Our Experience With Nasal Cancer in an Irish Setter
by Brenda
(Wake County, NC, USA)
Reader Question
In 2008, our 7 yr. Irish Setter, Shayla, started experiencing some slight bleeding from her right nostril.Just a few drops. Then it soon progressed to more outright bleeding and sneezing occurrences. It was frightening and it took over 1 year to get a confirmed diagnosis of adenocarcinoma. It seemed very difficult to find information about nasal cancer, treatments, etc. which is why I'm sharing this info.
**Important Lesson** From our experience, if you suspect your dog has nasal cancer--don't wait to get a confirmed diagnosis (probably by CT scan). I think we lost precious time not knowing what this was and wasting time trying to treat it as a "foreign body she sniffed" or another benign diagnosis and it kept growing in that year before diagnosis.
After weighing our options, we decided to pursue radiation because of her age and otherwise good health. She was treated with radiation Jan-Feb 2010. While seeing her go through the radiation was rough, the specialty hospital prepared us well, and we got through it.
For several weeks during and after radiation treatments she had difficulty eating but I was able to hand feed her and she recovered quickly. Be prepared for this because the radiation irritates (damages) the mouth tissues. Your dog will not be able to eat their normal diet during the radiation. But our vet gave us specialized food (extra calories, nutrients). I also used cooked pasta shells (the small ones) and scooped her food into them and had fed them to her because they were soft and small. You may have to use some creativity during this short phase of treatment to make sure your dog eats. Shayla was a very food motivated dog, so it helped. After she healed from the radiation, she was able to eat her regular diet.
The good news is she was blessed with 1 full year after radiation treatments with no outward symptoms of the cancer(no bleeding,little nasal discharge). She bounced back remarkably well after the last radiation treatment. I don't recall the exact timeline.
At about 13 months post-radiation, she started having symptoms again, but gradually, it started with just a few drops of blood from one nostril. We had another CT scan and opted not to treat with additional radiation and enjoy the time she had left as long as it was a quality of life.
We feel we made the right decision to have the initial radiation because it gave us an extra 2 years and 9 mos. with our beloved Shayla. Her oncologist told us the average life expectancy is 6 mos to 24 mos. for dogs that have radiation treatment for nasal cancer. We were blessed, because Shayla had 31 months added to her life by pursuing the initial radiation treatment. Unfortunately, we had to let her go on Sept. 14, 2012 because the nasal cancer had progressed and negatively affected her quality of life.
If your pet has this disease, know that it is messy. Lots of nasal discharge (blood, mucous, both), sneezing.
There were long-term risks to radiation,such as eye damage, even though they did try to
protect her eyes as much as they could. The extent depends on the location of the tumor.In Shayla's right eye, she developed cataract & then glaucoma related to the radiation. This meant she had to have her right eye removed at about 18 mos. post-radiation. She adapted very well to this change.
In the last 3-4 months of her life, we presume the disease did progress up into her head and caused some deformity between her eyes and in the last month of her life had begun to push down through her hard palate and in the last 2 months she had 3 brief seizures and her hind legs occasionally were unsteady, so we think it had begun to encroach into her brain. Since we didn't have any confirming images taken of the tumor, we don't know for sure if her hind leg control issues were related, as it could have been age-related, but it came and went, but my belief is that it was related to the tumor because she never had any hip or joint problems.
So: just know this is an awful disease. But there may be some hope. Work with your vet and hopefully you have one that supports your decisions either way, or if they don't know what to do, seek another opinion and another until you can get answers. In hindsight, we should have done more of this.
You know your dog better than anyone, you know what you can deal with, and you know your financial picture. One valuable piece of advice our pet's regular vet gave us, it that you have to know upfront what you can afford financially, because vet bills can escalate very rapidly. It is ok to not pursue treatment, to not put you, your pet, your family through extensive treatment.
In our situation, we feel blessed and treatment was the right option. I only know one other person that has had a dog with nasal cancer, and they had drastically different experience. You never know. Good luck to you and your dog!
