Introducing Doccy question about radiation

[Doccy]

HI, I am new to the forum and wanted to introduce Doc. He's my wonderful 12yo Border Collie. We have just been diagnosed with a functioning pituitary adenoma (brain tumor). He was diagnosed by an MRI. As you can imagine, I'm still spinning. The neurologist said it was functioning so that he has Cushing's. We are going to pursue radiation therapy in order to reduce or kill the tumor. The radiation they recommend is 5 doses in a week's time. I am calling tomorrow to schedule this. Doc's symptoms started in July and we had xrays done and showed arthritis in the spine. We just thought we had an old dog. But, he started to do other things like dropping his neck, getting very quiet, drinking a lot and peeing a lot, dragging his nails on walks, and general confusion. They thought he had degenerative myelopathy, but last week confirmed that it is a tumor. Right now, they want to do the radiation then focus on the after support when they get an idea if he needs steroids or not. I have him on Chinese herbs, he is getting acupuncture, and massage. I am so happy I found this forum and so glad there is a community of people who don't think I'm crazy for what I do for my boy. My question is, does anyone have any experience with the radiation therapy and what to expect afterwards? Thanks and I look forward to being a part of this community.

[Roxee's Dad]

Hi and welcome to you and Doc,

I am sorry for the circumstances that brought you here, but am sure glad you found us. There will be many to come by and welcome you and help you and Doc through this. We have had a few members that have had their pups go through radiation treatment. I am sure they will stop by.

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[Simba's Mom]

Welcome to the family, this site is awesome and you will learn a lot.

[frijole]

Hello. Glad you found us - this is a great resource. First off 85% of cushing's dogs have pituitary form (tumors). They are typically teeny tiny microscopic sized non-cancerous tumors that transmit messed up messages to the adrenal glands telling them to create more cortisol when in fact their bodies have enough already. This is what creates cushings.

A very small % of pituitary tumors are classified as macros (meaning larger) and they grow and become invasive to the brain. This is when we normally see radiation therapy being discussed. If not a macro traditional meds are used to treat (lysodren and trilostane/vetoryl)

Tell us more about your dog, the symptoms and the tests that were done to diagnose. We see alot cases and tests are not fool proof so we like to confirm that cushings is really at play.

I understand your fear as I was there once too. Please know that it is not a death sentence and your dog can lead a normal life with treatment.

We have had members do radiation therapy with some success. It is pretty rare here in the US - more common in Europe.

Since treatment using meds is easy and less expensive than radiation I am wondering why your vet is recommending radiation? I know it might be difficult but since it is so rare - if you don't know the answer to the question you need to ask. It'd be like scheduling a stent to be put into the heart to treat heartburn. I exaggerate a bit but you get my point. I just don't want you to rush into something without fully understanding it.

Generally there is absolutely NO rush to treat cushings as it does not pose immediate health risks - just frustrating with the frequent urination.

It is so frequently MISDIAGNOSED that multiple tests are required to confirm in fact you are looking at cushings. Diabetes and thyroid problems mimic cushings symptoms. When a dog is ill their cortisol is high as their bodies fight other illnesses and can cause false positives on cushings tests.

That is why we IMPLORE new members to share with us all tests done to diagnose.

I've rambled enough - sorry... just really want to make sure we get all the info. Here's a link to some intro info on this disease.

Kim

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=180

[molly muffin]

Hello and welcome.

It sounds like the MRI must have diagnosed a macro tumor if they want to do radiation. Can you confirm that? If it isn't and it is just a very small one, microscopic size, then normally they would treat with either trilostane or lysodren.

You have come to a good site to get support for whole cushings experience. I hope some of the members who have gone through radiation will stop by and give you their take on the issue.

Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[labblab]

As Sharlene says, I'm guessing that the MRI has indicated that your dog's pituitary tumor is large enough to be causing the neurological problems that you are describing, and that is the reason why the radiation is being recommended.

