I brought my soon to be 11 yr. old golden retreiver in to the vet because it was having difficulties breathing. They found a dark spot on the spleen and fluid around the lungs, and in the liver and spleen. Diagnosis was most likely cancer in the spleen. She was put on Lasix to reduce the fluid around her lungs and help her breath. She has shown a large improvement in just two days. Shows no distress when breathing.
Has anyone gone through this with their dog? Can you tell me what to expect if we do not proceed with the next step which would be exploratory surgery to see if the spleen is cancerous?
The vet is guessing she may only have a week to live.

[lil mutt]

that's sad... ill pray for your dog...

[allclownsareevil]

I signed up just to reply here. Today I lost my 12 year old German Shepherd to hemangiosarcoma.

His name was Sam and he was huge and classically featured. A real gentle giant. Never stopped recieving comments from other dog walkers and even German Shepherd breeders at how handsome and proud he was and a credit to his breed. He was a rescue dog from a pound and I've never come across any other dog with such a deep personality. As strange as it sounds he had an awesome sense of humour too. Everyone loved him, even those people who don't take to dogs. I'm going to miss him terribly. He truely was my best mate.

I wanted to post my experiences on hemangiosarcoma. He was diagnosed in December 2008 after he became very tired and just not himself at all. After 3 vets visits I got him to a specialist and they performed an ultrasound on him, to find he was bleeding internally whilst the scan was taking place. Rushed into surgery an hour later for a splenectomy. It's a costly operation (£2,900 here in the UK) but for me it was a no brainer and worth every penny, I'd have paid twice that. The prognosis however was bleak. It's an aggressive cancer and he was predicted to survive somewhere between 2-4 months.

Chemotherapy for us was not an option. After much research we learnt it could not cure him and may extend his life for a month (at best). We took the decision not to put him through that. Chemotherapy would be intense and make him feel ill during treatment and for a few days after .... at 5 lots of treatment to retard the onset of cancer that would mean he may last an extra month, but around 15 of those days he'd be either undergoing treatment or feeling rough.

We switched his diet to a high protein diet so as to feed the patient and not the cancer. His meals consisted of fresh boiled chicken breast and boiled brown rice for every meal. (gravy can help make it more interesting for your dog if you like) Carbohydrates will feed the cancer as well as the dog. Proteins tend to feed the dog more than the cancer. We tried to pile weight onto him because cancer can strip weight away from patients and the longer you can keep it on the better.

He suffered from a constant fever throughout so keeping him cool and a constant supply of fresh water. He was happy enough for the most part and still playful. He did slow down little by little and we reduced his exercise regime accordingly.

We had to give him tablets from time to time and found smearing them in pate and making it a game helped make it the job fun for him. He was a picky eater at the best of times so tablets were a problem until we came up with this solution. It went from being a chore he hated to becoming a game he looked forward to.

Sadly, today, some 10 months and 2 weeks after his diagnosis Sam died. We're so grateful for the time we had left with him and after a prognosis of 2-4 months we feel we helped Sam as best we could. He was on a walk and suddenly went very lethargic, his gums became very pale and eyes glazed over. It was clear he was ill. We got him to the emergency vet straight away, by which time it was clear he wasn't going to recover.

For me and my family it's a terribly sad day. We've all lost a GIANT of a personality in our lives. Everyone feels their dog is special and they'd be right, but even by those standards Sam was something very special.

For anyone else reading this other than our experiences above which may help those in a similar situation I have the following advice.

1. Good vets are great. Find a good one and stick with them, but remember this; vets knows dogs but only YOU know YOUR dog. A vet can tell you test results etc etc but it's up to you to guage your dog's well being. Be honest with yourself and whatever you do don't keep a poorly dog alive out of selfishness.

2. Be prepared. Know you vets phone number and stick it in your cell phone (also the emergency vets number for out of hours calls). Know the location of the vets surgery too in case your pet becomes ill suddenly. It can save time.

3. Finally, appreciate your dog. Try to enjoy your times with your dog. Spoil them a little too. Dwelling too much on the cancer can ruin things ... and dogs will pick up on your bleak outlook. Your dog's spirits are important to their well being.

If you're in the same situation you have my sympathy and I wish you the best of luck .... now go and play with your dog. Seriously, go and play with them.

[Sue W.]

