Roxy Needs Radiation Treatments

Recently my baby girl has been acting weird. Yea, she is 12, and she is still full of life! Took her for an ultrasound for her liver and gallbladder, and found nothing causing her to walk, stumble, and circle. Next step was a neurologist, because whatever was going on had to be neurological. Did an MRI of her brain and found a tumor on her brain.

I know it is a lot to ask but any and everything will help because here is what we are looking at quote wise.

For the SRT 5 dose

$11,480.25-$11,680.25

For the regular radiation 20 dose

$13,786.25-$13,986.25

She has been diagnosed with Nerve Sheath Tumor on the brain. Other than this the drs say she is healthy but, without treatment, she will be in our family for another year while keeping comfortable. With treatment, we can get 2-3 more years with our sweet girl!!!! she would be 14-15 and still living her best life! If she is 12 why do radiation you ask.....Well the answer is simple for me.

She is healthy this is a bump in the road and she is still acting like she is 4!!!!! So for me if this is something we can treat and keep her around and she will still be herself for 2-3 years vs possibly 1 year or so and not know how comfy or not she is.

This is what kind of tumor she has in a more medical explination.......

A nerve sheath tumor in dogs is a type of soft tissue sarcoma arising from the nervous system (nervous system neoplasm) and structures that support the nervous system. Nerve sheath tumors are most commonly found in aged animals. Early detection is very important for better diagnosis.

Peripheral nerve sheath tumors are those originating from the peripheral nervous system (it extends outside the central nervous system consisting of the brain and spinal cord, although these can also arise from cranial nerves and affect these structures).

Peripheral neural sheath lesions can be divided into both benign and malignant. The non-malignant ones can be further divided into schwannoma, neurofibromas and hemangiopericytoma. The names may be different but they presumably originate in the schwann cells surrounding the nerve axon.

The malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are cancerous in nature. The lesions may appear as white, firm nodules. They tend to be locally aggressive. Although rare, these tumors can cause potential damage. However, peripheral nerve sheath tumors do not metastasize through the lymphatic system.

Causes–

Although the etiology is unknown, they are believed to develop in areas around former injury. Normally schwan cells from which these tumors originate help in the restoration of tissues and cells damaged during injury. It is thought that during the process of repair, tumorogenesis takes place. However, there is no published information supporting the fact.

Symptoms–

Lameness

Pain

Partial loss of movement in a limb

Lack of coordination

Muscle atrophy

Absence of reflexes

It is very difficult to diagnose malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors of the thoracic limb (forelimb). Clinically, most patients exhibit chronic progressive thoracic limb lameness, which cannot be distinguished from musculoskeletal lameness. A palpable axillary mass is seen in some of the cases.

Normally the clinical signs include severe, unexplained, intractable pain, chronic, progressive forelimb lameness and muscle atrophy, lameness in the hind limbs, monoparesis (partial loss of movement of one extremity), ataxia (lack of coordination of muscle movements) and proprioceptive deficits (condition in which the dog is not aware of its movement and posture), peripheral nerve disorder (from self-mutilation), palpable mass (mass can be felt by touch examination), hypotonia (condition that causes reduced muscle strength), hyporeflexia (condition caused by absence of reflexes). Horner’s syndrome (symptom caused by damage to the sympathetic nervous system) and paresis are generally caused if the spinal cord is suppressed. If the schwannoma is in the neck, only one side of the face will be affected and eyelids would be droopy.

Other symptoms include decreased pupil size and slight elevation of the lower eyelid. The reported duration of time before diagnosis has been found to be between 2-24 months.

Diagnostic techniques–

The diagnostic techniques include a thorough physical examination of your dog. This comprises a blood chemical profile, a complete blood count, urinalysis and an electrolyte panel. A computed tomography (CT) or, ideally, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides the most accurate information regarding the extent and location of the disease. An electromyogram is essential because (a measurement of muscle activity) it shows abnormal muscle activity in the event of a schwannoma.

Ultrasonography and immunohistochemical analysis are important for diagnosis of distal malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors. The tumor characteristics are normally hypoechoic to mixed echogenic. Ultrasonography alone is not reliable in differentiating peripheral nerve sheath tumors from a normal or abnormal lymph node. Therefore, the ideal method of assessment is to identify a nerve associated with the malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor. For doing this, doctors take the help of ultrasonography only, but with a difference. Doctors project a beam of 90 degrees on the surface of the lesion and the nerve. The affected nerve will show increased echogenecity compared to other surrounding nerves. Myelography is important as it helps in evaluating the entire spinal cord and also determines the anatomical location of the lesion. However, it is most beneficial when combined with computed tomography because it helps in assessing the whole spinal cord and vertebral column. It can also help in understanding the degree of spinal cord compression and nerve root involvement.

Treatment–

Surgical removal of the tumor is the treatment of choice for peripheral nerve sheath tumors. Amputation becomes inevitable at times. Local recurrence post surgery is common. A laminectomy (it is a spine operation to remove the portion of the vertebral bone) is indicated with a schwannoma involving the nerve roots. Radiotherapy may be beneficial depending on the size of the tumor and its location.

Prognosis–

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors usually have a guarded prognosis because in at least 72% of cases, the disease recurs after surgery. Since these lesions are not detected early, the limbs have to be amputated in most of the cases. The median survival time for dogs with malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors is 2 years. The closer the tumor is to the paw, greater are the chances of recovery. However, reports suggest that benign peripheral nerve sheath tumors have an excellent prognosis.

On September 7th she has an MRI again to see which treatment is best for her.

The two types of treatments are......

The one we HOPE FOR because it's more direct and the remission is longer and it's about 5 doses every other day:

Stereotactic Radiation Therapy is an advanced type of radiation therapy delivery that uses a variety of specialized technology to precisely deliver a very high dose of radiation to a tumor, while simultaneously protecting and sparing the normal surrounding tissues.

The other option is....

Regular radiatio but lower doses. It will be 20 doses everyday treatments in a row.

Sadly, radiation treatments cost A LOT of money. And the drs outlok either way is spectacular and hopeful on success!!!!

I thought long and hard about doing this GoFundMe at all as I know my dog is 12 and who wants to pitch in and keep a dog who is already a "senior" around? Well this little girl if you have ever met her you know loves people and being the life of the party. She is again so full of life still and if the radiation will help her still be the puppy she is then WHY NOT!?

My family and I are hoping you are willing to help us pay as much as we can.

Sorry for the long description but I want to get the information out there and pray that the angels come out for my baby girl. Roxy is my everything and I can't imagine life without her!

Thank you in advance for any and all donations as you are a truly beautiful human! It truly means the world to me and my family!