Confused and Overwhelmed-Diagnosed Anal Sac Carcinoma (Woody has passed)

Tracy:
I would say with all the different variables you were given, that there could be fluke somewhere and it could be the cancer was in the anal sacs, they are just having a hard time coming to this conclusion. I have read a lot on this anal sac cancer, and it would seem from all you posted to us that Woody did have it. He had all the symptoms that I read about. I am hoping this is all from the anal sacs and there will be no more problems. You never know it could be just that. I am praying for you and Woody. One thing you certainly know Woody is able to go thru surgery and heal quickly. I pray God blesses Woody with a clean bill of health. So cute about you taking Woody out for supper. The U.S. is so behind on this, you aren't allowed anything but service dogs in any establishments here. Wish they would change this. Blessings
Patti

Evening everyone just popping in with a small update on the boy. He has been getting stronger and stronger each day, so I have given him 3 x 10 min walks and not 2 like I suppose to, I have to he is bouncing off the walls with energy and boredom. :D

I took a urine sample into my own vets today for the creatine test, and had a good chat with my own vet who hasn,t received the updated version on him from the hospital yet. He has explained that in the circumstances, had Woody presented to him with these results, bloods, US etc he probably would have went with Anal Sac Carcinoma as well, so I don,t feel too bad. The oncologist hasn,t been in contact with him yet to prescribe his meds and my vet wants to wait until then before he prescribes, so will ring me when there ready. Woody came into the surgery with me and Craig said he is looking great and you really would, nt think that he had been through major surgery and he was weighed and he has lost more weight. Its almost over 2 kg in 5 weeks, which we hope is the colitis he has causing it and the surgery and not the cancer causing it. His water and food intake is going back up over the last few days as it had dropped when he had the surgery so will need to keep an eye on that. But all in all he is fine, driving me nuts with his cheek as usual. :eek:

Tracy:
So very glad to hear an update on Woody. You and Woody are never far from my mind. I say a special prayer for him every nite in hopes he would be blessed with a miracle. Snowing here we have about 5-6 inches now. Very cold and blustery out. Tipper is loving this, the more snow the better for her. She was so energized going for a walk in it today she went 3 times. God Bless you and Woody.
Patti

Thanks Patti - Woody hates the snow can,t get him out the door when it snows lol, me I love it. Its cold here minus 2 tonight but no snow yet. Woody is wearing his fleece jumper indoors at night as the house gets cold, he stands and waits for you to put it on and then gives a big grin in approval I must get a picture to show you all.

Glad to hear that Woody is feeling better and hope his appetite is back to normal soon.

Hugs, Lori

Oh Woody is so funny! Imagine not liking the snow. Molly hates the rain, but loves the snow. She covers herself in it practically. LOL And she's white, so you can imagine. I'll have to post a pic of her in the snow. It's funny.

Oh gee, I love the fleece story. Definitely need a picture of that! Woody is so full of personality, he is just adorable. A cheeky little scamp. Love it!!

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Wow Woody is a rare boy as well, I would have been upset hearing that news from the vets as you were. Poor boy having gone through that surgery to hear it is the neuroendocrine instead. I have a friend and her daughter had that tumour, she has done so well and is in remission now. Did they explain why it was not picked up on the lymph node biopsy preop? Anyway, its done now so we have do like Woody is and move along and keep on having fun and it sounds like he is doing just, what with dining out at the pub on his turkey dinner!! That's great to hear, he is quite the centre of attention the gorgeous little man :)

No wonder he has lost a bit of weight with what he has been through and great to hear his appetite is back :)I hope they get back to you with a plan soon re his meds and stuff.

Geez.... just read about Woody not having anal sac cancer (I've been away for 2 weeks) and although a bit shocked, I'm not totally surprised. It just re-affirms my belief that sometimes vets just aren't what I thought they were. No offence to your vets, they seem to have a handle on Woody, but just the same it makes me angry. I'm 7 months in and still don't know what's wrong with my pup. None of the vets I've had can agree.
Woody has such a personality, and a total sweetheart. If any pup can baffle the vets, it will be him. I have faith that with him being the dog he is... he'll fight this for a very long, long time with the best quality of life any furbaby can have.
Good luck to you both, and many hugs to you and Woody from Keesh and myself.

