I will admit, I cried.... A LOT. I felt like every time I would learn one thing, I found 20 other questions and things I had to research. I started jotting down notes every time I came across a new treatment option or a new therapy just so I didn't forget to research it.
I think at one point I had at least 26 tabs open on my browser while researching along with articles, columns, and books that I bought on Amazon.
If you are going through this journey, let me give you some advice. You will never know everything. You won't have enough time in the day to learn all you need to know. You will get overwhelmed.
But it's ok.
Once you understand all of that, now you can take a deep breath and realize you aren't the first person to go through this. Many have gone before you on this journey and it's a great idea to find people you trust that can support you, guide you, tell you what they learned from their experience, and to simply be there to listen to you cry.
The next thing I will tell you is to be your pet's advocate. They can't speak for themselves. They rely on you for literally everything. They rely on you for food, for water, when they go potty, and for their healthcare and well being. Plus all those snuggles, wet kisses and occassional pillow humping they do. :)
Ask questions. Do not be afraid to ask your vet or specialists questions. There is SO MUCH information out there along with support groups, research that has already been done, blogs, articles, columns, etc. that you have a plethora at your fingertips for you.
Don't be afraid to get a 2nd opinion either. If we went off what Max's 1st diagnosis was, we'd be sitting at home waiting for him to die. We were told there is nothing that could be done. That simply was not the case. If I had not pursued other information, treatments, second opinions, etc. we would not be where we are today.
Some doctors give the advice of what they would do. Some vets may not think you would want to spend the money on treatment so they don't offer any.
Remember, you are your pet's advocate. In my opinion, keeping their quality of life at the forefront is of utmost importance, but just taking the advice of 1 doctor may not be in their best interest. My husband and I never wanted to look back and say "We should have looked into this more" or "We wish we would have known about that treatment bc maybe it would have helped". We wanted to do everything we could for our boy.
Back to research.
I was researching like crazy. I started the day of his diagnosis after his first ultrasound that showed that it was cancer. That was on 6/18. Today is 7/30 and I am still doing research.
The research was intense at first.
I cried a lot.
I felt like my head was going to explode.
I would research all day long.
The first thing I started researching was prostate cancer in dogs and how they get it, how they get rid of it, treatment options, prognosis, etc.
I researched TCC (transitional cell carcinoma) which is the type of cancer Max has. Those 2 things alone took me days.
There is just so much to know and learn.
During the same time, I researched specialists, oncologists, and vet schools to see which ones would be the best for our Max. We wanted a second opinion and we didn't want to just go off of what 1 vet said, so I was doing research on where to take him for treatment.
This step is crucial if you are at the beginning stages of your treatment bc if you want to schedule an appt with a vet school or specialist, sometimes those appts are weeks out. For MSU, it was a 4 week wait. I put us on a cancellation list to see if we could get in early, but some of these initial consultation appts take weeks to get.
Do this right away.
I ordered a few books on Amazon that were recommended to me and I joined as many FB groups regarding his type of cancer that I could (CBD Oil groups, specific breed health issues group, canine cancer group, etc).
I will say, I did not find that the extra FB groups that I joined were all that helpful only because Max's particular cancer is pretty rare.
What I did find super helpful was being a part of a FB group for my dog's breed (Brittany) years before and making connections with people and becoming friends with so many other Brittany people that when it came time for us to get support going through this tough cancer journey, I found more support from those groups than I knew what to do with.
So many people have walked this path before us and being breed specific, it really helped to learn from trusted people that I already knew (or my trusted group would refer me to someone they knew and many connections were made that were SUPER helpful).
If you are not in a FB group for your particular dog breed, I would highly recommend it.
Max's cancer is very rare to have. Generally if dogs get prostate cancer, it's because they are still intact and it has to do with their testosterone levels so in those dogs, simply neutering them takes care of the issue. My vet in her 22 years of experience has only seen 1 other male dog with prostate cancer. She reached out to 2 of her colleagues and together, they have 66 years of experience. All together, they have only seen 2 cases.
My vet was very interested in learning anything she could from me regarding his treatment, my research, etc since she didn't know anything about this particular cancer. If your vet doesn't know the answer, find someone that does. Advocate for your pet.
When doing research, I would keep running into things that would make me need to research 10 more things. For example, diet change can help with pet's with cancer. Cancer feeds off carbs & sugar and inflammation. Certain foods can cause inflammation. Certain meds are not effective when taken with dairy. Certain meds are hard for the liver to process. CBD oil is processed through the liver. If you give CBD oil and certain meds at the same time, it can be very hard on the liver to process, thus making those treatments not as effective. Did you know that when giving dog's chemo, it's best to rotate the chemo given bc cancers can adapt to treatment? Did you know that dogs should get roughly the same amount of protein per day as their weight?
Is your head swelling?
Do you see what I mean?
How in the heck would I know any of that?!
I wouldn't even know to ask the vet or specialist those questions!
When doing research I found that Fish Oil and Turmeric can be beneficial for dogs with cancer (also dogs without cancer) BUT you can't take those supplements if you are doing radiation or chemo bc antioxidants can have the adverse effect on those types of treatments.
Head is spinning.
Here come the tears again.
There is just so much to know.
Breathe.
Things that I learned through this process:
-You will get overwhelmed. Don't give up. You won't learn it all in one day. Tomorrow is a new day to learn and you will learn.
-Get involved with a FB group that is breed specific. Even if your dog does not have cancer I would get involved. Those groups are pretty fun, they are a great place to ask questions, to learn about your breed, and to make new friends. This group, for me, has been a GOD SEND. God knew we would need this support. We have had SO MUCH love and support from our FB groups and it has helped immensely. A lot of my questions were answered through people that have walked this path before us. Even though I would cross check everything people were telling me, it gave me a good direction to go in for my research.
-Do not take just anyone's advice. Even the people that have walked this journey before you. Every cancer is personalized. Even if your friend has a Brittany with the same type of cancer - all cancers are different, at different stages, dogs tolerate medications differently, and not one dog will have the same experience. Get advice from people BUT THEN cross check. Cross check through your own research and then follow up with your vet, specialist and/or oncologist or treatment team.
-Dr. Demian Dressler has a few great books out there on Amazon that has really good info on cancer for dogs. Look him up and read some of his articles.
-Once you get a treatment plan in place, everything else will start to fall in line. Once we met with MSU and decided on them for Max's treatment, putting together a treatment protocol and plan gave me confidence in what we were doing with his treatment. Find a group or specialist you can feel confident in.
My last bit of advice is this: I promise, you will stop crying when doing research bc it will get easier. Once you start learning and once you put together a treatment plan for your dog and get use to their needs, you will feel more confident in how to care for them and things will get easier.
I am not so bogged down in research now and I am finding I am getting into a new routine/starting a new norm with my Max. We have our medication routine down pat and I have a good routine for his new food plan and the load feels to be lightening up a bit now that I have a clear course of action.
It will get better.
Don't forget you are living with a dog WITH cancer. He is living. Don't forget to enjoy him while he is here and make the time he has left the best it can be. Remember, too, that he doesn't know he has cancer. Only you do. Here is Max during my research time. He's relaxing and enjoying his nappy nap not having a clue what is wrong with him. I will do my best to keep it that way. xoxoxo
So blessed Max is to have you! The work you have put in to his treatment is amazing!❤️ Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU Linda!xoxoxo
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