Tonsilar Carcanoma

[Terry]

My 11 yr old dog died of Tonsilar Carcanoma. It was about the worst experience in my canine life, he lived for about 3 mo., as the tumor grew in his neck, breathing and eating became difficult. He drank water incessantly, but ate well. Eventually he started getting weak and I put him down.

 

I was wondering what the state of research on TC was. I was told that TC is 10 times more common in "city" dogs than farm working stock. My dog was a farm dog, but he did spend most nights in the house. Anyone with a TC story to share?

[AK dog doc]

Hi Terry

I'm sorry about your dog. I don't have a story to share, and I rarely see tonsilar cancers in dogs; I will say that in general with oral tumors, the farther back in the mouth it is, the worse it acts. I don't know why (so far as I know no one does), but that's the way they act in dogs and cats. The tonsils being way for back in the mouth, that's a bad situation.

 

As far as research, I don't know of anything new on that specific topic (but bear in mind that it usually takes about 2 years to get from research to publication). There are different types of anti-cancer drugs being investigated all the time; my personal prejudice is that some of the best veterinary oncology in the world is done at Colorado State. They do now charge for consults, but if your vet has a personal contact there or at any university s/he might be able to pry loose some info that is in research stages now and not yet published, without having to pay for it. Your sinature looks like you're from NJ (or is that a play on words)? if so, Angell Memorial (Boston) or AMC (NYC) might also be places to check into... those are private referral facilities and would probably have an oncologist on staff. Penn State, Cornell and Ohio State would also be not too too far from you, if you want to pick brains.

 

Presumably the increased incedence of certain types of oral and nasal and lung tumors in city dogs is pollution-related, so unless you had a smoker in the house or run a wood stove, I'd sort of doubt that the indoor time at night was a significant factor (barring things like asbestos in your house and so on). Sometimes tumors just show up for reasons we'll never know, and the type may be unexpected and just plain bad luck, rather than environmental or management-related.

 

Anyway, I'm sorry you and your dog had to go through this; I've been there twice as an owner and many more times as a vet and it is a really difficult situation, even for cases where we get good survival time or cures. We as a culture are afraid of the word "cancer", so even the mention of it is stressful; and if you're unfortunate enough to experience a type that is not curable, it's a tough road. Even though (if you lump all types of cancer together) your chances of cure with cancer are better than with most any other type of chronic illness (such as chronic heart or kidney disease), it's a scarier word to hear; and while we can cure cancer, not all cancers are curable, sadly. Maybe someday.

 

Anyway, sorry I can't be more helpful on this.

[Terry]

Thanks for the info. I was not aware of the emotional side of the disease until I went thru it. It was very emotional and I am an old farm boy from the Ozarks (not New Jersey), not only used to doctoring sick cattle, horses, etc., but my father was a dog breeder and we constantly attended to sick or old dogs in a kennel of up to 50 Walker foxhounds. In the days before money was more plentiful, we put the dying ones down with a .22, a gruesome task at best but probably a better death than my dog got. He jerked out of the needle during the euthanasia, and begin to thrash about with a panicked look in his eyes. I literally held him down while the vet reinserted the needle, then I broke down and was unable to drive home until I could regain my composure. That was my first euthanasia and it will be my last. I will go back to the rifle first.

 

Until the last week, my dog did not appear to be in much pain, but noticably weakened and panted a lot, apparently not getting enough air. He still chased his tail, sniffed all his old favorite spots, crawl up on the couch and lay his head in my lap for a pat, and would stand by the hour at the fence nosing on curious calves. Taught not to chase them, he could not resist an occasional nip on the nose to one. The calves also seemed so curious about him they would tolerate that nip just to watch him.

[Eileen Stein]

Terry, I'm sorry such an awful thing happened when you were putting your dog down, but that isn't typical of euthanasia. When I have had old dogs who are sick and obviously in pain, it can be a little comforting to hold the dog and feel it relax as the euthanasia solution takes hold. It's a terribly sad thing, but you feel you are doing right by the dog and taking its pain away, saving it from the worst.

[AK dog doc]

I'll second Eileen - I'm very sorry to hear that your experiance was so negative. They usually are not so rough. For future reference (and I hope it's a very long time before you have to think about this again), you can request that the dog be sedated prior to the euthanasia; we used to set an IV catheter (guaranteeing good access to a vein), inject a little anesthetic first, and then once the animal was asleep, the euthanasia solution. The euthanasia solution is itself an anesthetic, but at lethal concentrations. Nowadays I usually go with the euthanasia solution alone, though in come cases - where the animal is fractious, stressed, or very painful, or the owner has worries about a bad experience - I still do the anesthetic first. Luckily it is very rare for me to have a problem with an owner-present euthanasia - but it happens to the best of us. At any rate, you'll have to decide what's best for you; this is just information to allow you to make a more informed choice. I hope it's many years before this information has to be useful to you. Take care.

[AK dog doc]

P.S. I'm now guessing that the "NW Ark" in your signature is "northwest Arkansas" rather than "Newark"...? (duh!)