My old dog has seizures, heart fluid, suspected cancer. What's next?

Poor girl. : ( Tumor can develop at any rate in pets so yes 6 months is plenty of time for a tumor to develop and show up. However, if there is a lot of fluid there, a tumor may not be readily visible on an x-ray. A CT or MRI scan is more sensitive to picking up small tumors or tumors that are obscured by fluid. A lung tumor or advancement of her heart condition are two likely possibilities to these symptoms. We have to keep in mind that heart disease can't be cured but only managed to a certain point with medication. It is possible that these symptoms are simply an indication that the heart condition may have surpassed medical management capabilities. If you are however still looking for options and cannot commit to advanced imaging (CT, MRI scan), then you can inquire with your vet about possibly increaseing China's medications. Lasix has a wide range of therapeutic index so it may be able to be increased. Another heart medication called Pimobendan also can be added to her treatment regimen. I am not sure if you meant to include this with your list of medications, b/c one of the medications seems to have been autocorrected to say "veterinary". Best of luck with your pet China and I hope that you can get her stabilized soon! Take care.

Poor Xica! I'm so sorry that she's sick, and that you're in the position of having to consider what is best for her right now. This is always a difficult situation. Her x-rays do appear to show very severe pleural effusion. As I'm sure your veterinarian has probably discussed with you, pleural effusion of the type that you have described (bloody fluid) is almost always caused by one of two things: congestive heart failure, or cancer. The amount of fluid in her chest makes it hard to get a good look at the size and shape of her heart, or to determine if there are any obvious tumors in her chest, so it's hard to say which of these possibilities is more likely without additional testing. But unfortunately, even with aggressive treatment, neither of them have a good long-term prognosis. Knowing this, if I were in your position, I believe I would probably decide to let her go rather than pursuing hospitalization, chest tube placement, etc. - these are invasive, uncomfortable procedures that are unlikely to make a significant difference in the outcome for her, because of the severity of her underlying disease. That being said, the decision of when to consider euthanasia is a very personal choice, and one that is different for every pet owner. If you feel that you need to do everything possible, and want to pursue advanced diagnostics to try and get a more specific answer as to what's wrong, there is nothing wrong with this at all - but if you were my client, I would try to gently caution you that her underlying condition will almost certainly be fatal regardless of what you do. I hope you're able to find peace in your decision, whatever it might be.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Coughing and bringing up clear liquid could be coughing up stuff instead of vomiting. This is important to try to differentiate. Coughing up liquid is more consistent with heart disease. The x-rays are difficult to read as the image transfer through is of poor quality and to really assess the lungs you need good quality images, however the heart does look a bit enlarged and the lungs do look a bit 'white'. I cannot assess the liver on these radiographs as you cannot see them. An enlarged heart, white lungs (fluid in the lungs), and an enlarged liver is consistent with both right and left sided heart disease. I recommend you return either to your vet, or another vet, and get a specialist ultrasound of the heart (an 'echo') to determine if heart medications are required. Your vet can also listen to the heart to see if a murmur is present in the heart, or 'crackles' are heard on the lungs. Heart disease is very serious and needs medications to manage. Without these Lily unfortunately will essentially drown in her own lungs, if heart disease is the problem. I suggest a recheck as soon as possible to get this figured out. Best of luck with Lily, I hope she feels better soon.

I'm sorry to hear that Macey is going through this. Lethargy and pale gums certainly make me suspicious that she may have been bleeding into her abdomen for the past week. The most common causes of bleeding into the abdomen are due to cancer (hemangiosarcoma is most probably on the spleen and/or liver), a hematoma (essentially a bruise that ruptures), clotting disorders, or a benign mass (these are relatively uncommon). The only definitive way to differentiate between these issues is through a surgical biopsy of the affected organ, but abdominal ultrasound can certainly raise or lower suspicions of cancer. Unfortunately, without examining Macey and seeing a pathologist review of the aspirates, I can't offer a conclusive opinion as to whether or not she may have cancer. However, odds are good that cancer is likely since she was bleeding into her abdomen. If you are questioning your vet's conclusions, I would recommend seeking a second opinion from a vet at a practice with capability for abdominal ultrasound to provide more clarity. I hope this helps and I'm sorry that you're going this.

I’m sorry to hear that Summer is so sick. Does she have a diagnosis? Usually fluid build up is due to just a few things. Either heart failure ( which doesn’t sound right with small heart and slow rhythm), or low protein, or cancer. Low protein is typically caused by liver disease, kidney disease or intestinal disease. Some of these conditions are more treatable than others, but unlikely to be curable. I think her prognosis depends on what process is causing her symptoms, but I would prepare yourself for a limited time with her. I’m so sorry. Best of luck to you and Summer.

Poor guy. I would suggest getting the x-rays looked at by a board certified radiologist to determine what some possible causes are for the fluid in the belly. Also there is a huge difference between free standing fluid in the belly (heart related) and fluid in the intestines (GI related) If the heart is enlarged and there is fluid in the belly, this could inicate an underlying heart failure situation, in which case getting Sarge started on heart medication right away would be the next best step. A high white blood cell count with no fever does not indicate infection, but instead inflammation, so I would double check with the doctor here to ensure the antibiotics are needed at this time. It would be helpful if we could see a copy of your pets radiogrpahs and full bloodwork findings through a consultation if possible. This can also ensure we get all the information needed to make any additional recommendations on Sarge's care moving forward. I hope this helps and I sure hope Sarge gets better soon. Best wishes and take care.

Hello, I am incredibly sorry to hear about your loss of Daisy. Based on the information you provided it sounds like the veterinarian's primary concern was a cancer called hemangiosarcoma. This is a very aggressive form of cancer that causes bleeding tumors in the spleen and liver. Surgery and follow-up chemotherapy is the recommended treatment. You are correct in that the tumor is submitted for biopsy after removal to reach a definitive diagnosis. Prior to moving forward with surgery, your veterinarian performed chest x-rays to look for evidence of metastasis, or travel of the cancer to the lungs. Hemangiosarcoma almost always leads to metastasis. Based on what you say, I suspect that your veterinarian saw evidence of cancer within Daisy's lungs. This essentially proves (without biopsy of the tumor) that Daisy has cancer. Even if you moved forward with surgery,, she would likely only live a few weeks before the cancer in her lungs/body would cause her to become ill again. These situations are incredibly challenging and unexpected. I hope that my explanation can provide some clarity and help you to realize that you did the right thing for Daisy. Again, I am incredibly sorry for your loss.