My Bichon has a Liver Tumor

My Bichon has a Liver Tumor

(St. Joseph, MI)

My daughter and I are so very sad. Abby, our bichon frise (13yr 8mo old) was sick since September 2010 till April 2011.

It all started with diarrhea, and it never became better with diet changes and steriods. Many fecal tests were taken, all were negative for worms. A complete blood workup was taken and I guess it came back with in normal limits.

The diarrhea turned from every 4 days to every other day with lots of blood. It has been exhuasting, so I finally took her to a specialist to get answers.

After going through the history with Dr. Sharpe, he performed an ultrasound. The news was horrible - Abby has an orange-size tumor on her liver. Now what do I do?

We drove an hour and half back home to love and spoil her and give her medicines for the bloody diarrhea. Amazingly this cured the diarrhea for over a week. She has been so happy, eating and playing.

Now today she can't walk well - her back leg is bothering her, and she's trying to hop around and she's falling down. We carry her everywhere. But she still has this amazing appetite.

I don't know what to do for her and what's going on with her legs. It is so sad cause she acts like she wants to play but can't. Is this caused from the large tumor? How long do we have with her? What should I do?

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My Bichon has a Liver Tumor

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Apr 15, 2011
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Listen to your heart
by: Anonymous

I agree w/ the other response-please be kind and do the right thing for your lovely companion-

Apr 13, 2011
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Dog Liver Cancer
by: Hazel, Site Editor

Hi,

I am sorry to hear about your dog's liver tumor. Did your vet tell you if it's a primary liver tumor (that means the tumor originated in the liver) or is it a secondary tumor (a metastasis - originated somewhere and spread to the liver)? What kind of treatment did your vet suggest? Sometimes for primary liver cancer, surgery may be possible to remove the tumor. If successful, the dog may live for up to one year or even more. However, for secondary liver cancer, surgery is usually not possible.

The hind leg problem may be due to the cancer. It seems your dog is losing muscle mass because of the cancer.

Unfortunately, canine liver cancer is aggressive and when your dog has started showing symptoms, it means that the cancer is at a rather late stage.

Try to switch your dog's diet to a cancer diet and try using some natural supplements to strengthen your dog's immune system. Hopefully this will at least make your dog more comfortable.

Be strong and take care of your baby!

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