EMERGENCY HEALTH INFORMATION HEMANGIOSARCOMA RESEARCH
The Breen lab at North Carolina State University of Veterinary Medicine
is researching the genetics of hemangiosarcoma in Dachshunds. This is a heartbreaking cancer that strikes with little or no warning and often takes a dog’s life within days of the onset of symptoms. Tissue and blood samples are desperately needed to conduct meaningful research, but owners of afflicted dogs are rarely aware of what must be done to submit samples and are not likely to be thinking about scientific research while dealing with the severe illness or loss of a beloved pet. To be prepared to further the research in case your Dachshund succumbs to this dreadful disease, please make a copy of the other side of this sheet, keep one at home and another in your dog’s file with your veterinarian along with a copy of the consent form that must be sent with the samples. The consent form can be downloaded at http://www.breenlab.org/recruitment.html Barbara Axel is the liaison between Breen and DCA so you might want to reach her during the week or weekend at Cliffhanger@comporium.net or phone 828-884-8937. Breeders might wish to also supply copies of this two-sided sheet and the online consent form to their puppy owners who are not DCA members, advising them to keep copies or file them with their veterinarians. All dachshund owners, not just dachshunds belonging to members of DCA are eligible for research and reimbursement of shipping charges. If your Dachshund is diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma, please have your veterinarian submit samples to the Breen lab as outlined on the checklist on the back of this sheet. Additional required or requested paperwork can be submitted later, but your signed consent form must be submitted with the samples. The cancer research in the Breen lab is funded by grants from The AKC Canine Health Foundation, Morris Animal Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Since the Breen lab has active collaborations with other bona fide researchers in this field, they request permission to share samples, in accordance with signed owner consent. Confidentiality is maintained at all times. The DCA Health & Welfare Trust Fund will reimburse the cost of shipping the samples to the Breen laboratory. Submit copies of shipping invoices to: Ruth Robins, Trust Administrator, DCA Health & Welfare Trust Fund, 4314 Westport Terrace, Louisville, KY 40207-7014
OEARRCEH M RES
Van Andel Research Institute is also conducting studies on hemangiosarcoma and is actively soliciting samples from Dachshunds. For full information and copies of the paperwork to have on file with your veterinarian, please contact Van Andel at CHCC@vai.org or 616-234-5569, or visit the website at www.vai.org/helpingdogs. Van Andel will pay for shipping of samples to their laboratory. There are different procedures followed when collecting shipping samples to Van Andel so contact them directly for instructions.
SYMPTOMS OF HEMANGIOSARCOMA:
Symptoms may be seen only hours before death. If noticed beforehand, there may be short periods of time, usually not more than a half hour, when the dog is unusually quiet, then goes back to usual behavior. A regular panel of blood work may not show anything unusual, and only a sonogram might. Listlessness, pale gums and, often, rapid collapse follow in the case of Splenic rupture which is the most common form of hemangiosarcoma in dachshunds. Removing the spleen will not cure the cancer for it is not located in the spleen, but is already circulating in the blood of the dog. A definitive laboratory analysis is recommended because hemangiosarcoma (HSA) may be located in organs other than the spleen or even in muscle tissue. Chemotherapy, depending on the location of the HAS, may lengthen life for some time, depending on the individual dog and location of the HSA.
PLEASE KEEP THIS FLYER IN A CONVENIENT LOCATION See back for submission instructions
☞