Surprising diagnosis

[Plum's mum]

When I was sent my first invite for a breast screen there was information about the over diagnosis included with the letter, although I did know about it before but can’t remember how.

Thinking of you @Kelsey&Axel and hope you’re feeling less troubled now you’ve got the facts. And definitely post more pics!

 

[Anne123]

The number of affected dogs appears to be increasing (although some of this is anecdotal) but is still tiny.
They can't link DCM to grain-free or specific ingredients.
There are multiple apparent causes of DCM, not all linked to diet.
Look into how the people who recommend certain brands have been financed by those brands.

I don't think you should rush to change away from a food you're happy with as a knee-jerk reaction. @Beanwood is going to start the article later and I'll add my 2¢ as well

I won’t rush into changing his food. Therefore I want more reading and investigate myself....

What shocked me was that I wasn’t aware that this was possible. I didn’t hear it here in Holland. Perhaps I was too ignorant, don’t know. My vet advised me a few weeks ago to feed Finn raw. So he is getting more home made food as veggies and fish, or pens and heart, cooked. So I am not worrying that he is lacking some elements...

 

[snowbunny]

The thing is, without regular blood, none of us really know how our dogs are digesting the food we're giving them and if it has the correct ratios for them. We also have to take any individual situations into account which mean that our dogs might be getting a less optimal diet for one reason, because of another. At the moment, Squidge has a condition where we need to restrict her read meat intake, and she isn't allowed any offal. So her diet is very different to what might be considered optimal for another dog.

 

[M.F.]

Actually this is interesting to contemplate.
I don't know how many of you are aware about the controversy over breast screening? About overdiagnosis causing treatment for something which would not have been life changing in any way if not diagnosed at all. Non harmful lesions which cause significant morbidity through worry and "unnecessary" operations.
Food for thought too.

Yes, it’s something I think of often as yet another year goes by that I didn’t go for a mammogram. It’s a fine line between “catching it early” and unnecessary worry. My mom is 82 (and very active, a yoga teacher) and has never had a mammogram. I guess it helped that my dad (now passed) was a gynaecologist.

@Kelsey&Axel I hope all this talk doesn’t make you feel more anxious. Hopefully once it all sinks in, you’ll be able to get back to “normal life”. But as you also said, you’ll focus on more good things for Axel every day. It really is a very good wake-up call for us all to just get out there and enjoy our dogs and give them opportunities to thoroughly enjoy life!

 

[MrChew]

As an aside, I was at a breast cancer conference this year (work related) and the future of screening likely lies in tailoring the amount of screening to a woman's level of risk, based on family history etc. This means low risk women will get less screening than they do now and high risk women will get more. We are obviously some way off from this as the risk stratification needs to be validated etc, but it is definitely a step in the right direction.

 

[Kelsey]

Sorry for the delay! I have been very busy these last few days. Starting a new job in a couple days and the amount of paper work that comes with it is crazy!

But I have read everything you all have said It definitely helps to hear stories of other dogs who have lived long happy lives with a heart murmur. I really do hope that Axel will be one of those happy stories one day too. But for now we will focus on lots of happy times.

I will continue to feed Purina pro plan, which is a food I swore I would never feed but I feel better having Axel on it after all of my research. I am anxious to read the thread posted on here soon though. On the Facebook group I am on there is a graph to show how many dogs were on specific dog food that ended up with DCM and number one was Acana so while I know the FDA is still doing their research, I just don’t want to risk it. At the end of the day I know he will be just fine on Purina.