What are treatment options for my senior dog's bladder cancer?

Question

Hi, our 14 year old dachshund has been diagnosed with early stages bladder cancer. We've been told that there isn't much we can do but she's been prescribed previcox. What are our options? Thanks in advance. Pet's info: Dog | Dachshund miniature | Female | spayed

Dr. Strydom, DVM · Accepted Answer

So sorry to hear that Skylla has this problem. Depending on the location of the cancer in the bladder, surgery would be the best option followed by radiation. Radiation alone is not usually recommended as the bladder tends to get very damaged and non-functional. As far as non-surgical options, your vet is correct to give an NSAID like Previcoxx however, a better NSAID to use would be piroxicam but I do not know if it is available in your country. If an NSAID alone is not working we then go to using NSAID plus chemotherapy (mitoxantrone). A third option is chemotherapy alone with vinblastine or other combinations of drugs. You will need to speak to your vet to see what options are available in your country and the costs involved. Also, it depends on where in the bladder Skylla's cancer is located. You could also refer your vet to this article if they are not used to treating this type of cancer. ( https://www.purdue.edu/vet/pcop/files/docs/CanineUrinaryBladderCancer.pdf ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.

What are treatment options for my senior dog's bladder cancer?

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