Tenacious Tilly trumps tumour diagnosis

A courageous cancer-suffering canine has astonished her owners by defying the odds after vets gave her days to live.

In March 2019 10-year-old Jack Russell terrier Tilly was diagnosed with an aggressive nasal tumour and was not expected to survive. Eighteen months later (and counting) and Tilly is battling on with what cancer experts at Linnaeus-owned Cave Veterinary Specialists have called a “spectacular” clinical response.

‘Amazed’

Tilly was referred to the surgery department at Cave in Somerset, where a CT scan and biopsy confirmed she was suffering from a nasal carcinoma with extension through the cribiform plate. She was then internally referred to the medicine department.

Cave’s co-clinical director Nele Van den Steen said: “Tilly is the most remarkable dog who really has amazed us all.

“The initial prognosis was poor due to the extension of the tumour beyond the nasal cavity, so the first thought was to offer palliative radiation or chemotherapy, while warning the owner that Tilly may deteriorate at any time and, at best, probably only had a few weeks to live.”

Treatment options

Tilly’s owners were given the option of radiotherapy – which they declined – or neo-adjuvant chemotherapy, which either consists of maximum tolerated chemotherapy or toceranib, with Tilly’s owners opting for the latter.

Miss Van den Steen said: “Tilly’s response has been spectacular. We normally expect to see a clinical response in about 60% of cases for an average of 5 to 6 months, yet Tilly is still with us 18 months on. She’s definitely one of a kind and we’re thrilled she’s doing so well.”

Tilly’s owners Cynthia and Ian Davies from Dorset said: “Eighteen months on and Tilly is doing incredibly well. She is our little miracle dog.”