Trooper's Cancer Story - Cushings Disease and Transitional Cell Carcinoma

by Phyllis
(Boston, MA)

Trooper is my dog. He lived to be 12 years old. Trooper is a tri-color, Shetland sheepdog.

At the age of 10, he was diagnosed with Cushing's disease. Cushing's disease is a tumor related disease; the tumor is usual formed in either the adrenal gland and/or pituitary gland.

The signs of Cushings disease are, including but no limited to, excess and/or lack of water consumption, frequent urination, and increased appetite. With Trooper, I noticed that he was "voiding" (frequent urination) too often so I made an appointment at the animal hospital to have him checked out.

After tests were run and the results came back, it was determined that Trooper had Cushings disease as well as a bladder mass which was somewhat consistent with TCC aka Transitional Cell Carcinoma.

Trooper immediately needed to go on Trilostane; a medication from the UK that is used to treat Cushings and in addition, Meloxicame for the bladder mass.

Cushings if not caught in a timely fashion, can be fatal to your pet. It's best that you learn and begin to watch for some of the signs I described above as your pet gets up in age.

With the life threatening conditions Trooper endured, he lived for another 2 years and his quality of life was fine up until the bladder mass grew and ultimately killed him.

Trooper was my best friend. I miss him so much. There was never a dog so aptly named! He lived up to his name, "Trooper".

His strength and bravery helped me to apply what I've learned from him and his health-care needs and have been able to transfer them over to my elderly parents.

We learned together and we fought the battle and I gave him the best quality of life possible.