<p>I’m coming to your neighborhood! :)</p>
<p>We have been dealing with our beloved lab’s osteosarcoma. It is a very painful cancer (humans get it, too) - our vet said it is like the bone exploding from the inside out. Recommended pain treatment is amputation, so our boy lost his left foreleg in the 3rd week of September. Started chemo 2 weeks later. He goes in this week for his 3rd chemo out of a total of 6. Fortunately we can afford the treatment - I figure I will just have to work another month before I can retire. We’ve got a good vet oncologist, but as others have said this whole thing is expensive, and not an option if you can’t afford it.</p>
<p>Dogs do pretty well on 3 legs. Check out tripawds dot com for lots of info and ideas. We just got back from a walk around the block with our guy, and he is enjoying life for the time being. But this cancer has a high chance of metastasising - the chemo is designed to slow that process down. Good idea to have the chest x-rays before deciding on whether it makes sense to go down the chemo path. Fortunately our dog’s chest x-rays were clear.</p>
<p>I’m sorry. No advice, just hugs.</p>
<p>A word on costs. I agree vet bills can be expensive but as a MIL to a vet, please remember they are very educated and most have student loans that rival those that are MDs. If vet medicine was easy, it would be cheep. But there are very few Vet schools in relation to medical schools, and 99% of the profession is in it for the animals and not the money. Can you imagine a human getting chemo for 2k? It doesn’t happen. The training is similar and yet they are asked to perform these procedures at a fraction of the cost.</p>
<p>Our cat (10 years + a few months) just had a cancerous thyroid gland removed. We were told that surgery should take care of the problem. We’ll see but at the moment she’s great. It entailed no chemo or follow-up treatments. We made our decision based on that fact. We had decided if it meant multiple surgeries, chemo, radiation, we would not go further. </p>
<p>Take a deep breath: Cost - $1,800.</p>
<p>We justified it by saying that in the 10 years we’ve owned the cat, she had never been sick. So … it averaged about $180 a year.</p>
<p>Thanks for posting the nyt article. We are probably 6-8 weeks away from euthanasia and I have been reading about the in-home option - which sounds vastly preferable to me.</p>
<p>I just want to add a comment about chemo, which is so controversial in pets. First, it does not have to be a black and white decision as to whether or not to do chemo. If you can afford it, you have the option to try the first few treatments and see how it goes. If your pet tolerates it well and gets a quick remission, you keep going. If the pet does not tolerate it well, you can work with the vet to adjust dosages, switch out a particular drug or stop chemo altogether.</p>
<p>Second, chemo in people is quite different from chemo in dogs. My vet oncologist explained to me that in humans, they are going for a cure and they will do very aggressive chemo to achieve this goal. In a dog, the goal is more to achieve a remission for a year or so. Given a dog’s lifespan, adding a year is pretty good. So, the chemo is not as aggressive. My dog’s experience was fairly typical - a little lethargic 2 days after the treatment with a bit of stomach upset and loss of appetite. He was generally back to normal the following day.</p>
<p>So, don’t rule out chemo for your pet. See a vet oncologist and evaluate all of your options. I never dreamed I would be in that position, and even though the cancer has returned, I am glad we did the chemo and had the additional year with our dog.</p>
<p>But there are very few Vet schools in relation to medical schools, and 99% of the profession is in it for the animals and not the money</p>
<p>This is very true. My vets are truly regular folks living on regular salaries. They take in strays, they rescue, they foster, they do free surgeries on their rescues and so forth. </p>
<p>They mourn with you when your pet dies. They keep pics of their patient-pets on their walls…and memorials for those that have gone over Rainbow Bridge. </p>
<p>They spend an amazing time with each patient & parent and aren’t “above” doing some of the mundane tasks associated with pet care.</p>
<p>Both went to excellent vet schools (actually, all US vet schools are probably excellent). </p>
<p>And they love their jobs. They have kids who are currently in vet school…so the cycle continues. </p>
<p><3 Pets <3 Vets</p>
<p>Our golden had a lump that sounds like your dog’s. Pictures/online research suggested mast cell tumor. The vet looked at it, said it might be cancer, and aspirated it. NO cancer. He said to check it in 30 days anyway, keep an eye on it, and measure against the original size of the lump. But the lump disappeared on its own–we think the puncture from the aspiration started that process.</p>
<p>We were relieved and frankly a little surprised. He’s 9 years old and has lipomas (fat masses) all over, so we expected worse news. So be optimistic, if you can. I understand preparing for the worst though. I certainly had and I was never happier to be wrong.</p>
<p>Keep us posted. Thinking of you and your buddy.</p>
<p>The mass was aspirated today and it is just a sebaceous cyst. No cancer. So thankful!!</p>
<p>That’s great! Wonderful!</p>
<p>Thank God! Yay!</p>
<p>I will bet that dog is getting lots of cuddles tonight!</p>
<p>Congratulations!</p>
<p>That is such wonderful news! Very happy for you.</p>
<p>Yea! So happy for you!</p>
<p>Being a vet is harder than an MD, as your patients can’t tell you exactly where it hurts and describe the pain.</p>
<p>Wonderful news!</p>
<p>The mass was aspirated today and it is just a sebaceous cyst. No cancer. So thankful!!</p>
<p>So happy for your pet, you, and your family! What a relief!!!</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>Great news!</p>
<p>FABULOUS NEWS! I am so very happy and relieved for you and your dog.</p>
<p>Whew! Glad to hear it. :)</p>