<p>Splashmom, so sorry to hear that your girl is declining. I don’t know how one meakes the decision about the right time: with our first dog, we didn’t know that he had hemangiosarcoma until he was bleeding out internally (very common with that cancer), and our first golden declined very rapidly and died at home before he was fully diagnosed. People do say that you will know when it is time…I know you said she was on benadryl. Have you considered discontinuing it for the sake of potentially enabling her to perk up more for the time she has left?</p>
<p>My Sally has so far had no change in her condition whatsoever. She feels perfectly fine. Since I had the perception that this would progress much more rapidly, I’m almost beginning to wonder if her cancer could not possibly fall into the “localized” variety, despite the two lumps. The third one seems to have disappeared. Meanwhile, we are putting off all plans to go anywhere, for fear that she will be in decline at that time.</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for your words of comfort, personal experience and commiserations. I did speak with the vet today and he was very kind and suggested we make a list of three or four things which make Sadie happy. As she loses interest in those things and we mark them off the list, we’ll know her quality of life is not that which it once was and we’ll know the time is right. We’re starting her on an antibiotic for a suspected urinary tract infection. Our DD has bSeen working out of state for nine months and gets to come back to our area this weekend and start working from home office so it will be nice for her to get to visit with her, too. </p>
<p>SnLMom and MommaJ, I am so sorry that you are going through this same thing with your own furry family members. I hope you, too, have wonderful last days with them. 3togo and lefthandofdog, I’m sorry you have recently experienced this, too, and I hope you find comfort in that your dogs are no longer suffering. Consolation, I am so happy for you that Sally is doing well. When we saw the vet last, she switched her from Benadryl three times daily to chlorpheniramine twice daily to see if that would help with the lethargy. We haven’t seen any difference.</p>
<p>I know several people who had to make this decision. Me included. For many it was why did we wait…they see now the dog was suffering. Do we keep them going for us? If so, that is the wrong reason.</p>
<p>Wow! Our yellow lab is 13, has diabetes, arthritis, a history of anal gland cancer, weird scabby sores on her elbows, etc., and every morning when I come into the family room, I kind of poke her with my foot to see if she is still alive! I feel like each day is a gift. I can’t imagine her making it to 15.</p>
<p>I feel your pain. We do love the old girl and will be in your shoes very soon. Wishing you comfort at this sad time.</p>
<p>Today was the day we had to say goodbye to our Sadie. It was heartbreaking, but DH, DD and I were all able to be there for her and she knew she was well-loved.</p>
<p>Our 6-year-old schnoodle is almost finished with his 16 treatment chemo protocol - just 2 left to go. He has tolerated chemo well and has been in remission since December. But my understanding from the oncologist and from what I have read online is that the lymphoma will most likely return in the next 2-4 months, and then we will be faced again with what to do.</p>
<p>I am leaning towards just doing prednisone to get a few more months, and not doing a second round of chemo. Too expensive and less likely to result in remission.</p>
<p>For anyone who has done chemo for a dog - what was you experience with remission and the cancer coming back? Did you do more chemo? Any advice you’d like to share on how to navigate this?</p>
<p>rockvillemom~that sounds like good news that your dog is in remission. I can only hope that it will not return.</p>
<p>We are dealing with this in the dog my D just adopted in February. He is a 10 yo corgi/lab mix and just the sweetest guy. He had some hard lumps that the rescue told us about, their vets had seen it, our vet saw it, but the usual track is if it is not bothering them, leave it alone. Well it finally opened. We took him in to have it removed. When they called D back early I knew it was probably not good. It was a tumor that had spread quite far and was entwined in the muscles of the front leg, so it could not be removed without taking the leg. They sent it out for biopsy. The biopsy showed that it is a basal and squamous cell carcinoma and is very aggressive. There is no treatment to recommend and we don’t even have to ponder whether to put him through removing the leg. It is too far advanced. </p>
<p>I won’t bore you with what we went through right after the surgery, but we had to take him to an emergency vet when the incision pulled apart. Now we have to keep it bandaged like a little vest on him (the main incision was down his shoulder). The integrity of the skin is in question - if he scratches it, he could open it up again and we may be out of options. We have been through several bandage change visits and they can see that the tumor is growing. We are also keeping him on an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory. </p>
<p>Through this all, the little guy has been a total trooper. He is a happy little boy that has shown no effects from it. Our hearts are broken but our current plan (with our vet’s blessing) is to spoil him rotten. We are just determined to enjoy every day we have with him and to make every day wonderful for him. The hardest part for me is the fact that this dog was filling the void D had since she lost her horse on Christmas Eve. But D is handling it very well even though we have a very uncertain future.</p>
<p>Cancer sucks whether it is in people or animals.</p>
<p>My 9 yr old Golden was diagnosed with histiosarcoma of the non-localized type in Dec/Jan. The prognosis was very poor. We expected to lose her in a few months.</p>
<p>Well, it is now June, and not only has she had no further lumps, but she appears to be in perfect health for her age. I took her to the vet for some booster shots at the end of May, and she was incredulous. Took out the lab reports and looked at them again. The first pathologist isn’t sure which type of tumor they are. The second thinks they are probably histiosarcoma. The alternative is a type of tumor that can arise from an allergic reaction. I originally took the dog to the vet in Dec because she had developed a terrible itchy rash and was losing her fur. Hmmmm. Vet says, smilingly, “Let’s just say its a blessing.” Looks very likely that the diagnosis was wrong. </p>
<p>We are continuing the “treat her like a princess” treatment. Seems to be working so far. :)</p>
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