Went to the vet today and found out that our little baby Elle may have a brain tumor. She is half toy long-haired chihuahua and half toy Pomeranian. They said they want to run some more tests...x-rays and things but we never got a generalization of the costs of those things. If anyone has had things like this done a toy breed it would be great to know how much we are looking to spend to get her healed. Thanks!

Blood tests are used mostly to rule out other causes for the symptoms seen. With the exception of pituitary gland tumors, if the dog has a brain tumor the results of blood tests will be normal.

X-rays are of little value in diagnosing brain tumors, but they can show sinus or ear canal tumors that could have spread to the brain. They might also show boney changes in the skull that could indicate a tumor.

Examination of cerebrospinal fluid can also help rule out other causes of symptoms, like autoimmune disease or infection. Collecting cerebrospinal fluid involves a spinal tap, and if a tumor is expected, can be dangerous. And it's fairly expensive.

More advanced imaging like CT or MRI scans are much better at locating brain tumors. But, as you can imagine, they are expensive, and you'd have to travel to a veterinary school that has the necessary equipment.

The most definitive diagnostic tool is a brain biopsy. Done by a veterinary neurologist at one of the veterinary schools, it's not particularly dangerous, but is expensive. CT or MRI imaging is required first.

Depending on what type of tumor is involved and where it's located, you may have several options; surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, or euthanasia.

With the exception of the pituitary tumor that causes Cushing's Disease, the prognosis is grave. Cushing's Disease is manageable with chemotherapy, but not really curable in dogs. The other types of brain tumors have a survival rate ranging from around 63 days to a couple of years.

Well the vet took her blood work and everything came back normal. He is going to re check her out on Wednesday because he said the brain tumor is at the top of the list. I mean she just really seems as if she has lost some brain function and her left side of her body seems to have no feeling in it.

The vet also told us that because she is so tiny that the x-ray may not show anything even if there is something. Obviously we cannot afford to have a surgery that may in turn kill her or not solve the problem. One thing he did say is that he is pretty sure she is not in any pain...if she was I think our options would have to be to put her down but this is my baby and I really cant do that.

Thanks for the help and I hope we can figure something out to save her life.

[lulusmom]

How old is your little girl and exactly what symptoms was she displaying that prompted you to take her to the vet?

Elle is 5 years old now. A day after her 5th birthday we were driving in the car and she just had a seizure so we immediately ran up to the house call vets door and rushed her in. Luckily he only lives a couple house away. He thought maybe she just had epilepsy because in a lot of small breed dogs this happens around the ages of 3-5. So we put her on volleum, that didnt seem to work so we tried volleum and phenobarbital still she wasnt doing good, the seizures still happened and everytime a new symptom would occur, such as partial blindness. So now for about 4 months she has just been on the phenobarbital...she seemed to not being having the seizures as often just every once and a while so we have frequently since April been to our vet to make sure everything was okay.

Well we even got a second opinion and the answer was the same....the seizures are caused from something to do with her heritage and her liver. Well still nothing was getting better and now she has gotten really bad. For the past few weeks they have been coming on more frequently like when she hears something loud, gets scared... Then on Christmas day she had several seizures that were all pretty much bad and now she is left with a twitch. She seems to smell very well now but her left side of her body seems to have no feeling. My fiance and I have been up for three days trying to help her.

But finally we got a third opinion. He did some more blood work, ran a heartworm test...everything he could but an xray and everything came back negative for anything. So he really thinks that it is a brain tumor. Especially because now that she cannot feel one side of her body she us unable to walk straight or stand on her own to eat and drink. We have her on some new medicine and he said sometimes dogs will turn around but we are going back on Wednesday and he will be able to tell us what steps we have to take next. I am just worried that I am going to lose my baby. Do you think she is in pain? How would I tell because the vet said he didnt think so but I want to be sure. Thanks!

[lulusmom]

There are a lot of Chihuahuas out there with idiopathic epilepsy and this condition as well as brain tumors usually have normal bloodwork. I think it will impossible to figure out which condition your baby has unless you have a CT or MRI done, both of which are very expensive. If a brain tumor were to be found, the treatment of choice is usually radiation, which is also an expensive proposition. Have you opted out of pursuing a definitive diagnosis?

Well I have not just gave up or anything. I want to help her and everything its just that our finances are not the greatest at the moment and I am afraid we wont catch it in time. So we are enjoying the time we have until we put the money together.

Now the vet definetly ruled out the epilepsy. So I know for sure its not that anymore. But we are constantly watching her and I guess we will find out more on Wednesday. Thanks

[lulusmom]

I totally understand the difficulty you are going through right now and I'll keep you and yours in my prayers. Please keep us posted on your little girl. She's very lucky, indeed, to be loved so much.

[Yogi]

as one who has personally gone through this I can tell you from experience, you are wasting your money if the vet is recommending an x-ray. MRI is the most common and as vetgroomer noted, you best bet is to seek out a veterinary school. Many major universities have these. Also as vetgroomer noted, prognosis unfortunately is not very good. I went through this a few years back and then with another that unfortunately I ended up diagnosing myself for a member of another site after two different vets failed, instead diagnosing inner ear issues and epilepsy though they found nothing to support their diagnosis. Once I explained the info to them they took the dog for an MRI at the local university where there was a veterinary studies hospital. It was diagnosed as a brain tumor. My hopes and prayers are with you and your little one.

Thanks so much guys. I will keep you posted. Now I do have just one question or kind of statement....The vet did say that even if they found something we would not be able to remove it because she is a dog...so what kills me the most is do I pay money and found out if she has a brain tumor for sure and then have to watch her die or do I just not get and MRI and enjoy what time we have whether its just a few days or months? I cannot bear the thought of losing her. Thanks for the support in this rough time for our family.