Trish the adrenal gland was picked up on the first Us but due to presenting with pu/pd we assumed that it maybe cushings and my IMS and myself decided to ignore it and constrate on the Cancerous lymph node then once that was over go back to the adrenal gland. He is showing no symptoms of anything except his colitis which is stress related this is why everyone is shocked as bloods etc were normal

Hmm well I think it is odd, like they do, that if it was the adrenal tumour spread to a lymph node it should be closer to the gland, not on the other side of his body! Still cancer moves in mysterious ways at times, which confounds not just vets but human doctors as well. The spot on the adrenal could just be a separate problem, or causing the cushings like symptoms as they suspect so it will be good to get those tests done. Maybe the adrenal just has a nodule or something benign.

Good grief, Woody is taking after Flynny... we got his first cancer sorted out on his liver and then the following year found the second one on his adrenal too. Both were separate primaries. From what I have read neuroendocrine is pretty rare and I had not heard of it on adrenals so I will be interested to hear what they come up with as it sounds like they are still researching what is going on with our Woody. Still, he is doing good now and that is reason enough to be happy!!! Have a good day you two, night from me xx

Tracy:
Woody would not like it here right now we have about 5-6 inches of snow on the ground. It was too cold for Tipper to walk with her heart, and breathing condition this morning and she is being rather naughty. She wants me to know she is annoyed at the no walk policy. I am going to take her in a while when the temperature moves up at noon. Wishing the best for you and dear Woody. I can just picture him in that outfit running around the house. Blessings
Patti

Oh go Tipper being naughty love it. No I,m afraid you wouldn't get Woody out in that where as me I,d be out like a flash. My last JRT loved the snow and we would play for ages at snowball fighting I would make a snowball and throw it and he would try and catch it. Woody has been good today and we picked up his meds from the vets so fingers crossed we can get this colitis sorted once and for all. I have noticed that he is back hiding behind the TV unit when I,m in the kitchen doing dishes making a noise, this is where he goes when he is stressed, so although he is good I need to take him back to basics and try and get his stress levels back down. He always hid here when he first arrived from the rescue and I had gotten him out of doing it. So tonight we did a bit of clicker training which he loves and we went back to doing his TTouch and he was relaxed and asleep in no time, so we will keep up with this and hopefully it will help his stress levels.

I have put up pictures of him in his fleece it is an equafleece and has the wickering effect so it makes him feel secure.

Love the pictures. Wow, is wound looks so good! Just 3 weeks, that is pretty amazing. I love the pics of him in his fleezy. How adorable is that.

Well, it was over all a bit of a traumatic experience and I think Woody and you both handled it very well. Hopefully he will pop back into his normal secure mode in not time. :)

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Great pictures of that handsome boy... While I was perusing the photo's I thought, only here would we appreciate a descriptive picture of a doggy's bum... LOL :p :D:D:D

You did a wonderful job of taking good care of Woody :)

Evening everyone, Woody is doing just fine and is almost back to the Woody he was before the surgery. My niece has been staying with me this weekend as I,ve not been too well and the doctor has put me on bed rest boo hiss. I guess the last few months of worrying about Woody not sleeping, not looking after myself has finally taken it's toll on my health. I've had my thyroid meds upted to should hopefully help so my lovely niece has been looking after Woody for me. She won't let me do anything and Woody is loving the attention she gives him, but wait till I tell you what the little blighter got up to at 3am this morning. He was sleeping with Rachel and I was fast asleep and was woke with her screaming help so I rush to her room turn on light and she is pulling at the duvet shouting Woodys stuck over and over it took me a few mins to realise that Woody had un popped the buttons at the bottom of the duvet and crawled in between the duvet and the duvet cover and couldn't find his way back out I got him out in 2 minutes and the panic was over. He came out with a look of "not doing that again" look on his face. My niece was a bit upset but we did laugh afterwards he is a silly dog. Hope everyone had a good weekend and all pups were safe from the storms

Woody!! Oh he is something eh. :)

Gosh, I do hope you are taking care of yourself too! You have to, it just won't do to get Woody all fixed back up and then to have you on the down. :( Hopefully you'll be feeling better in no time at all.

