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Has anyone been through this and can give me advise. I took my 11 year old lab in to have her leg checked and found she has bone cancer. The vets are recommending amputation combined with chemo. However, I am not sure that this will stop the cancer. It may just give her more time. I am not sure I want to put her through all of this. I just want to give her quality of life, but I can't stand the thought of losing her.
Kathy...I have nothing to offer except my sincere condolences that you have to face such a tough decision. Her age and quality of life will certainly all come into play. I think I would get a 2nd opinion from another vet just to see what their views were. I faced putting an older Golden thru Chemo...and backed out of it quickly. Again...this was to lengthen his days with me only a short while, not a cure , and I just couldn't do that to him. But it was a very personal decision on my part. Good luck with any decision you make.
Kathy S - I am very sorry for everything you are being faced with. This is one tough decision. I am a health care professional currently working in Oncology and I don't think I would put my dog through that treatment. This is only my opinion and many would disagree. We have the option of humanely euthanizing animals to prevent undue pain/suffering and I only wish we could sometimes do the same for humans.
Back in 1989 my American staffordshire, Morgan, was diagnosed with bone cancer in his left rear leg. He was only six at the time. UC Davis reccomended that the leg be amputated, though they thought it was a waste of time and money. I found a vet in the bay area that specialized in bully breeds and he did the operation with a clean removal to the hip socket and a see you in six months wave as I left his office. I figured that if it was his destiny to die, that that was the way it was. Without chemo or any other intervention, Morgan made it to just shy of 14 and I let him go when his heart started giving out on him. I called up the vet and informed him of Morgans passing and he said he was a miracle. I just figured that Morgan was not done yet. Here are pictures of Morgan at 3 years old and 13 plus.
It's a hard decision to make. I would not put a dog that far advanced in age thru that much. I wouldn't hesitate with a younger dog, but I feel it would be so much harder for an elderly dog to adjust.
You must choose what you feel is best, only you know your dogs strengths and weaknesses.
Best to both of you.
If this were my dog, at that age I would not choose to do either the surgery or the chemo. Quality of life is more important to me than extension. If it were a younger dog I might think differently.
5 years ago I was faced with a similar situation. 11 year old large dog with bone cancer. I asked my vet if he believed there was a realistic chance of removing all of the cancer, and he said no. My dog lived well and ended her life with a smile on her face. Surgery and chemo would have made her very unhappy, uncomfortable, and sick. It would have been misery for me to put her through all of that.
I wish you the clarity of vision and the peace in your heart to make this tough choice for your dog.
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I just went through this with Maggie my Saint Bernard --I am so sorry that you're dealing with this terrible disease. Maggie had osteo-sarcoma in her left front shoulder region. We did the amputation and opted not to do chemo.
Based on everything that I've read and discussed with my vets, there is no cure for this cancer. Once it's been diagnosed, it is already too late. One vet explained to me that even if they got the cancer from the spot where it was, there were more cancer cells already spread throughout her body. It simply becomes an awful waiting game. If you do the surgery (and it hasn't already spread to the lungs), they say you have another 3 to 6 months before the cancer shows up again. With chemo, at least in our case, the stats were really fuzzy. The intent of chemo isn't to cure the dog. The doses are very low and are meant to halt the progression of the disease. I hate to bring this up, but the chemo is very expensive --or at least it was in our case.
We amputated our Saint's leg. For one thing, the cancer is incredibly painful and amputation ends that pain. When Maggie's leg was removed the bone crumbled in the surgeon's hand. I hate to think about the pain she must've been in. We knew that we had to either amputate or put her down because of the pain. Within 24 hours of diagnosis, we had scheduled the amputation. Before the surgery, we had xrays done of her chest to make sure the cancer hadn't already spread. Maggie was also in great physical shape aside from the cancer. She was emotionally/mentally healthy, too. After the surgery, we were told she had maybe 3 months to live. We were fortunate enough to have her for 7 more months. Then the cancer came back with a vengeance and there wasn't any doubt that we had to put her down.
Surgery-wise, Maggie did great. She stayed two nights in dog ICU and she was walking on three legs within 48 hours of surgery. She adapted very well to three legs. In fact, I had to set up a pen in the house to keep her from running around and hurting herself. In our case, I'm grateful for the surgery because it let me have my Maggie (a healthy and happy Maggie) for a few more months. I won't lie to you, though, this is major surgery. The worst part was seeing Maggie after the surgery--it was shocking and she looked horrible. Important to note, though, that personality-wise, she was happy as can be. The stitches bothered me way more than they ever bothered her. If you want more specifics, pm me and I'll answer the best I can.
Finally, I've been reading about artemisin as an alternative treatment. Latest studies I've seen have been coming out of Univ of Wash. I actually called and talked to the dr there and he gave me dosing guidelines, etc; but it was too late for my Maggie. But maybe it's an option for you?
Ultimately, this is an incredibly personal and tough decision. My thoughts are with you and your lab as you go through this difficult time.
I've had a couple of dogs who had to have legs removed as a result of accidents, and known quite a few others. If they are younger, they adjust pretty quickly and don't seem to notice the loss [except for one male who had to stop lifting his leg to pee because he kept falling over]. But for a cancer, at her age, I'd probably have her pts, before it gets too painful. It's a heartbreaking thing to do, but our animals rely on us to do the right thing for them - and I rather think it's a shame we can't do the same for people, as well.
I have had 2 dogs that I chose to treat with palliative care, not chemo or surgery. It's hard enough to explain to a child why you are doing this "for their own good", how can you explain to your beloved fur-baby? Mine got steroids to help with pain and to strengthen them, which worked for a couple of months. They will let you know when it's time to go.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kathy S.
Has anyone been through this and can give me advise. I took my 11 year old lab in to have her leg checked and found she has bone cancer. The vets are recommending amputation combined with chemo. However, I am not sure that this will stop the cancer. It may just give her more time. I am not sure I want to put her through all of this. I just want to give her quality of life, but I can't stand the thought of losing her.
Any help would be appreciated.
I would never subject a dog to chemo. If the dog can't be happy and reasonably without discomfort day-to-day it's probably time to put her down.
I would not have a problem with amputation if it were going to buy a considerable amount of additional time with the dog. Single amputee dogs adjust well to the missing limb, often learning to ambulate in a matter of hours after surgery. Dogs don't look back either, so there would be no crying over the lost limb. They just forget about it and move on.
An 11 year old lab is a fairly old dog. They don't usually live beyond about 12; the real geriatrics going to 15 or so. I would weigh that in my decision. Just don't let a vet talk you into exploratory surgery and an aggressive drug regimen for an elderly dog if you know that it isn't right. The dog will not thank you or ever know that you spent all that money for her sake. You are the dog's steward, you know how to proceed better than the vet.
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