Quaker battling testicular cancer

[taaye.art]

Writing this in hope to hear some good stories from others…

In February or March this year, we sent our Quaker to the vet for a regular check. Doctor found an abnormal mass in his testicle. At first we thought it was hormonal, so our doctor injected Lupron and later on decided to give him an implant.
Despite the effort, his tumor hasn’t stopped growing.

In August, dr did a series of CT check, ultrasound, blood test, and X-ray on him, and declared that our 21 year old (now 22) has seminoma cancer in his testicle. Since then, our Quaker has gone though three chemos. The first two chemos didn’t quite shrink his tumor, but according to the doctor, she didn’t give him very high dosage of carboplatin and the second one did slow down the rate of growth.

He just went through his third one and we are bringing him in tomorrow for a blood work.

Despite everything, our Quaker has remained upbeat and acted completed normal. He bounced back from his three chemos well(although he did have an incident with his second chemo that left him with a limping leg for over three weeks).

I know we still have a long way to go, but it has been so rough. I can look pass the impact it has on my finance and career, but the emotion roller coaster. Constant not knowing what is the best choice for him. O boy. I just want to hear some (success) stories of treatment/recovery from cancer. I did a quick search and didn’t quite find anything. If I overlooked a threat please kindly let me know.
Please share your experience.
Here is my boy.

 

[Kiwi's Dad]

Maybe these members can help. @Ripshod @suileeka (I haven’t seen ripshod in a while. Hopefully he answers)

 

[Emma&pico]

So sorry you are going through this sounds like you are doing everything you can for him fingers crossed for you both

maybe @Pixiebeak can help or @Zara @Mizzely knows anything threads posted about cancer in birds

 

[Pixiebeak]

You arevan amazing Parront!!!! Coo Coo is so very cherished, and loved. You are going above and beyond !

I wasn't even aware there were chemo options for parrots now! Most of the cancers in parrots I've heard of have been reproductive. And Lupron used.

So thank you for sharing his story. I hope you have many chapters left to add.

Good luck at check up.

 

[Zara]

There´s certainly other members who have cared for birds with cancer, but not all are still active. @Gigi’s Mom has a female lovebird, @mizzmo22 has a tiel.

I´m sure you´ll dig up more doing a search, though keep in mind cancer comes up now and then when we are taking about humans, so might take a little while to sieve through the posts, but hopefully there will be something useful

Search results for query: cancer

edit, a member @suz1 has a budgie with cancer, but the member hasn´t been online on a few months now
this search might yield better results;

Search results for query: testicular

 

[taaye.art]

You arevan amazing Parront!!!! Coo Coo is so very cherished, and loved. You are going above and beyond !

I wasn't even aware there were chemo options for parrots now! Most of the cancers in parrots I've heard of have been reproductive. And Lupron used.

So thank you for sharing his story. I hope you have many chapters left to add.

Good luck at check up.

Thank you for the kind words. In August when our dr finally declared that he has seminoma cancer, I asked her what’s the consequences if we don’t act on it(because there were people around me that told me to just ‘let it be’). Dr said the tumor will eventually grow so large that he will not be able to eat and will be constantly vomiting, and he probably has six months to live.

Chemo has always been available. But the fatal rate was quite high back in the days, so vet always recommended surgery over chemo. But I guess they realized going into surgical removal without first reducing the tumor size doesn’t do any better in reducing the fatal rate. And there are more studies coming out about chemo on birds, so now they are recommending chemo and then surgery.

I thought about it for a while. Consulted some people who advised absolutely no to chemo.

But then I thought Coo Coo’s number one passion is eating. How horrific it would be to his little mind if he couldn’t enjoy his food…

We are super proud of him for how much he has tolerated so far. He is such a fighter.

 

[taaye.art]

Thanks everyone for the referral!

 

[Gigi’s Mom]

Writing this in hope to hear some good stories from others…

In February or March this year, we sent our Quaker to the vet for a regular check. Doctor found an abnormal mass in his testicle. At first we thought it was hormonal, so our doctor injected Lupron and later on decided to give him an implant.
Despite the effort, his tumor hasn’t stopped growing.

