Welcome. We know this is such a hard decision. Last year, my 12 year old lab mix had a tumor on her rear leg. I had also thought it started off similarly to all those other fatty cysts she'd had over the years. We'd had a few removed successfully. However, when we tried to do the same with the one on her leg, it returned within a month. Only then, did we send off a sample to find that it was cancer. Molly had her rear leg amputated in July. By September, she was swimming in the creek again (although in more of a circular direction than before ;). She also began enjoying short hikes again, regained normalcy in her yard by digging for moles and playing a bit of soccer, and honestly felt better after her recovery than for sometime before the amputation. I struggled with the decision for a while too. But I'm so glad we did it. Molly J  and I have no regrets about it. Sending positive energy your way. 

HI

I am new to the site also.  Borris had his left hind leg amputated February 17th.  However, I found out about the tumor in late December and was more or less advised that given his age, and size, Borris is a 10 year old harlequin great dane, and the fact that he suffered some discomfort in his front left leg this past summer due to what we think was a herniated disc, perhaps it would be best to keep him comfortable with pain killers until the time came to put him down.  I explained to my vet that he was a very active, young at heart, 10 year old.  Problem is, they never knew him like that because both times I brought him to see this vet he was in pain.  So I went through the holidays thinking I didn't really have options and how on earth would he ever be able to hop around on 3 legs at his size.  Then in mid January the leg started swelling, and I started looking for options and found this site.  By then, he had completely stopped using the leg due to pain.  I realized watching him drag that swollen leg around that he was better off without it, and probably very capable of adjusting.

Then he had a reaction to the prednisone he was on and became very weak, we  didn't make it into the first scheduled surgery while we readjusted meds.  At that point I was upset with myself for not realizing in December that he could do it. I put him through unnecessary suffering with that leg in January and February.  It is always hard to make decisions while you are going through something and easy to say what you should have done after.  I wish I had taken the leg off earlier as the cancer grew so large and he was not himself at all.  He barely wanted me to touch him or console him. 

The first week or two of recovery can be a little unnerving, but since the removal of the leg I have seen his spirit return, and his determination to make progress each day.  Everyday we walk a little further and with less breaks in between.  He stops and smells the air, he listens to all the sounds around him. People say hi to us and ask about him.  He is my Superdog.  I am so proud of what we have accomplished together as a team.  The other day on the way to the vet he hopped into the truck before we could pick him up to put him in.  They are unstoppable.  Life has changed a little, the reality is, he is a senior dog, at one time or another life does slow down. It's just an adjustment, a bit of reality check to love and appreciate what we do have.  

We all understand exactly how you feel.  If you decide to amputate, you will understand just how well a dog can adapt to what is thrown at them.  They just move forward.  They live for us, they follow our cue.

Hi and welcome to Tripawds,
We have all been there with the awful decision to amputate, so you are in great company here. So sorry you are dealing with the ugly "c" in your sweet Schnauzer, we know that can feel like a ton of bricks dumped on top of you. However, quite often, amp surgery gives the best chance of quality of life, and also can extend the life of your pup. You are actually fortunate with the type of cancer your dog has, hemangio-pericytoma can be completely cured with just amputation alone. It is a very contained type of cancer, and I personally know several friends that their dog had this type of cancer, had surgery for tumor removal or amp, and they are still doing great and cancer free after several years since the surgery. My Polly's surgeon was hoping she had this type of cancer when doing her first leg surgery for a sudden quick-growing tumor 2 years ago, but not to be, Polly was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma, a very aggressive and awful cancer. But my precious girl still beat the odds and survived for almost 14 months.

That is another very important thing to remember, there is no definitive date of expiration for our beloved fur pups and kitties diagnosed with cancer, it just teaches you to make more of the days, weeks and months you have together. Some here have been truly blessed with many years together, so there is always hope.

As far as amp surgery itself, yeah, it can be a bumpy road until most healing is completed, but for the vast majority of us, there were not too many problems and our new Tripawds did fantastic.....we know we did the right thing. But amp surgery is still a personal decision that must be made with a lot of thought going into it. We can just give you our experiences, and like I said, most here would do the same thing all over again with amp surgery. Our pups and kitties amaze us with their ability to lead a perfectly normal and happy life on 3 legs.

Best of wishes to you, keep us updated on your pup and what you decide.....
Bonnie, Angel Polly & new crew

whiteschnauzer said
I know everyone on this site has probably made the decision that my husband and I are going to have to make this week-end, but I can barely type this because I am crying so much and so upset. We noticed a growth on my 12 year old schnauzer and took her to the vet to be checked out. She has had several fatty lipomas, so we thought "no big deal, it's just another fatty growth to be removed." Man, were we wrong. The mass is a hemangeo-pereo cytoma which is cancerous. After seeing a onocology specialist, the good news is the cancer will most likely not metastasize. The bad news is making the difficult decision what to do next. We have ruled chemo out, because it will only slow the growth and not give her the best chances of survival.

So now, we have a very difficult decision to make. We can amputate her right rear leg or we can remove the lump (which can not be fully removed because of the location) and then send her for radiation therapy. If we do the  second choice, she will have to live at a university that has radiation for a month. It is also extremely expensive. The vet said we would spend close to $10,000 with this option. If I had all the money in the world, I would choose this option because she gets to keep her leg and it has a 85% success rate. The other option is amputation, which I can not wrap my mind around. I am so emotionally connected to Sydney and I don't want it to affect her quality of life. She is such an active, lively little dog. She goes on hikes, to the lake, and to the ocean on vacation with us. Will she still be able to do these things? Will she be happy? I am looking for advice and support, because I am struggling to make a decision. I want to do what is best for her.

I am so sorry that she has cancer. We faced many of the same decisions when our two year old Yorkie mix was diagnosed. We ended up doing have the tumor removed and she did a couple radiation sessions. In our case, amputation wasn't an option. Lily recovered well and you wouldn't even know that she had the surgery today. She's full of life!

I'm new here as well so unlike everyone else I cannot offer comfort but I can tell you about my own experience and hope it helps in making your decision. My dog has a soft tissue sarcoma on his front right leg. And they also could not remove all of it because of where it's at, right at his elbow. I happen to live close to a veterinary oncologist and I didn't have the money but I decided to take on the debt. Which yes was going to be about 12-13 thousand for removing a part of the tumor and the radiation. So he had the surgery and because they couldn't fully remove the mass it didn't heal. I chose to have a second surgery because I was determined to save this leg. But even after the second surgery he didn't heal. So I'm about 6 thousand in debt and he won't make it to radiation because at this point my only option is amputation. So reluctantly and with great pain in my heart I have scheduled the surgery. Like you I have so many doubts and fears but this community has been a great help so stay in touch with us here.