Dog has cancer..now what?

[HuntInWild88]

Going though this now. Stage 3 sarcoma. Initial vet suggested amputation but went to a doc who specializes in cancer. Ended up having the tumor surgically removed, then did 2 rounds of electrochemotherapy at the tumor site. Now he's on daily chemo pills. I only pursued that because all tests showed it hadn't spread anywhere else in his body yet. If it had, there would be no point. So my suggestion is get a second opinion from a specialist, and determine if it has spread yet. They will then give you your options to consider.

edit: he's happy as can be right now. Only side effect is a small hairless spot where the electrochemo was performed.

We have already had blood work and labs done and they all came back at clean. So the Dr. Seems pretty confident it's not spread.
If you don't mind me asking what kind of price range are we talking with the route you went? Feel free to PM me.

 

[HuntInWild88]

I have Pat Macafee on in the background right now and he just plugged his wife's non-profit Fur the Brand. Provides assistance and support for families of pets that are fighting cancer.

https://www.furthebrand.com/

Being as I'm a colts fan I'll definitely have to look into that. If not to use but to at least donate too.

 

[HuntInWild88]

Thank you everyone for the responses and condolences. I'm sure we have all lost 4 legged family members that we weren't ready to lose. It's never easy..
When getting a second opinion. Did you just ask the vet for the biopsy report and take it to another vet?

 

[CodeMonkey]

First off, I'm sorry to hear you're going through this. I'll keep you and your family in my thoughts and hope to hear a good update soon.

As others have mentioned, I would look into the best specialist you can get a hold of. Remember that vets are mostly generalists (think of all the species they need to work on) and what you have is a very specific issue.

My $0.02 is that I wouldn't amputate unless it was a last resort option. If this was a hind leg, that would be a different story, but dogs tend to place more of their weight up front.

Once again, sorry to hear you're going through this and I hope you get some good news soon.

 

[Bear_Hunter]

We have already had blood work and labs done and they all came back at clean. So the Dr. Seems pretty confident it's not spread.
If you don't mind me asking what kind of price range are we talking with the route you went? Feel free to PM me.

Pm sent

 

[Kevin Dill]

I just want to say....

3 years ago I lost the best dog I've ever known to cancer. I almost can't think about it and I've had nowhere to go with it. I thought the pain and sadness would go in time. It hasn't.

I truly feel for you. No advice.

 

[HuntInWild88]

I just want to say....

3 years ago I lost the best dog I've ever known to cancer. I almost can't think about it and I've had nowhere to go with it. I thought the pain and sadness would go in time. It hasn't.

I truly feel for you. No advice.

Sorry for your loss Kevin. I know many who thinks a dog is just a dog and they can't comprehend how we see them as family. I can't comprehend how someone can only see them as a dog.
I'm really not looking forward to the day I have to come home with out him.

 

[MTNBOYJD]

Just want to share something that has helped our dog. We have him on a Cimetidine and Diphenhydramine protocol. Gets these with each meal and has reduced a mass cell to almost nothing. Acid reducer and allergy pills seem to help a lot. Wife said a Vera Anderson came up with it. Found her on Facebook. Might be worth a try.

 

[Aces11]

I am so sorry to hear about your dog. Thoughts and prayers your way.

 

[30338]

I just had to put down a 13 year old Griffon. A much loved family member. I've had to put down much younger dogs as well for a variety of health issues.

I'd get a second opinion I think and if it matched the first one I'd try to get him out on as many short hunts as you could as soon as you could. Then I'd painfully accept that this is the way that they were going to go. And I'd put them down before they were suffering more than I felt they should be.

I've got two drahts. One is 5 and one is 2. Love them both and wish they all lived much longer. Best of luck to you.

 

[def90]

I had a Rottweiler that developed the lumps at age 7, average life span of a rotty is 8-9 years. The vet basically said that as a breed they along with other large dog breeds are prone to bone and other cancers like this and his recommendation was that I just watch it and if he showed signs of discomfort we could give him pain killers but in the end any major surgery was not going to extend his life much longer and wasn't going to neccessarily be beneficial to the dog.

He went a another year then I noticed him favoring one of his legs so we medicated him for a few weeks until I came home from work one day and he was on the floor panting and couldn't stand any more. Tore me apart but you can only do so much.

