Sorry to hear about your baby 🙁 my husband and I haven't been in the same page either and it has made it hard. He just doesn't want to take it for what it is, but I'm going forward with the surgery anyways. My vet says that amputation is the best option for survival because this is a nasty cancer that spreads quick. I hope you can find some support and answers here to steer you in the right direction to help you make the best choice. Good luck ❤ ~hugs~

Miller - our 8 year old Lab/Shepard mix had his front leg amputated 4 weeks ago.  His diagnosis was histiocytic sarcoma in his shoulder joint.  Long term prognosis isn't good, but once he got through the surgery recovery, he became a happy camper.  That cancer leg was very painful for him - he really rarely used it.  This made the transition to 3 legs easy for him.  Amputation and recovery scared me to death but I have no regrets.  Now debating next steps (oral chemo called CCNU or not).  I wish you the best with your decision.  There really is no right or wrong.

MellowBluff Just wondering what did you decide?

We are now debating the chemo treatment also.

After the leg amptuation, I got my normal dog back with 1 less leg!

He did great 2 days after he came home and did not need his sling to walk.

He lost his rear right leg, but can jump on my bed (no frame) and the sofa.  It is so nice to have him out of a cone!

The dr thinks cancer cells were migrating up the leg and to lymph nodes.  However, no other tumors were found in the CT scan.

Our choices are Doxorubicin (Adriamycin) or c Toceranib (Palladia) - or doing nothing at all.

My husband is again hesitant to treatment.  He does now want to put a dog through that.

I hate to think he went through having his leg amputated to not survive another 2 months.

His diagnoses is High Grade Anaplastic Sarcoma with in transit metastasis.

Any opinions?

I know the Doxorubicin can be hard on the heart.

The palladia we were told, if he gets sick can not be treated for nausea/diarrhea.

& Leaving it alone? I just wish I knew what the chance of an aggressive cancer not going to his lungs/organs were!

Our Murphy had histiocytic sarcoma and had his right front leg removed.  He was 7 years old at the time of surgery and aside from being in pain from his leg, he was perfectly healthy - that was the thing that made my husband & I lean towards surgery.  Eventually his leg would have broken and then we would have had to put him to sleep and we couldn't see doing that to a dog who was healthy aside from just being in pain.  So we took the chance that surgery would help him.  We have not regretted it.  We are one of the lucky ones, and not everyone will get as much time as we have gotten.  Even 4 years later Murphy is still a very happy dog - his tail wags all the time, and he always looks like he is smiling!

Not everyone chooses to do chemo - there is no right or wrong answer there.  There have been dogs who have beaten the odds who didn't do it; and there are dogs who did chemo who weren't even able to complete all of the doses.  There's no way to know which one you'll be.  Some don't do it because of money - it can be expensive; some stop chemo because of the side effects it has caused; some sail through it with no problems at all.  You need to look into what you feel is right for your situation.

Donna