pepper's Ongoing Struggle - Cancer? Or another Nasty?

[BrookeR]

Unfortunately we are having problems again.
We have had a number of things happen with Pepper since the start of this year, it would take me quite some time to document everything. But we are now at the point where she has lost a lot of muscle tone and is now frail looking. Even with increasing her food intake we have not been able to increase her weight.
My vet said maldigestion, malabsorption (intestinal wall), malassimilation (liver, kidney, cancers) ,and protein loss through gastro tract or kidney are all reasons for weight loss. She also has a low white cell count & my vet wants to investigate further if it persists to be low.

We did bloods, urine & stool sample 2 weeks ago and a weigh in and she had lost 400g since her prior weigh in.
There was a moderate  Alkp increase, mild increase in globulins, mild non regenerative anemia, moderate leukopenia (due to mild neutropenia and lymphopenia).
I have tried attaching her last blood results, but not sure if it will work. We took more blood and a urine sample today and are waiting on the results. Pep had gained 200g today. Which is not much, but its better than loosing more weight.

At this point I am not planning on going ahead with the ultrasound. I can't really afford the extra expense and anything we find on there is going to be something incurable (I will not put her through chemo at her age). I would also rather not know if she has cancer.
Due to her now being prone to pancreatitis if she has IBD we cannot really treat her by going up in preds. She also does not have consistent runny poos. Which has also led us to not feel that it is EPI. Multiple Myeloma is another thing that has been discussed. Just to list a few.

Does anyone have any thoughts or ideas based on her blood results?

[BrookeR]

Sorry I cannot get them to upload. Will try again later it keeps saying the download folder is full. Even though I keep clearing the folder?

This is a summary.
There was a moderate  Alkp increase, mild increase in globulins, mild non regenerative anemia, moderate leukopenia (due to mild neutropenia and lymphopenia).

[Jo CIMDA]

Hi Brooke

Poor Pepper.

I presume her kidneys are doing OK, so this is very good.  I wonder if a course of antibiotics would help?  Is she lacking in Vit B12?

I don't blame you for not having the ultrasound done. I remember when one of my boys dehydrated and we rushed him to the vet one night.  The vet did a great job and we got him back the next morning as bright as a button!  It cost £600.  That's fine 'cos she saved his life but she wanted to do an ultrasound on his spleen because she thought he may have cancer and that was going to cost another £250.  This boy was 14 years old and I said at his age I wouldn't have chemo done anyway so what was the point of having the scan?  She agreed.  Roly went on to live for another 18 months and his spleen never was a problem.

I see no reason why the vet can't give some antibiotics or anything else that might treat the symptoms and make life easier for Pepper.

Gaining 200g is good news.

Jo

[BrookeR]

Thanks Jo. Yes my vet said that it seems her kidneys are fine at this point. She has no increased thirst or increased urination. We tested her wee two weeks ago with the complete blood profile and have taken a sample again yesterday with bloods to check again. She does not have a lack of appetite, however she is still on pred but it is such a small dose (only 2.5mg once a day and she weighs 14.2kg), I don't know how much it would affect her appetite.
We ran her on a small course of antibiotics after she had her three rotten teeth removed which was a month or so ago. When I spoke with my vet yesterday she said we will see what the wee comes back and may consider running her another course.
My vet isn't keen on giving her things without knowing an actual diagnosis because of how sensitive she is.
Every time we give her antibiotics there is a chringe of worry. We only have one type that we are comfortable using with her. I have tried pushing to try digestive enzymes as I had been reading in the holistic community that they have been used in dogs other than those with epi. Dogs with cancer, senior dogs, dogs with auto immune disease, arthritis, recovering from injury etc. But my vet is more focused on traditional medicine and hard facts , she doesn't believe the science is there for use other than if we have EPI at play. I understand what she is saying from her position. Pep wouldn't be here if it wasn't for our fantastic vet, she has gone above and beyond for us over and over again, and we are forever grateful. I didn't think the enzymes would be a cure, I was just thinking they may have made her a bit more healthy for a little extra time. If she continues to loose weight I will become more desperate and feel the risk of pushing for such things will be worth it even without a diagnosis. Even with the ultrasound we may not even find anything anyway, and could be in the same unknown position. Over the years we have done so many tests on Pep and we never seem to get any accurate answers from them.

I'm not sure about vitamin b12 I will look into that. Thanks for the suggestion.

I have emailed Dr Rebecca Remillard from pet diets through the week asking some diet questions  (but have not had a response yet). Dr Remillard formulated a home cooked/ balanced diet for pep back after she was diagnosed with impa. It was at the beginning on my mission to research and give pep the best & most healthy environment I could for the best chance at good health.
I have been eagerly awaiting a response to see her opinion.

I'll keep you updated. Other than the weight loss Pep currently has normal poos and no vomitting. She is a bit more lethargic than normal. Has a great appetite and has no increased thirst. She also has no limping or signs of arthritic pain (she is on 1 tramadol tablet a day). So she is not unhappy and therefore we will continue plugging on. Ever since the 'plasmacytoma that has matasized' diagnosis that we got before last Christmas (which disappeared) I have felt we have been living on borrowed time. So we are enjoying and being thankful for everyday we have.

[carlacalvert8]

I can recommend you this type of cancer treatment. A veterinarian friend told me about a dog dewormer called fenbendazole that some people believe cured their cancer. The drug administered orally with food (0.25% content). It is better to buy pure fenbendazole capsules without extra impurities. You can find more information at Fenbendazole.org

[Jo CIMDA]

Very interesting.  Thank you.