Animals seem to handle pain and illness much differntly than we do. Even as he was favoring his one leg he still acted his old happy self and didn't want to stop fetching his ball. Would have never known he was sick until the last day.

Whatever you do think about whats best for the dog. These decisions are tough.

 

[Vandy321]

Prayers for the pup man. We lost our retriever to cancer at 8 years old last spring. I'd have gone broke paying for treatments if it would have helped, but we caught it too late.
Nobody else can tell you what is worth it or not for a pet. For me, I'd consider the amputation and let him/her live a great rest of their 6 or so years cancer free.

I recall seeing a pretty badass vizla , I think it was, with only one front leg and she was a bird slaying machine.

2nd opinion for sure and then weight the options. Personally, I couldn't imagine seeing my pup everyday with cancer and knowingly just letting it grow

 

[Trial153]

I wouldn’t do anything till she was showing that he was in discomfort. At that point I would say my good bye and handle it.

I can’t see a biopsy being wrong, so I wouldn’t get another opinion. And the out look for treatment doesn’t seem good. It was did, then it’s money well spent however in these cases it isn’t. Throwing good money after bad doesn’t help him any. Enjoy time you have.

 

[Rich M]

This is something only you can decide.

My wife and I made a pact many years ago, that we would not spend money on pets beyond typical vet visits. That there is always another pet available and there is no need to financially burden ourselves cause we love the dog/cat/whatever. YMMV

 

[fatlander]

I’ve been through this the past couple years. Lost our oldest very quickly, by the time we found it, it was too late. Found a spot on our younger boy and they got it asap. Now he’s doing great.

It really depends on how fast the cancer is growing. If they really think they can get it, save him. If the “treatment” is going to be torturous with no real hope of actually getting the cancer out, not just prolonging, I’d just keep him comfortable. You’ll know when it’s time.

Praying for you brother.


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[hartigjosh]

Not cancer but I have been down the road of $ spent and so on with dogs. In a farm accident my hunting lab was ran over. Literally back end crushed. 6 years old and in her absolute prime. Took her to local vet to stabilize her, and a trip to the ER to continue to keep her alive, we finally got her to probably the highest quality surgeon on the east coast and they told me flat out they didn't know how long or how much $ it would take to repair her and if it would work but if it did there is a good chance she could hunt again.
I said get it done.
She went in for surgery around 4pm and they called me around midnight to say she was ok but it would be a lot of wait and see.

She had surgery end of August and was retrieving ducks and geese in December. A lot of $ and a lot of time rehabbing but it was worth it.

If I am ever faced with a decision like that again my rule is if I have the $ and the dog has the chance to be 100% and for certain live for more years I am going to do it... cancer or accident or whatever.

I will never forget the receptionists response when I checked out and she pulled up my bill. She gasped a bit, called her manager, and then they asked me if I would need financing.

My stepdad said it best about owning a hunting dog, the cheapest thing you'll do is buy the actual dog.

 

[Ruger UL]

I have a great dog right now, a Catahoula and she has two lumps on her neck. The first vet I took her to last years said wait and see. The lumps are not all that big but are getting bigger, egg sized. I took her to another vet a few weeks ago and he used a needle to get a test sample and he said the lumps were not cancerous. His diagnosis was to wait and see if the lumps started getting big enough to cause her problems and then decide. Then there is the vet issue, Expensive, cost more than me going to the doctor. Is dog health insurance overly expensive?

 

[Ruger UL]

Just want to share something that has helped our dog. We have him on a Cimetidine and Diphenhydramine protocol. Gets these with each meal and has reduced a mass cell to almost nothing. Acid reducer and allergy pills seem to help a lot. Wife said a Vera Anderson came up with it. Found her on Facebook. Might be worth a try.

Tagamet and Benedryl! Going to start my dog on it immediately

 

[roadrunner]

Pain meds from the vet and enjoy the last few days.

 

[Carpenterant]

Put down a 6 year old lab with bone cancer and a 2 year old Gsp that developed seizures within the the last 3 years.

I’ve set a limit that I won’t pay for dog medical care that costs more then a new dog.

Maybe too harsh for some people but I let them both live until their quality of life degraded then put them down.

The 2 year old Gsp was tough. Great dog with tons more potential