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Cancer in our dog


snow white
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Morning all the other week our springer was diagnosed with mast cell tumour its a lump on her back leg.

Do we have operation to remove it or do we leave it the vet said that they can’t guarantee getting all of the cancer out.

If they don’t get it all out some of the cancer will still be in her at the moment she doesn’t seem aware of it being there if they start probing about it could spread what would you do.she is in no pain you can touch the lump and she doesn’t flinch or move away.

The money is not a problem she is eleven years old we don’t want to put her down reading about it and talking to some shooting friends they are saying leave it alone as anybody else had experience with the form of cancer.

Please doesn’t say put her down as that will not happen yet she is running round and playing with her daughter and going mad when I get gun out to go on the crows what a todo

Edited by snow white
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I had a Basset develop a mast cell tumour on his flank at about 8 years old. They are very aggressive and fast growing cancers, start in the skin and spread to the other organs, had no choice but to have it removed as far as I was concerned. My vet (who I know very well and trust) removed it, he had to go as and wide and deep as the site allowed to ensure a good margin around the tumour but it was successful. Pippin lived until over 14 when old age and renal insufficiency got the better of him. If I was in this position again I'd make the same decision.

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It’s one of them do we have operation or not the vet we trust very much she is a good friend we asked her and she said it could come back then it might not we don’t now which way to go.

I took her out this morning with her daughter you would think she is the young one we are not normally like this we make our minds up and do it but this is something different.

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If its not a large tumour and is operable at present I would go for removal of the tumour, if its left it could become inoperable due to it growing into surrounding tissue and bone.

As been said, get a second opinion, preferably from a specialist vet.

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You may well trust your friend but because she is a friend she may not be the best person to ask, is she a general vet? plus not all vets are equal, get a second opinion from a specialist in this field.

Sometime ago I had a spaniel who fractured his elbow, took him to my local vet who I had been with for a number of years and trusted, he x-rayed the dog and could find nothing wrong, said the dog may have done some muscle or tendon damage, a week later and the dog seemed worse so I ask for a referral, so off we went to Willows Referral Service, Solihull.

The dog was left there overnight and on my return I spoke to the bone and joint specialist, he informed me the dog had a inch long fracture running from the elbow down the bone (not across it) asked why this was not picked up by my vet, he said this type of fracture is very hard to spot unless you know what you are looking for, said something about the joint having to-be rotated a few degrees at a time and 10 or 15 x-rays taken, he said it was a good job I asked for a referral as the bone could have split all the way to the dog wrist.

That’s what I mean when I say not all vets are equal.     

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on a positive note , my last dog had cancer in his jaw , i took him to the local vet , the vet advised that nothing could be done , and to just keep him happy for as long as he wasnt in pain . a few days or weeks later , we had an unexpected call from the local vet , he said that hed been talking to the main man at the vets school at cambridge university , he explained that the guy was the vet that wrote the books that other vets studied from  , and said that he would like to take a look out of curiosity , to cut a long story short , the operation was a success , and we had another seven happy years together.

ps, the operation was to cost two months wages , i explained to my late wife( the most calm and easy going woman in the world) that as much as we loved our dog , i just couldnt justify spending so much money , as we had other responsibilities like kids and food etc , over the following days , my wife and young daughter wouldnt even acknowledge my presence , no words, no eye contact , no food , no clean clothes ,  zippo !!!, i soon changed my mind :yes:.

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You are in a hard place, my older Gwp has a slight lump under her jaw.  She is 12 and I am lucky having an old school vet for a father who said just keep an eye on it. It’s of a size and location not to worry about.  

I think at this age it’s a very hard decision as you can get led down the path of spending thousands to get another 6 months to year.  I wouldn’t put a dog through chemotherapy but that’s me.  If this lump starts to grow we will consider removal but it’s shown no change in 6 months so far

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Our lab had cancer in his leg, wich was above where he broke it as a pup, although the vet said it was just coincidence the cancer appeared there. This was last September & we thought he was limping for other reasons. We had his rear leg removed & he seemed fine afterwards. Unfortunately he went off his food & seemed to struggle getting up/down the sofa & wasn't moving much. I took him to the vets where they did the ultrasound & found there was fluid on his lung as well as a cancerous tumour, so at 11 years old they advised us it was best to put him to sleep. We at least got another 9 months of happy times with him & he coped well on 3 legs & it gave him a shot at a longer life. My opinion is have the leg removed & give him a shot as you will be surprised at how well they cope. If the time comes where it returns, then have her put down knowing you gave her a chance. We didn't want to put him through the chemo etc at his age & on 3 legs, as It would have been too much. It is a hard decision to go through, as our lab was a family pet first & a shooting companion who we had from a puppy & before our kids came along. Whatever you decide & however much it pains you to do so, you have to put their quality of life first.

Dan.

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I thing I have miss lead some of you saying she as cancer in her leg the lump we have found is in the skin at the end of body where skin joins the leg sorry if miss lead you we nipped her for second opinion this morning and vet said that it needs to come out so she is having it done as stated next Tuesday morning just wish we had done it six weeks ago been done with now so no shoot for her or the miss September.

Will keep you posted how we get on with her after opp.

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