you.
    Karen and the pugapalooza

    Many here have gone the holistic route and have had success. There are lots of choices out there. I did not go with a lot of supplements for Maggie, but I was careful to feed her a high quality food that was grain free.

  2. Hi Rio and Mom! I’m coming in a little late here. Karen and the Pugapalooza let me know there was a new pup with MCT. As she said in one of her comments, my Roxy girl just celebrated 11 months after amputation from a Grade III MCT. Oh, I feel your pain and struggle with the decision to amputate. It took me 6 weeks to finally make the decision, but I’m so glad I did. We went through the normal 2 weeks of recovery, complete with doubts, triumphs, tears and laughter, and since then Roxy has never once looked back. She keeps going and going, she’s like the energizer bunny! She’s a front leg amputee, which I think is a little harder to adapt to than rear leg amputation, so I’m sure Rio will do great!

    As far as treatment goes after the amputation, I chose not to do chemo. I couldn’t really afford it for one, but I also was of the mind frame that if Roxy didn’t make it much past her amputation I didn’t want her to be sick from the chemo in the time she had left. It’s a very individual decision that only the person in the situation can make, and it really comes down to, once you have considered every angle, what can you live with no matter the outcome?

    Like Tracy did with Maggie the Cowdog, I decided to do holistic rememdies with Dr. Charles Loops. He’s located in South Carolina I believe, I’m in southern Indiana. He does phone consults and mails the rememdies to you. They are incredibly cheap, and it seems to be what was right for Roxy. The only other supplement I have Roxy on is glucosamine/condroitin. We just started this a couple weeks ago and it seems to be helping her.

    There was another MCT that came to the sight right about the same time I did. He was a pit named Mel. His mom did chemo with him. I haven’t seen anything from him in a while, but she checked in a couple months back and said Mel was still going strong. I don’t remember the chemo he was on, but if you can find him on here, his blog may have that information. Admin, Karen, can someone link to his blog for Rio?

    Best of luck to you Rio and Mom! If I can answer any questions for you, or if you just need to vent, feel free to email me. I’ll keep you guys in my prayers and keep my fingers crossed for your surgery on the 8th!

    Leslie

  3. Hi there,
    As Karen mentioned, my Maggie is being treated homeopathically for her cancer (soft tissue sarcoma) by Dr. Charles Loops(from NC – I am in ME but he doesn’t have to see dog-it’s done by phone consult).
    I also have Maggie on K9 Immunity (the “PLUS” form right now). And use Transfer Factors as well that was suggested by Dr. Loops. She is also on Omega 3’s and Maritime Pine Bark. She also is fed grain free diet of Honest Kitchen premixes (Embark/Preference or Thrive) with added raw meats.
    Good luck in your research on how to treat your pup and good luck with the surgery next week! My thoughts are with you and yes, come join us on the Forums where you’ll get more responses.
    Tracy, Maggie’s Mom

  4. we’ve been giving gayle k9 immunity for about 10 months now, and believe it has helped her. we also do scheduled acupuncture, to help maintain her immune system and to help with spinal and muscular issues related to her missing front leg hop. do your research and you will know what is right for you guys.

    charon & gayle

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