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Tracy:
I am so sorry to hear you fell ill. I know the amount of stress you have been under, and it can really bad things to you, I know first hand. Now that Woody is back to himself, he is going to have to dawn an apron and wait on you in bed!! I am sure he would do that after all his mom has been thru for him!. You niece continues to be a gem. What a wonderful girl you have there. I laughed so hard about Woody in the duvet. He is so comical, I bet he keeps a smile on your face every day. God Bless you all.
Patti

Evening I am feeling a little bit better, and am getting my strength back, I was that busy getting Woody better and making sure he had all his meds that I forgot my own meds and my body just crashed on Friday night :( My lovely niece has gone home this morning as she works during the week, she has been my saving grace through all this bless her she is only 18. I haven,t heard back from the oncologist yet he was suppose to ring me last week about a plan for Woody maybe he,s still researching. I should get his urine results this weeks so we will see if that throws anything up. I,ve been monitoring his water intake and its creeping back up, its sitting almost as much as it was before all this and as we all know what goes in must come out, so we,re back to pee pads at nights only due to still having the colitis he needs to poo during the night as well and won,t do it in the house so I,m having to get up with him, he is ravenous hungry again and throws his food dish at my feet and barks, its quite funny. So the original problems pre Terry are still there only during the last month have they got a little better, which I have put down to the surgery etc. Could this be the adrenal gland throwing this up I don,t know, could it still be cushings I don,t know, looks like I don,t know much lol other than Woody is happy and still making me laugh on a daily basis, so I will take that for the moment.

Tracy:
I am so glad you feel better. I do that also, I take care of all of Tipper's things and neglect my own meds etc. My first thought when you said Woody has symptoms like pre Terry was the adrenal gland. There has to be something going on that he is exhibiting Cushings symptoms. Did you say he had an Ultra Sound on the adrenals?? If so is there any tumor there or can't they tell? I wish things did not have to be so complicated with these babies. Is Woody waiting on you hand and foot??? He sure is a cute little rascal. Blessings
Patti

Quote:

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Originally Posted by goldengirl88

Tracy:
I am so glad you feel better. I do that also, I take care of all of Tipper's things and neglect my own meds etc. My first thought when you said Woody has symptoms like pre Terry was the adrenal gland. There has to be something going on that he is exhibiting Cushings symptoms. Did you say he had an Ultra Sound on the adrenals?? If so is there any tumor there or can't they tell? I wish things did not have to be so complicated with these babies. Is Woody waiting on you hand and foot??? He sure is a cute little rascal. Blessings
Patti

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Patti - they can,t tell but believe its a tumour in the adrenal is the primary tumour of his neuroendocrine cancer, and one is 9.9 and the other is 5.2 :confused: Woody is not doing his duty and looking after me only in the smile category but he is keeping me warm by not leaving my side :D

Tracy:
I wish I had that darn magic wand, I could wear it out on this forum alone. I am praying and hoping against all odds that Woody can beat this thing. I keep thinking that is why the Cushings symptoms because of the Adrenal tumor. Woody is strong now and will be able to fight this. God willing he lives on for many years to come. He knows you love him, and you were helping him. These are loyal little dogs, and the are my Achilles heal. I have a soft spot for Jack Russells, and am keeping the faith that God will grant Woody mercy and heal him. Blessings
Patti

We had a very good day today. We woke up to a chilly frosty morning, with the sun shining my best kind of day, I love wrapping up and walking in this weather. So I packed a back pack for me and Woody and off we went. We went into the woodland areas but couldn,t go to far as its shooting season here and we need to be careful. I found a clearing and we sat and had some chicken soup and watched the world go by. Woody had a blast with all the new smells of the wildlife and had to be forced to rest several times as he just wanted to go go go. Where we sat was sort of above the village I live in and you could look down into it, the scenery was breathtaking with the frost on the trees. We came home and had realised we had been away for 3 hours :eek: Needless to say little Woody slept most of the afternoon asleep :)

A nice walk and a break, then a nap. Sounds like a perfectly great day to me!

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Wow Tracy could you take me next time, it all sounded beautiful. So happy you and Woody enjoyed a great day together, and I hope you two have many more. Blessings.
Patti

Glad to hear Woody is enjoying life. It's a day at a time and I've learned to be thankful for each day that I wake up and "mah boy" is still here.

Woody seems to be full of life, and I love to hear the stores.

A three hour walk through the woods!:eek: We have another super hero in our group! Go Woody!! xxxxx

Well Woody is one month post surgery today :D:D:D I can,t tell you how good that feels to say that and he is doing remarkably well :D

