Hi Sally's Dad,

I would like to introduce you to my dog Chloe who is now 10 months cancer free from a similar type of soft tissue cancer known as spindle cell sarcoma.  Like Jerry said regarding the research on myxosarcoma, spindle cell sarcoma is a low grade cancer, confined to the area affected (tissues, ligaments) and very low likely for metastis.  

When she was diagnosed 11 months ago, this was my thinking: We had another dog Bonnie who had cancer of the lymphnodes, underwent expensive chemotherapy for 7 months, but ultimately passed 1 year after diagnosis since it had spread to her lungs.  When faced with another dog having cancer this time a tumor, with characteristics described above, my mantra became "leg gone, cancer gone".

And it has been just that. The vet did a biopsy of her knee lympnodes (post amputation) and they came back negative for cancer.  Her tumor was on her left hind hock (below knee), so if there was any indication that cancer had spread beyond the area, the closest lymphnodes (in the knee), would show it.  Chloe was (and still is) in extremely good health, no arthritis (even at 10 years of age), so she was an ideal candidate for amputation.

I decided to go the amputation route since all signs indicated she would be IMMEDIATELY cancer free, in her circumstance.  I decided I would rather have a healthy 3 legged dog than a terminally ill 4 legged one.  Today she went in for her yearly physical and the vet was extremely impressed with her well being. I have been working with her over the last 10 months strengthening her back leg and the vet said that it felt like she had 2 legs for the price of 1.  She can run, play, go up/down flights of stairs and I am so glad that she has recovered so well.

Amputation is ultimately your decision, but I decided to share Chloe's success story since I feel it could potentially become Sally's.  Feel free to check out Chloe's blog (link in signature box below) to read about the life she has been living to the fullest.

-Chloe's mom

I can also relate to making yourself sick about this decision.  When our girl was diagnosed with osteosarcoma we went through the euthanasia vs. amputation decision with our Hunter and it was agonizing.  We had our regular vet telling us that euthanasia was our only option but then received hope from the oncologist/surgeon.  Ultimately our decision turned into a financial one.  But for whatever reason, maybe it was having worked as a vet tech and seen how well amputees do or maybe it was just because I knew Hunter would adapt or maybe it was because our only other alternative was euthanasia (she had a fractured leg in the location of the tumor), I never agonized about whether amputation was a good choice or not.  I knew it was our only choice and the agonizing was mostly financial woes.  Once we decided to go forward I couldn't wait for the amputation to be done – it was her only way to be comfortable again and she recovered with flying colors.  She tried to escape from her cage and run out the door just hours after the surgery.  It was only a few days before she figured out how to hop as well as she had ever run.  And now, you'd never know that she was missing her spare leg.  She runs and plays and loves life every bit as much as she did before her leg fractured.  She is very stoic and it wasn't until after the amputation and after she was pain free that I realized how much pain she had been in even before her leg fractured.  We thought she was slowing down due to age but it was the cancer (before we knew it was there).  Post amputation she has the sparkle back in her eyes and the ability to play as hard as she ever could.  I echo what Chloe's mom said – we knew we would rather have a healthy three legged dog for as long as that was possible vs. the alternative.

So… my advice to you is that you know Sally best.  If her mobility is good and she is otherwise is good physical condition and she loves life I believe she would make a very happy tripawd girl (assuming that amputation is what your oncologist is recommending).  If your primary hesitation stems from thinking that learning to adapt on three legs will be difficult I can tell you what our oncologist said (who has a tripawd of her own) – dogs are incredibly resilient, they adapt much better than humans and never miss their spare leg.  And for the ones who lost a leg due to disease, like our case, they are happy the pain is gone and thrilled to be comfortable again.  Good luck with your decision!