Fuck canine lymphoma, me, magellan01, and Lacunae Quell (in that order)

The BBQ Pit
#1

The Wonder Beagle has lymphoma. The back pain combo package - a collapsed disk, spondylosis, and a chunk of something-or-other in the spinal canal - apparently wasn’t enough for him. During a follow-up visit for the back problems, the vet didn’t like the feel of some lymph nodes and did an aspiration biopsy. Got the bad news a couple days ago.

So, fuck lymphoma for adding to the discomforts of an old dog with a bad back. The only bright side is we’re going to start him on prednisone tonight (having cleared his system of the incompatible meds he was getting for his back pain), and I’m given to understand that prednisone may make him drink more and urinate more. And Wonder Beagle just loooves to go out and pee on things. I suppose everyone, no matter how stupid (sorry WB, but it’s true), needs a hobby.

Fuck me for being too cheap, too disorganized, or too logical to commit to a year of expensive, schedule-dependent chemotherapy for an old dog with other health problems that will not be helped by chemo.

And now, a pitting for a couple of posters who have been pissing me off for a while. I’ve been meaning to pit you guys but haven’t had the energy, but since I’m venting about the dog, now’s your turn.

Fuck magellan01 for yet another pointless foray into a discussion of the legal union of two adults of the same sex and/or gender, namely this thread in order to poison it with his usual two-part diatribe against using “marriage” to describe said union. We got it, you don’t like the idea. Now grow yourself a set of balls (biological or metaphorical, your choice) and answer the question which has been asked of you so many times: What, exactly, do you believe will happen if the legal union, i.e. the one not resulting from a religious ceremony, of two adults of the same sex is called “marriage?” None of this stuff about how the word will lose its shiny specialness - I and the others want to know how you think real, live people of all sexual and religious orientations will behave in real life. Will the stop getting married? Will they get married more? Will they get a rash? C’mon, man up and answer (not here, man - in the thread!).

Fuck Lacunae Quell for starting this thread. You started it on the premise that you were genuinely confused about the handling of a transgendered child, but by post #11 you couldn’t keep up the pretense and went into a rant neatly summarized by Miller as, “Because some atheists make fun of your religion, you’re rejecting the entire concept of transgenderism.” I don’t know which makes you more pit-worthy - your notion that American Christians are persecuted, marginalized, and forced to practice in secret OR your notion that this imaginary persecution makes it totally unfair that non-Christian (or less-Christian) people are treated like human beings.

magellan01 and Lacunae Quell, please don’t bother arguing with me in this thread. Argue with me in the threads I’ve linked to, since there are others waiting for your responses there as well. All I ask of you here is that you go fuck yourselves silly.

And don’t forget to pet my dog, who has cancer, on your way out.

#2

: pets cwthree’s dog, with a nice ear rub thrown in:

#3

So very sorry about your dog… and please rescind the self pitting immediately, do not make yourself feel guilty about this, please.

#4

: gives Wonder Beagle scritches :

#5

Agreed, you need to retract the self-pitting. Being a ferret owner, the critters are far too short-lived at times (my current one is old at age 7), and are very prone to cancer, so I’ve been through the same myself. Sometimes, you have to know when to stop; my inlaws seriously prolonged a fairly miserable life for one of their dogs by refusing to listen to reason over what you should put a pet through because you can’t let go. Take it a step at a time with the Wonder Beagle and see how he does.

Our current one has adrenal disease and insulinoma, the former may be caused by cancer, and the latter is cancer of the pancreas. She’s on a monthly hormone shot to suppress the adrenal’s overactivity (and fortunately has a lovely coat yet, unlike the one in the linked picture), and twice-daily prednisone for the insulinoma.

Is the prednisone liquid? If so, do they flavor it something yummy? (Our fuzzbutt really doesn’t like the flavor, though I think she’s being a wimp, it’s just sweet with a tiny bit of mint.)

/pats da doggie

#6

You’re doing the right thing. I don’t believe you should submit an old pet to something as drastic as chemo. You can’t explain to him that you’re making him feel like Hell in order to help him feel better. That self-pitting was undeserved.

Give WB scritches from here too.

#7

Thanks, guys.

Ferret Herder and Gangster Octopus, thanks for correcting me about the self-pitting. There’s a lot of emphasis on chemo right now, so I keep second-guessing myself.

Ferret Herder, for dogs, prednisone is given as tablets. Right now, The Wonder Beagle will eat anything wrapped in a Pill Pocket, so getting the pills into him should not be a problem. That’s one reason we’re going with prednisone - I know we can stick to that regimen.