I feel like I,ve not been off the telephone today. First thing my own vet call to see how Woody was doing and to let me know he had received the lastest update from the Hospital. There is no results in for his urine yet. Not long after that Ian Grant Woody,s oncologist telephoned to see how he was as he knew he was a month post surgery we discussed his colitis and the fact that although he had been on meds now for 10 days for it, it was only slightly better, he said he would ring my vet and get a different prescription. He has assured me that he has not forgotten about Woody and was still researching his case and that Woody was the talk of the oncology department as he has a mismatch of results and symptoms all pointing to nothing really lol, that,s my boy! Then tonight Emma my other vet from my own surgery rang to see how he was. She said she had, had Ian on the phone with Woody,s update and as she is only part time at the surgery hadn,t caught up, she said to me when Ian started with the story and continued she just knew it wasn,t going to be straight forward. We had a laugh about it all and she said that she falls in love with Woody just a little bit more everytime she sees him, she loves they way he bounces into her surgery with attitude, gets what he needs done, gives her a kiss then struts back out the door, she said she feels like Woody will go on forever as he,s so feisty we know he won,t but with an attitude like Woodys why can,t he go on for a long time yet. We discussed his water and food intake and when I told Emma the story of how he throws his dish at my feet and barks for food, then tries to open the fridge by lying on his side and pulling at the door she couldn,t move for laughing. It was good to have some light relief about all this. They certainly broke the mould when they made my Woody. His reports all came through from the hospital today all 32 pages of them so I,ve been reading and trying to understand them all day not managed yet.:D I have to pick up new meds tomorrow for his colitis.

Woody is a real character. He tries to open the fridge!! That is hilarious. I agree, everyone seems to fall in love with Woody. How could they not! Nope, his case isn't easy at all, down right confusing at times, but there you have it, he didn't read the manual. hahaha

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Tracy:
I think we could all use some humor right about now. How about a video of Woody trying to get in the fridge. That would really make my week. I think Woody is going to continue to do well and that his situation is going to be taken care of and any remnants of Terry will be gone. Woody is a super dog also and has been thru a lot and he continues to defy the odds. I will bet on it that he is around to try and open that fridge for many years to come. He is such a character, it is the true personality of a Jack Russell as they are full of surprises every day. Blessings
Patti

HI Tracy
Popping in to catch up on you and Woody, wow a month already.. man time flies and it sounds like he is doing great!! A little alarmed at walking where people are hunting :eek::eek: hope you and Woody had some bright clothes on:D

What are the meds for colitis the vet gave you? I am always interested in hearing about that as we have similar problems periodically.

Hope you have managed to get your head around that report, if you want any help with deciphering anything give us a yell. Good to hear all your vets are communicating, I like that :) I hope they come up with their final plan before too long, I know most times if further treatment is proposed after surgery then they want everything well and truly healed before starting.

Thanks for popping into Flynn's thread with your mint aero's, it was really lovely of you xxxx

So... you finished reading all the reports? ;) I love to hear the stories of Woody, they certainly bring a smile. Love the fridge one. I agree with Patti and there should be a video of him and the competition with the fridge door.

I'm so glad to hear though he's doing well, and that you are getting some relief from worry.

Tracy:
I can't wait to get my Woody fix for the weekend, do what is the little comedian up to? Just can't get enough Woody stories. Blessings
Patti

Afternoon everyone the next Woody instalment continues. Another frosty day here but really cold with it, so we had a really nice longish walk and this afternoon decided to clear up the leaves in the garden. So I had raked them all into a pile in the middle of the garden and went to get the recyle bin for garden waste and yip you know whats coming Woody was in the middle of the leaves, jumping in and under them and bouncing all around them, digging and throwing them everywhere, each time he dived into the leaves he came back up covered in them and with a huge grin on his face. So as an owner who had spent almost 2 hours getting leaves together what do you do. Do you A. shake your head, remove the dog and tidy the leaves back up or B. do you think it looks like fun and join the said dog in jumping in and out the leave pile and throwing them and covering yourself and him in the leaves.? Yip I picked B and had the best laugh in ages, it was like being a big kid again, I think it is quite possible that Woody has went back to puppyhood and I,ve went back to childhood, I,m 43 years of age lol. Oh the leaves still scattered all over the garden, so will need to do it another day :D

Tracy:
yahooooo , I got my Woody fix. So smart he is, and how he is loving life now. We can all learn things from our dogs, even if it is to have fun and jump in a pile of leaves. I think that is great and would have done the same. We are starting to get snow here and the wind is about 50mph. Tipper has walked twice and is snoozing at my feet. She is tuckered out from beating up poor Lucky this morning. Does Woody like cats? Keep up the fun you two it is good for you both! Blessings
Patti

Patti - sadly Woody doesn,t like cats, or other dogs, or any sort of creature, be it bird, deer or anything. He has to shout at them all and try and catch them. I think he may have been a working dog in his past life before coming to me as he does try and get down the rabbit holes. Sadly due to this he has to be kept on lead most of the time and can only be off lead in the garden or in the field if nothing else about. I,ve tried for almost 4 years to get him to like other animals, but you know how stubborn terriers can be.:)