**Important Lesson** From our experience, if you suspect your dog has nasal cancer--don't wait to get a confirmed diagnosis (probably by CT scan). I think we lost precious time not knowing what this was and wasting time trying to treat it as a "foreign body she sniffed" or another benign diagnosis and it kept growing in that year before diagnosis.
After weighing our options, we decided to pursue radiation because of her age and otherwise good health. She was treated with radiation Jan-Feb 2010. While seeing her go through the radiation was rough, the specialty hospital prepared us well, and we got through it.
For several weeks during and after radiation treatments she had difficulty eating but I was able to hand feed her and she recovered quickly. Be prepared for this because the radiation irritates (damages) the mouth tissues. Your dog will not be able to eat their normal diet during the radiation. But our vet gave us specialized food (extra calories, nutrients). I also used cooked pasta shells (the small ones) and scooped her food into them and had fed them to her because they were soft and small. You may have to use some creativity during this short phase of treatment to make sure your dog eats. Shayla was a very food motivated dog, so it helped. After she healed from the radiation, she was able to eat her regular diet.
The good news is she was blessed with 1 full year after radiation treatments with no outward symptoms of the cancer(no bleeding,little nasal discharge). She bounced back remarkably well after the last radiation treatment. I don't recall the exact timeline.
At about 13 months post-radiation, she started having symptoms again, but gradually, it started with just a few drops of blood from one nostril. We had another CT scan and opted not to treat with additional radiation and enjoy the time she had left as long as it was a quality of life.
We feel we made the right decision to have the initial radiation because it gave us an extra 2 years and 9 mos. with our beloved Shayla. Her oncologist told us the average life expectancy is 6 mos to 24 mos. for dogs that have radiation treatment for nasal cancer. We were blessed, because Shayla had 31 months added to her life by pursuing the initial radiation treatment. Unfortunately, we had to let her go on Sept. 14, 2012 because the nasal cancer had progressed and negatively affected her quality of life.
If your pet has this disease, know that it is messy. Lots of nasal discharge (blood, mucous, both), sneezing.
There were long-term risks to radiation,such as eye damage, even though they did try to
In the last 3-4 months of her life, we presume the disease did progress up into her head and caused some deformity between her eyes and in the last month of her life had begun to push down through her hard palate and in the last 2 months she had 3 brief seizures and her hind legs occasionally were unsteady, so we think it had begun to encroach into her brain. Since we didn't have any confirming images taken of the tumor, we don't know for sure if her hind leg control issues were related, as it could have been age-related, but it came and went, but my belief is that it was related to the tumor because she never had any hip or joint problems.
So: just know this is an awful disease. But there may be some hope. Work with your vet and hopefully you have one that supports your decisions either way, or if they don't know what to do, seek another opinion and another until you can get answers. In hindsight, we should have done more of this.
You know your dog better than anyone, you know what you can deal with, and you know your financial picture. One valuable piece of advice our pet's regular vet gave us, it that you have to know upfront what you can afford financially, because vet bills can escalate very rapidly. It is ok to not pursue treatment, to not put you, your pet, your family through extensive treatment.
In our situation, we feel blessed and treatment was the right option. I only know one other person that has had a dog with nasal cancer, and they had drastically different experience. You never know. Good luck to you and your dog!
Answer from Our Team
Thank you for sharing Shayla's story. It will help other owners. Your experience matches what vets see: nasal tumors often start with occasional bleeding or discharge from one nostril and sneezing, and they are easily mistaken for something simpler at first. A CT scan and biopsy, sometimes with rhinoscopy, are the usual way to confirm the diagnosis.
A delayed diagnosis is very common with nasal tumors and isn't anyone's fault. Without treatment, dogs with nasal tumors often live only a few months. Radiation therapy is the main treatment, and it commonly extends that to around a year or more; some dogs, like Shayla, do much better than average. Side effects such as mouth soreness during treatment and later eye problems can happen, as you describe, and how much they affect eating varies from dog to dog. Your advice to talk openly with your vet about goals and costs, and to get a second opinion when unsure, is valuable for anyone facing this.
See dog nosebleeds and why dogs sneeze.
This is general information, not a diagnosis. Please follow your own vet's advice.
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