dog has inoperable malignant adrenal gland tumor

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 12 year old dog has been diagnosed with an inoperable tumor. We live in northern VA but were sent to Dr. Justin Gangei in Gaithersburg as he has the reputation for being the most competent veterinary surgeon in the area. Sadly, the CT scan showed that the tumor is inoperable due to too much protrusion into the vena cava. We are going for a radiation oncology appt at the same facility (also supposed to be tops for radiation oncology).

Has your dog had radiation for an advanced tumor? How did he/she do? Money is not an issue but I want to give my dog the best quality of life I can. Thank you for replies.

This happened in the 1990s to my much loved golden retriever. My mom and I were crying in the vet's office when the topic of radiation (and chemo?) came up. My dad gently said that such a course of treatment would be absolutely nuts for a dog, particularly a 10-year-old dog. I didn't want to hear it, but he was right, and he's still right. My dog suffered too much as it was.

[Anonymous]

Get a second opinion. I took my dog to the vet for what I thought was a tumor. She said it's like a ball of fat. Three years later and it's bigger but he is still fine.

[Anonymous]

^^ vet said it wasn't a tumor

[Anonymous]

We have had two opinions, an ultrasound, and a CT scan. It's clearly a large tumor in the adrenal gland and extending well up the vena cava into the thorax. He has clinical signs of Cushings from a secreting tumor.

[Anonymous]

Dogs tolerate radiation better than humans. But if your pup is nervous about going to the vet and if they have to sedate him multiple times to administer the treatment then I’d think about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have had two opinions, an ultrasound, and a CT scan. It's clearly a large tumor in the adrenal gland and extending well up the vena cava into the thorax. He has clinical signs of Cushings from a secreting tumor.

Sorry, OP. Our dog had the same thing, and we ended up putting her down in February. It was VERY hard, but she kept getting worse from the Cushings disease, becoming disoriented, peeing, distended belly, etc.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your reply and I'm very sorry about the loss of your beloved dog.

After praying about it a lot and asking for clarity, I decided to not do the stereotactic radiation and to just treat the Cushings. I am trying to prepare myself for the horribly sad days to come and am loving my boy and showering him with attention as much as possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To those of you who questioned why I'd put my dog through radiation, first of all, we are only having a consult tomorrow. If I thought the radiation would cause my dog any pain or suffering in itself, I'd never proceed. He's just as important to our family as any other family member. But if the radiation can shrink the tumor to give him better quality of life, and won't cause him any discomfort, I'm wholeheartedly going forward. I want his last days to be as comfortable as possible.

My 13 yr old pup has cushings and is blind and a bit deaf. He takes vetoryl and had cataract surgery in maryland..i made a big and costly mistake taking him there. Many of these specialist offices that are corporate run want to Guage you for every dollar. Some unethical vets out there in maryland. Be careful virginia neighbor. I learned that with senior dogs much like people they go south quick and it's best to consider putting them down. It's always one thing after another when they're old.