Hi,

Our 7 year old rat terrier was just diag. w/ hemangiosarcoma last week. No idea where this came from! She just developed a hard swelling in her neck.
It's miraculous that you were able to keep your beautiful G.S. alive that long-good for you! Can you let me know the diet you fed him & anything else you did? Our specialist has given our dog less than 3 mo. to live, said the tumor is too dangerous to remove & basically it's hopeless.

Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks,
Sue

[allclownsareevil]

Hi Sue,

I'm genuinely sorry to hear about you and your dog. I can't imagine anyone loving their dog more than I loved mine so I know how it feels. To me he was a fully fledged member of my family.

As for the advice I can give, well some is practical and some is .... well maybe not so practical I guess. I wish I was giving advice on a happier subject though and I'll probably repeat much of what i have already said above.

First off the practical stuff:
1. Feed your dog a simple high-protein diet. He or she is likely to feel off colour and a simple diet is more likely to appeal .... and they need to eat to keep up their strength. The idea behind a high protein diet is that protein will feed your dog rather than feeding the cancer. You see Carbohydrates tend to also feed the cancer as well as your dog. In our case we basically fed him boiled (or steamed) chicken breast mixed with a little boiled rice.

2. Increase your dogs food intake. We increased the frequency of servings from twice a day to three times a day. We rather tended to over-feed him too and he did put weight on ... which apparently is good as most cancers will strip weight from any sufferer. The longer you can keep the weight on, the better. Bear in mind as the cancer progresses your dog may begin to lose his or her appetite, so starting now is important.

3. As time goes by you may want to gradually cut back on your dog's exercise regime. Look for signs of fatigue or weakness. Your dog will tell you what he needs, just be observant. If your dog is tired, let them rest.

4. Keep your dog away from infections, he or she will be prone to them now. These include sniffing where other dogs have been, playing with old toys etc etc. Just give old toys a wash in a mild sterilising solution maybe?

5. If your dog requires any medications in pill form they may be increasingly reluctant to take them as their appetite diminishes. We bought a pack of Duck liver and orange pate each week. Every night we'd smear his tablets with the pate and he'd take them with no trouble at all ... in fact he looked forward to it. It made it into a treat he looked forward to rather than an unpleasant chore.

6. If you live somewhere hot/cold, keep your dogs temperature comfortable. Too cold and their body will be burning up calories keeping warm thus making them weaker. If they're too warm they'll feel it because it's likely they'll be running a small fever too.

7. Check your dog last thing at night and first thing in the morning. If you get up to pee in the night, just check he/she is ok. There's a risk of internal bleeding with this cancer and it's good to keep an eye on them.

8. Keep a check on blood circulation. It's quite easy to check. Curl back your dogs top lip so you can see some exposed pink skin on the underside of the lip. Gently, but firmly, press that pink skin for 4-5 seconds so it turns pale, then remove your finger and see how quickly it returns to pink again (that's the blood flowing back into the skin). The colour should return within 2 or 3 seconds. If you try it now whilst your dog is reasonably healthy you'll get a good benchmark. if it begins to take longer for the colour to return it could be a sign of low blood pressure or some form of bleeding somewhere. Also be sure to check their urine and stools for signs of blood. We actually got Sam's urine tested for the presence of blood a few times and it was positive on two occasions. Turned out he had an infection for a while. Like I say, they're prone to infection with this cancer.

The not so practical stuff:
1. Be observant. I said before, a vet knows dogs in general. Only you know your dog. You'll spot signs in his/her behavior way before any vet will.

2. The timescale of 3 months is by no means a certainty. It can go either way. We were told to expect between 2 - 4 months. Sam managed to last 10½ months. Most of those were happy times for him. I'm sure he felt rough at times but he always enjoyed his walk and was still happy to play. The fact it can go either way means it's important you enjoy whatever time you have left with them. I know it's hard but try.

3. It's common for dogs with this form of cancer to become very lethargic. They can even stumble or collapse. You need to get to a vets if they collapse. Often it's a sign of internal bleeding. Keep an eye for swellings in the body. They tend to form around areas where blood flow is abundant. (heart, lungs and stomach).