Historically, conventional radiation for these types of tumors involved approx. 12 treatments spread over the time period of a month of so. We are aware that newer, experimental protocols are being introduced at different centers around the country, especially in conjunction with some of the cutting-edge "cyber" treatment technologies. If your specialists are proposing a single 5-day series of treatments, I'm guessing they are talking about one of these newer types of treatments. If so, if it were me, I'd want to know the specifics as far as how many of these procedures have they performed and what has been their success rate.

In the past, the goal of radiation treatment was to reduce the size of the tumor and eliminate the neurological symptoms, as least for a time. Conventional radiation could not remove the tumor entirely, so over time, the tumor did regrow. However, some dogs were free of the need for Cushing's treatment for an extended time period. So this was a bonus in addition to alleviating the neurological problems.

Bottom line, as I say, I'd want to make sure that the specialists who are proposing the radiation treatment are experienced and have had good results with the protocol that they are recommending to you.

Marianne

[SoggyDoggy]

Hi, I can offer no words of advice in regards to radiation, but I can say welcome. And you are right, you found a place where everyone understands and doesn't think you are crazy for treating Doccy. The truth is we are all equally insane and would do anything for our babies, so have no worries, we get it.

Good luck with everything, I look forward to hearing more about Doccy and his progress.

[Doccy]

Hi Everyone and thanks for the welcome. A little more information:
Doc's tumor is a macrotumor that is causing some pressure. We were diagnosed and will do the treatment at University of Florida. His cortisol is elevated as is his ALT (SGPT) and Alk Phosphatase. The MRI clearly showed the tumor in the pituitary, the ultrasound showed some nodules on liver and spleen (which came back normal). As for the 5x, they feel that they can do the therapy with 5 doses instead of the traditional 20 or 30. They recommend this to cut down on the anesthesia risks. They have a good success rate in shrinking this type of tumor. The mean life expectancy is 18 months with ~68% of dogs living beyond the mean. They are not sure just how "functioning" this tumor is, so they are waiting for any treatment in that regard until they do the radiation. They have put him on Chinese herbs to include an antioxidant formula, arthritis formula, and cancer formula, along with Stasis mansion of the mind. We go down Thursday for the catscan to start the process for the radiation plan. They are giving him 3 months to live with no treatment due the pressure that the tumor is causing on the brain. I'm glad I found this out because he's been essentially living with a headache for months which just kills me. The neurologist is fairly certain we will be dealing with treating cushings after they try to shrink the tumor.

Are there any other questions I should specifically ask them? Any more I need to answer here? My mind is all over the place--we found this out last Thursday (17th).

I am so glad I found this site. Some family and friends have expressed that I'm wasting my time and money and it really is just so hurtful that they can't understand the love that I have for him and that I will do anything to help him. Thanks again for being here to all of you.

[labblab]

I am so happy to hear that Doc is being seen at Florida. The fact that the treatment will be conducted in a university setting puts my mind at ease. And yes, limiting the amount of anesthesia is an enormous plus.

It does make sense to me that they are postponing decisions re: cortisol control until after the procedure. Doc's entire hormonal picture may change radically one the tumor is reduced.

So in honesty, I can't think of any other questions right now. But we will be anxously awaiting any and all updates, because you and Doc will be pioneers for us all as we continue to learn more about newly emerging radiation treatment options. I'm so sorry you are having to deal with this, but we will be right beside you every step of the way!

Marianne

[lulusmom]

We have had a couple of members who moved forward with radiation for their pups. I found one of the threads which I've provided the URL below. This particular pup, Tessie, had radiation in September 2009 at a very senior age of 15 or 16. An MRI done over a year later showed no sign of a pituitary tumor so radiation was a complete success. It was a bit of a recovery but Dottie did get her old Tessie back. Sadly Tess passed of renal failure about two years after radiation.

http://k9cushings.com/forum/showthre...ight=radiation

Glynda