In August, dr did a series of CT check, ultrasound, blood test, and X-ray on him, and declared that our 21 year old (now 22) has seminoma cancer in his testicle. Since then, our Quaker has gone though three chemos. The first two chemos didn’t quite shrink his tumor, but according to the doctor, she didn’t give him very high dosage of carboplatin and the second one did slow down the rate of growth.

He just went through his third one and we are bringing him in tomorrow for a blood work.

Despite everything, our Quaker has remained upbeat and acted completed normal. He bounced back from his three chemos well(although he did have an incident with his second chemo that left him with a limping leg for over three weeks).

I know we still have a long way to go, but it has been so rough. I can look pass the impact it has on my finance and career, but the emotion roller coaster. Constant not knowing what is the best choice for him. O boy. I just want to hear some (success) stories of treatment/recovery from cancer. I did a quick search and didn’t quite find anything. If I overlooked a threat please kindly let me know.
Please share your experience.
Here is my boy.
View attachment 419045

Hi there!

Wow what an amazing quaker parent you are. Your bird is lucky to have you.

I know firsthand the stress of having a beloved bird with cancer. My 12yr old peach faced lovebird Gigi who I hand raised has been on a 3yr battle with suspected cancer of the reproductive organs. There was a positive cancer cell test (they found A LOT) but they are not 100% of all organs involved. Like you they have used Lupron which for about 2 1/2 years was able to shrink the cancer with monthly shots. And when I say shrink, they would bring her belly from looking like she had an abnormally large egg in her belly back down to normal! Over the last 6mo the monthly Lupron stopped working as well. We now have to go to the avian vet once a week for abdominal taps to drain fluid that builds up around the tumor, Lupron every two weeks, Lasix 2x daily (to keep fluid from building up) antibiotics and pain meds as needed. I also do one hand feeding daily with Emer-aid to keep her weight up. Gigi handles everything like a champ and this seems to keep the tumor from growing more, but her belly never gets back to normal. We have seen some decline in her energy and activity over the last few weeks which is heartbreaking. But she still has a good appetite, flys around and to me and loves to be held. She’s cuddling on me as I write this. She has some good and bad days so mostly its about keeping her comfortable. I have had to broach the subject of putting her to sleep but every time she bounces back and the vet said its not yet time.

I also had a hard time trying to find info online about cancer treatments for birds, and esp lovebirds it was almost non existent. I am interested in learning more about the chemo used on your quaker. I had found a vet school that offered radiation in small animals and was open to seeing us but the cost and travel there was just too much. As it stands I am spending between $400-$600 per month on vet care since we’ve had to go weekly now. It is hard but Gigi is like my kid, so attached to me and vice versa. I will do what I need to to make sure she is happy and gets what she needs.

I hope some of this info may be of use. I also want to put this out there for anyone who may have a small bird such as a lovebird with cancer and is trying to find info on it.

I wish your bird the best and hope he can beat the cancer or at least manage it to live a happy life with you. Keep us posted!

 

[suileeka]

Maybe these members can help. @Ripshod @suileeka (I haven’t seen ripshod in a while. Hopefully he answers)

Hi, just saw this.

I've had two birds with cancer in the past. Both did pass away, but they were significantly smaller than a Quaker and therefore harder to treat in some respects. And certainly treatment options have expanded over the last decade.

The details of Lior's cancer are in my post history, but I'm not sure I ever posted after Dale, my budgie, passed away. We were treating him for a different form of testicular cancer (sertoli cell) for some time. That form of cancer is managed with Lupron fairly successfully. Dale had other health issues, however, and he has since passed on.

So, not the most positive of outcomes, however... I would say my biggest takeaway from the experience is that you know your bird best. You know what's important to him in terms of quality of life. Food was the most important thing to Lior too, and she was eating happily and heartily even when she got to the point of needing abdominocentesis 3 times a week! I would absolutely try chemo in the future if my vet thought it could help. Buying more quality time with your bird is what cancer treatment is all about. I empathize with the constant doubt about whether you're doing the right thing... I have learned though numerous illnesses - some terminal, some curable - that they will let you know. They will let you know when they want to keep trying. They will let you know that they're still experiencing joy, comfort, and pleasure in life. I've also found that my vets have all been very honest and open about treatment options and outcomes - have faith in yourself and in the vet supporting your treatment decisions. I am rooting for you and Coo Coo!