#8

Oh, good point. It probably has to be liquid for ferrets because of their teeny-tiny body weight, for starters. Ours is on a 1 mg/ml dilution, with only 0.3 ml given twice a day.

I had a previous ferret on liquid digoxin for a heart problem, and decided to fill the prescription at my workplace (I work in a medical center) for the employee discount. I handed over the prescription for “Regina [Herder]” and the pharmacist did a double-take, then asked how old the patient was. I told him it was for a less-than-2-pounds ferret and he relaxed; he had been perplexed at the tiny (weight-adjusted) dosage.

You have to make quality of life choices for your pets. If The Wonder Beagle was young and strong, with no other problems and a good prognosis with treatment, that might make sense. But that’s not the case, and sometimes you have to make the tough decisions.

#9

Cancer sucks. My cat Isaac has squamous cell carcinoma in her jaw. It’s just a matter of time before she stops eating.

They could have taken part of her jaw out with surgery, but I couldn’t stand the idea. She’s not a kitty that tolerates medical stuff well. She gets depressed and angry, so I get to watch her deteriorate.

Sometimes, there are no good answers. I’m so sorry about the Wonder Beagle.

#10

As heart-breaking as it is, I think one of the true hallmarks of wisdom is coming to accept the fact that living things have life spans, and that it is OK for something at the end of its life span to die.

I’ll let you know when I get there. :frowning:

I’m sorry about your pal.

#11

Thanks. I’m sorry about your Isaac. Our oldest cat (cwPartner’s cat, really - she likes him best) has squamous cell carcinoma. She’s had surgery for some of the tumors - it won’t cure anything, but it keeps them from splitting and becoming infected and painful. Right now, she acts comfortable and her quality of life is good, but I know that eventually that’s going to change. I am hoping that we are paying enough attention to know when it happens. The cat is a crabby old thing but I don’t actually with her ill.

#12

Sorry to hear about WonderBeagle. I went through the same agony with my cat. It’s so hard not to be able to explain it to them.

#13

Sorry about your dog, cwthree. My beautiful Mastiff died at 6 from lymphoma. It’s a hard thing to go through. For what it’s worth, our vet said chemo just delays the inevitable a bit and they’re not happy while on it.

#14

Adding to voices asking that you please, please not kick yourself over not putting your pup through chemo. When our 16-year-old cat was diagnosed with lymphoma, we had to make the same choice, and it ultimately came down to not wanting to turn his remaining good days into horrible ones for the slim possibility of a little extra time together. Sometimes it’s better just to spoil them rotten and show them that much more love in the time they have left.

Many ear-rubs for the old boy and and hug for you.

#15

I’m so sorry to hear about WonderBeagle and Isaac. Last year, our cat Misty had throat cancer. We had a choice of removing the tumor, which would give her maybe three or four months, or just letting her have one month without it. We just opted not to go through surgery. (And we just gave her pain pills and kept her as comfortable as we could.)

She was only eight and I miss her dreadfully. hugs all around

#16

Frost the Dawg has cancer as well (two types, actually), and we were told that even with chemo & radiation, we’d be looking at 4-6 months. We decided to control his pain (tramadol & gabapentin are doing wonders), and let him go when it’s time.

I think you’re doing the right thing.

#17

Eight seems so young for a cat - I think the youngest we’ve lost was 12. You must miss her very much, indeed.

The Wonder Beagle has tramadol for his back, and it seems to be helping him quite a bit in that regard. I’ll ask about gabapentin or something else to add as this goes on, though, if the tramadol doesn’t seem to work. It’s kind of hard to tell with the Wonder Beagle, since he doesn’t get agitated over much; he’s been a hearty sleeper as long as I’ve known him.

hugs all around, and scritches to those who can take them

#18

I’ll toss in a belly rub and a “goood dog”.

And some encouragement for cwthree who’s doing right by his beastie.

#19

Another vote for not kicking yourself about declining a treatment that offers tenuous benefits at a steep price.

My cat Sylvia had to have thyroid surgery and was never the same afterwards; the original problem was resolved, true, but others followed on the treatment, including such negative reactions to the medications she was put on that I chose to take her off them. She became much more comfortable, gradually thinned and declined, but continued to enjoy her life in reasonable comfort. Then the day came when she had had enough and made it plain, and I took her to the vet for the final gift I could give her.

It’s clear you’re closely tuned into the Wonder Beagle and his happiness and comfort. You’ll know when it’s time – it will tear at you, wondering and second-guessing yourself, till the time arrives, and it will tear at your heart when the day comes; but I have faith in you, that you will do the right thing.