Tracy:
I wondered because I have told everyone on here that Tipper has no use for other animals, only likes herself, so that is a Jack Russell for ya. Tipper has to be on a lead too. In my other house it had a fenced in yard and she would run like the wind, she loved it. She will still take a run through this house every once and a while, as she likes being free of the leash. Blessings
Patti

Oh that sounds like such a fun way to spend the day! Playing in the leaves. Molly loves to jump in the leaves too and has a great time, comes out looking like a short maple tree. LOL

Woody is obviously feeling pretty good and happy with himself these days and it sounds like you are feeling better too! Good job!

hugs,
Sharlene and molly muffin

Evening - Sharlene we are both feeling pretty good, I just take my lead from Woody and do what he feels up to be it a long walk in the woods or playing in the leaves then I,m gonna be right beside him :D I can,t cure him god I wish I could but I,m going to make every day he is here count by doing things he loves.:D

I,ve read through his reports until my brain hurts and have came up with a few questions, if anyone has any clue then let me know.

His haematology investigation :- revealed a very mild leukocytois but with evidence of a left shift - no idea what any of that means
Biochemistry:- revealed increases in triglycerides and cholesterol and a mild increase in ALT 103/U/1. Ionised Calcium unremarkable previous 2 calcium were high
T4/cTSH had shown a high cTSH no numbers available now I think this has something to do with thyroid but not sure.
Liver was enlarged with rounded margins and a mixed generally patchy bright echogenicity (possible fatty change) they weren,t worried about this should I be worried.
Prostate was small with a discrete capsule and bright hyperechoic areas of suggestive of previous prostatitis. again there not worried
Thoracic radiographs: Diffuse moderate interstitial lung pattern, associated with a mild bronchial lung patter (related with expiratory status, patient corporal condition or chronic broncho-pulmonary inflammation +/- hyperadrenocorticism related mineralisations). No evidence of pulmonary metastasis or thoracic lymphadenopathy. I,m assuming that the cancer at this time has not spread to the chest but not sure what the rest means.Blood pressure 163/83 consistent with borderline hypertention - they put this down to white coat syndrome.Urinalysis USG 1.016, ph 6.5 UPC 0.06 - I can,t find the normal range for this.
Liver FNA: Sheets of hepatocytes which in some areas show mild swelling. Other areas show fine cytoplasmi granular pigment. Several mast cells are present overlying these areas. The mast cells are most likely travelling through the liver rather than indicative of mast cell disease - I take this as liver is patchy and enlarged a little but no cancer in it (I dunno)Microbiology Report:- Prostrate wash a MDR Enterococcus was found and isolated (then it lists 25 AB,s its resistant to)

The final report goes a bit like this - Woody,s diagnosis remains rather uncertain as the medial ilial lymph node histology is suggestive of a metastatic neuroendocrine tumour, adrenal adenocarcinoma being high on the differential list. The anal sacs on both sides do not indicate a primary anal sac neoplasm despite cytology prior to surgery being suggestive of a metastatic anal sac adenocarcinoma in the node. Interesting Woody has a history of PU/PD although endocrine testing has failed to confirm a functional adrenal carcinoma. There are therefore a number of un answered questions and consultation with the pathologist has been initiated. It is hard to understand why an adrenal mass on the right (this has been measured at 9.9 mm) would mtastasise caudally to the medial iliac LN on the contralateral side rather than to a cranial abdominal node. One thing is certain, there are metastatic tumour cells in the bloods vessels adjacent to the enlarged medial ilac LN.

So this is pretty much the outline of the report and basically comes up with in my option Woody has an neuroendocrine cancer, that they are not sure where its coming from possibly adrenal gland, so far it hasn,t invaded any other organ but there are little terry,s running round his body trying to grab an organ to latch onto. The only treatment is chemo but as he,s not a good candidate for that then we,re not left with much, which is why Woody continues to be a mistery to them.

Trish Woody is taking salazopyrin tablets for his colitis fingers crossed these work as the metronizodole only helped a little. He is only on a short course as one of the side effects are dry eye.

Tracy:
That is a lot of information to digest. From what I gathered it seems they are thinking an adrenal cancer??? I am glad you are doing things with Woody every day. It is sad to say but that is all that all of us on here have is every day, one day at a time. I truly hope that all Woody's troubles just go away and that he has a healing from God. You know in ways this stuff with Tipper is harder than when my father was dying. At least he could talk and tell you what was going on. I am praying for you and dear Woody every nite. Blessings
Patti