Very desperate (cancer stage one) advice PLEASE need to decide.

[Wiggy29]

My dog is about 11/12 (shelter dog so we're not sure) and we've had him for ten years. He is a lurcher with only three legs (front left missing).

We found a pea sized lump at the top of his back left leg a couple of weeks back, vet said just to keep an eye on it but within 10 days I noticed he was nibbling it, when I looked it was about four times the size, red raw and no hair on it. We took him straight back to the vets and they removed the lump and sent it off for analysis.

They found it to be stage one cancer and although they have removed all area around the lump, some of the roots going down into the muscle weren't removed. The vet advised a second operation going down into the leg muscle to remove the roots.

PLEASE HELP US DECIDE WHAT TO DO- YOUR EXPERIENCE WELCOME:

My family all think it would be kinder to him not to operate. They think: it won't 100% guarantee it not returning, he will find it almost impossible to do anything for nearly over a month (vet agreed) as he has no left front leg and left back will be out of action: this means he can't go to the toilet/eat/drink without being held up but my dad tried lifting him tonight without touching the wound area and said it is literally impossible to hold him to allow him to poo etc. They feel as he has had so many operations in his life and is an older dog, it would be best not to go ahead and just hope he has a happy year/two still (vet said this is possible).

I'm not sure I agree, but I'm aware that I'm far more emotionally attached to this dog as I got him and he's always lived with me. In fact, I'm too emotionally attached and love him too much to know what's best. According to the internet 90% of stage one don't remove if returned but I do agree that I don't understand how he'll manage without use of his legs for the recovery period and he's already old (has severe cataracts etc).

Please please give any advice/ experience as at the moment he's booked in for the operation on Tuesday but I'll need to cancel by tomorrow if we decide against it. I can't stop crying and just don't know what to do for the best.

Poached eggs - I agree, save masivet for intermediates with worrying histo characteristics or high grades. These low grade incompletely removed sometimes don't need radio.

No radiotherapy is several treatments but not over months and months. Guess Liverpool closest to you? Protocols vary according to centre. You could ask your vet to call the oncologist thereto discuss it.

Just want to say thank you again for all your advice (and kind words), one thing is clear: I should deco cancel operation on Tuesday. This itself relieves pressure as gives me time to consider best course of action.

Yes - there is no rush to decide.i must stress a low grade MCT may never recur. Cancer is a scary word but not all cancers are equal.

Look At this [http://www.kateconnick.com/library/mastcelltumor.html] has nice explanation.

Sorry link failed! Pm me for more advice/contacts.
Liverpool Uni has specialist oncologists your vet could call for advice.

www.kateconnick.com/library/mastcelltumor.html

MrsDV, Sam will be able to respond to this more fully than me, but the aims of chemo and radio in animals are different to the aims in humans. It is unethical to subject an animal to a treatment which has severe side effects and causes suffering, unlike in humans. In many cases dogs on chemotherapy have absolutely no side effects and can live normal lives, apart from visiting the vet for an injection or some tablets every few weeks.

So sorry for you and your poorly boy.
I would seek a specialist opinion from Oncologist to get the best possible advice and treatment.

Yes agree - this is important. Chemo/radio in animals should have no, or very very minimal side effects. Depends on the cancer - some do not respond well, others do. So if a once a week brief anaesthetic for 5 weeks means a cure (radiotherapy for a MCT or sarcoma) with no side effects I don't see the issue in a 4 year old dog. All depends on the case. Chemo for lymphoma in a 2 year old Siamese might be curative so mrs DV never say never.

My cat's on chemo - its lymphoma though, so the actual treatment will be different. I can tell you though, that chemo for pets isn't the same as for people. People are given bigger doses to try to get rid of it, pets are given an amount that will hopefully make it slow down or temporarily stop to extend life without giving them side effects that make that life miserable.

My cat is not 100% well with chemo, but is much much better than she was just before she was diagnosed, she has had a couple of periods where she has gone off her food and seemed to be a bit nauseous, but some antacid and things for a few days have sorted her.

Her fur has gone lighter in colour, which is a bit odd and it takes longer to grow back where she's been shaved for blood tests - none of which bothers her in the slightest.

She might feel the cold a bit more, but it's hard to tell as she was always funny about being cold.

It is expensive though, not just the treatment, but every thing else costs more... She can't have standard painkillers for her arthritis and we had to go through a couple to find one that suited her, referral to an oncologist is massively expensive - not that I'm assuming that matters to you at the moment, but the diagnosis and immediate stuff cost me about £1k, then she was readmitted a few months later with another scan so the same again, plus about £125 a month on meds and blood tests, plus...all the extra vets bills because I worry about every little thing she does.

Having said all that, while chemo has improved my cat's quality of life - a lot of that is because of where her masses were, they were making her unwell... Your dog feels ok just now, if chemo makes him unwell, would the payback be worth it for him?

Equally the operation and being on two legs might be manageable - but would it be worth it from his point of view?

Talk to your vet, see about an oncologist and talk through all the options, that's the only way you can really make a decision, there might be a course of treatment that's worth trying or it might be kinder to just enjoy the time he has left, but talking everything through properly will help you work that out.

www.liv.ac.uk/sath/services/oncology/
Op - these people should advise you, not your ill informed vet. You will see they have published on this subject.

Good luck op.

Thank you all again. I'll cancel vet's and double check info then (if you don't mind Sam) I'll pm you with any further questions. Thank you all again.

That took me ages, so cross posted with loads more useful answers than mine :)

To be fair I'd have agreed a few years ago that chemo for pets is cruel and one of those things that's done for the owner's benefit...

My cat is happier on chemo than she was beforehand as she had growths on her spleen and in her intestine, so she was losing weight, being sick and just generally out of sorts.

Treatment was undertaken purely because it could be stopped if she was no better or worse, I won't do any surgery on her or anything that requires staying at the vets because that would stress her out.

So it is a constant state of watching her to make sure I'm still happy that she's happy if you see what I mean, but she eats, plays, goes outside when she decides it's warm enough and is interested in whats going on and affectionate - if at any time I feel that she's no longer a happy cat, I can think again about whether I want to carry on.

I know it sounds like extreme measures, but she's still more active than my other cat, who is perfectly healthy and seven years younger than her.