4. Lastly, and this is the golden rule Sue, be the best mate your dog could ever want. Basically you are your dogs entire world, their pack leader. they look to you for food, care, attention and affection. So provide all those things and enjoy whatever time you have with them. But being the pack leader means you get to make decisions that your dog can't ... and there'll probably come a time when you have to make a really tough decision. Don't let them suffer simply because you can't bear to let them go. That would be a decision for your benefit and not your dogs. In my case Sam slowly got increasingly tired towards the end, but we expected that. He still enjoyed his walks and was always up for play, he just slept a little more throughout the day. It's all about quality of life. Are they enjoying the majority of their day? Do they still look forward to food, walks, play, treats? Is that tail still waggy? Like I say, you'll know before anyone if he/she isn't happy. You've just got to be observant and honest with yourself.

It's been a year since I lost my best mate and I miss him immensely. It's odd because I'm 6'2'' and quite masculine. Most people would describe me as a bit of a cold hearted guy, but I can't help choke up a bit when I think about him. So it's not easy Sue and I feel for you. It's why I've rambled on a bit I guess. One thing I do take a modicum of comfort in is this. I know everything I did was in Sam's best interests. I set aside my own feelings and did what was right for him. I was the best guardian I could be for him ... and that's about all you can do.

Oh and Sue, I don't know how you feel about your dog but if you're anything like me, when the time comes, most people won't understand that you've just lost a member of your family. It's not their fault, it's just they haven't been lucky enough to ever have had that kind of connection with a dog.

Hope some of it helps Sue. Wish you the best of luck.

[Lara's mom]

There is a member on the forum whose name I believe is Tucker who is going through the same thing. He's done a great deal of research on this type of cancer and may be able to give you some valuable advice.

[Sue W.]

Thanks Lara's Mom, I saw that. Hailey is just so healthy besides this tumor, it's hard to believe what the Dr's are telling us. (they said they'd be surprised if she was still around at Xmas.) I think alot of these cancers are due to diet. The commercial dog foods are grain-based (it's cheaper) & that is what tumors LOVE to utilize. Dogs are carnivores & should be eating meat. (That's what they eat in the wild.) So, we're going to switch to the cancer diet at the very least.

Thank you,
Sue

Thank you "Clowns"--

I tried to post a reply to you the other day, but it didn't post. I'm still trying to figure out how to use this forum. Thank you for all the advice & good wishes. We're going to switch her diet for sure. She just had an ultrasound yesterday & it just showed a spot on her spleen, but it could have been everywhere. It's strange how it's on her neck, that isn't a usual secondary spot. She is happy otherwise, so it's hard to believe her prognosis is that dire. I think the commercial dog foods lead to alot of these cancers because it has too much of the stuff that dogs shouldn't eat (grains & carbs) & hardly anything of what they should eat (meat). And someone told me: people who don't understand how hard it is to lose a pet are like that because they don't know how to love in that manner & they've never experienced that kind of love either. SO TRUE!! Where do you live? --I'm just wondering because some of your terms don't sound 'American'.

Thank you again, I really appreciate your help.

Sue

Dear 'clowns',

my reply to you got posted on my reply to lara's mom. This forum isn't easy to use. I've been trying to post a reply to you for 2 days. Then, i tried to send you a private messsage & it told me to needed to have 10 posts before i could do this. Ridiculous. I don't know what they have so many stupid rules. They certainly don't make it easy for users, esp. Desperate ones like me.


Sue

[Lunareclipse]

This forum isn't easy to use. I've been trying to post a reply to you for 2 days. Then, i tried to send you a private messsage & it told me to needed to have 10 posts before i could do this. Ridiculous. I don't know what they have so many stupid rules. They certainly don't make it easy for users, esp. Desperate ones like me.

It's like that because we keep getting people that would send us pms trying to sell us knock-off nikes for $5.00. The ads were overwhelming for a while.

[allclownsareevil]

No worries about the delay in reply. I figured you'd have more important matters on your mind anyhow.

I live in the Uk. I did try to make the post readable to you non-English speakers. My wife is from the US but she's been living here in the Uk for 4 years now and still certain phrases pop up that confuse her from time to time.

My dog Sam also had a problem with his spleen. They removed it and this left him further exposed to infections so we just tried to be extra careful on that front.

My experience is only what I researched at the time and personal experiences. I hope they help because I know the situation you're in and it's not pleasant.

Wish you the best of luck Sue.