Dog has cancer..now what?

[grfox92]

My pitbull was diagnosed with bone cancer in her leg bone. 3 different vets and a veterinarian oncologist told us if we did nothing she would be dead in 3 months max. They all said bone cancer in a long bone is just a death sentence.

I was not going to spend $5-10k on her, even with how much I loved her, she was still just a dog and at the time I couldn't afford it.

We were just going to see how it played out.

This is the part of the story that will sound crazy, but hand to God is 100% true.

My mother ordered, if I remember correctly "Graviola Tea from the Amazon". It's an herbal tea that some believe has cancer curing or fighting properties.

My mother would drop 3 tea bags in her water bowl every day. Within 1 month the tumor on her leg was half the size. In 2 months it was almost gone.

Fast forward 3 YEARS. The tumor enlarged and grew back, she declined with her legs swelling and lost mobility and I took her to be out to sleep.

I'm not saying that the magic tea from the jungle temporarily cured her cancer, but 3 different vets including an oncologist said she had no more then 3 months to live with no treatment. Anyone's guess is as good as mine but that's the story.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[HuntInWild88]

So a little update. We tried the benadryl and heart burn mess and it really didn't do anything for him. The tumor started growing rather rabidly son we got him in to an actual oncologist. After a review and an MRI we scheduled surgery to have it removed. The surgeon was pretty appalled by the first diagnostics and the Vet wanting to go strait to amputation. He also wasn't very happy about how he took the biopsy.
Anyway surgery went really well. We did have to continue driving to boise from Mnt Home every 2-3 days for bandage changes for almost a month. After that they started letting us do bandage changes. It's been almost a full month since then and the "open" sight is only about the size of my finger nail. He has more energy and is alot more spunky since having the tumors removed.
All and all it was pretty pricey but I would do it again with out question.
This it was it looked like about a month offer surgery

I'll get a picture tonight of what it looks like now.

 

[evergreenethos]

So happy to hear the surgery went well!

I lost my pup to cancer back in March. He put up a hell of a fight, but it was in his lungs, liver, and spleen. He was a few weeks shy of his 14th birthday. My wife booked us an “end of life photoshoot” with him a few weeks before he passed. I wasn’t too thrilled about the idea to be honest, I didn’t want to put him through a bunch of additional stress, but I’m really glad we did it. We did it at one of his favorite spots and he actually had a really good time. Plus we got some great photos to remember him by.

 

[BravoNovember]

First thing I’ll say is I’m genuinely sorry you and your family are dealing with this.

Got my first dog when I was 15, trained him myself, he was (still always will be) my boy. He got cancer when he was 11.5 yo, we were able to manage for a month or so afterwards to keep him comfortable and, as it seemed, generally happy.

Ultimately we made the decision to not pursue chemo or any additional surgery because it would not give him quality life afterwards, meaning it was hard for us but easier on him. If he was 5 and in the same situation and had 5-7 more years of good life that decision would have been different, also the cost was not in the decision making for us. It was purely quality of life for our dog.

 

[HuntInWild88]

It's hard to loose them. He's my first dog that I have treated like family. Growing up we had a dog that was just an out side dog Nd ne er really got attached to him. I can honestly say we have been very lucky with the outcome of this surgery.
Here's is what it looks like tonight

The picture from the other post was April 3rd. His surgery was February 24. So it has taken a while to heal up. But I really though the scaring was going to be alot worse.

 

[Pony Soldier]

The thing you can say about old age is that if you have had pets - you will have put a bunch of them down. Some place between the age of 24 and 31, horses run out of teeth. You can watch them starve or resolve the issue. I have seen a few people feed them cooked mush until they were 41. They will live but it isn't much of a life.

Dogs are similar. A good one is your best friend (for a few- their only friend) for 12-14 years but be it strokes, senility, or whatever - there is an end. For a few, an illness will hasten the decision.

The first one tears the heart out of you. After that each one is a little less but never nothing. Maybe the high point of a nursing home is that you will never have to put another friend down.

One of the toughest I remember was a long trip on a mare I really liked. About 2/3s of the way, she started kicking at her belly and swishing her tail. I looked for bugs, sticks or anything without success. As I neared the house I got off for something and in bending over noticed that she had developed a hernia and her guts had started to slide down the inside of her leg. I led her home, pulled the saddle off and took her out on the down wind side of the place and shot her. It's part of life on a ranch.

I have found over the years that buying a replacement as they approach the final years tends to lesson the separation anxiety when you have to finally say goodby. I urge you not to make them suffer because you can't face the facts.

 

[Anglo-American]

My 8 1/2 year old draft started developing lumps about 2 years ago. Seemed most were just fatty pockets. Then one showed up on his front left forearm. Grew rather quickly and was hard. Took him in and had a biopsy done and sure enough. Soft tissue cancer. Vet said only way to fully remove the tumor is amputation. He also said he could do a mass removal of the tumor but we would have to do radiation therapy.
For the most part he gets around just fine. He does have like a pinched nerve in his hind legs making them weak. If I run him to hard he refuses to jump back in the truck and you can tell he legs are hurting him.
What would yall do?
Amputate - causing his mobility to suffer but he would live longer.
Mass removed with chemo. $$ not even sure what that would cost and how it would effect him.
Or just let it go until it mastitis and just let him live out his days until it gets to be too much?

Personally I'm a live out their days in peace type.

I notice that dogs get human autoimmune conditions in greater numbers and have shorter lifespans than they did when I was a kid...and I'm not even that old.

 

[CallumWebster8]

I'm very sorry for the diagnosis. I can recommend you this type of cancer treatment. A veterinarian friend told me about a dog dewormer called fenbendazole that some people believe cured their cancer. The drug administered orally with food. It is better to buy pure fenbendazole capsules without extra impurities.

 

[Sizthediz]

One of mine. Cost a lot but wouldn't change a thing. Just like marriage. I made a commitment and the universe wanted to test me. Not the first time or the last that I've spent that much
But being able to sleep with the windows open in the fall is priceless.
Rhodesian ridgeback had mast cell tumor

 

[Huntindog45]

this sounds harsh but i will never dump a bunch of money on a dog that is for all purposes on his death bed again. i may eat my words because i have a dog i cherish right now. but my last dog all we did is prolong the misery.

 

[Yoder]

My dog got pretty sick over several months. Vet couldn't figure out what was wrong. She lost a bunch of weight and was weak, then tore her ACL on her rear left leg. She lasted a week after that. Being weak and having a bad rear leg, she blew out her front shoulder. After that she couldn't walk anymore and we had to put her down. A healthy dog would be ok with three legs. If they are old and weak it won't go well.

 

[cjdewese]

I spent several thousand on a dog many years ago. Watching what he went through with the treatment was rough. I'll never do that again as his quality of life never truly returned.

In your shoes I would ask the vet for dog pain killers. Give him those as needed until the time comes when that doesn't work. Once his quality of life goes, so should he. Sucks to say or think about but I believe that to be the most humane way to deal with it.

This is my take as well. Saw my brother go through this with his dog, spent thousands only to have a pretty crappy end of life way sooner than he should have. A 3 legged dog is 1 thing, but a 3 legged dog that's gone through several rounds of chemo wasn't fun to watch.

I have my two dogs now and hate even thinking about this kind of stuff.

You will do what's right for your guys situation, sorry your having to even make this choice.