Tracy, this is where Tasha's hsa was first diagnosed.

 We first noticed her right rear knee joint was swelling. We took her to the vet , he tried to aspirate the knee to see what fluid came out and reduce the swelling but only blood, lots of blood came out.  He wrapped her leg with a compression bandage and surgery was scheduled for the following week to try to stop the bleed. The next week she had her surgery but he could not find the source of the bleed, a biopsy was taken, she was closed up another compression bandage was put on and we were to take her back the following week for a recheck. The results of the biopsy came back it was hsa. We were told  to come back the following week to have stitches removed and if an x ray was taken and her lungs were clear we would be referred to an oncologist. The day before her appointment she seemed quite, that evening her gums were starting to pale, the following morning she wouldn't walk, we knew at that point when she went for her vet appointment the following day it would be to release our girl. From the biopsy results to her last day was only one week.  I hope that your friend has a better end result than we did. The only peace I can take is that Tasha was happy and pain free until the end.

Jo Ann & Angel Tasha

Hi...Beth (labradorim) here.  I saw the Facebook request.  Tshuvah's hemangiosarcoma was in the front femur, but not in the joint.   The oncology vet told us that there were no tried-and-true chemo protocols for hemangio, although there were newer approaches that we could try.  We had already had the affected leg amputated by the time we learned it was hemangio (as opposed to osteosarcoma) so that choice was already made.  We elected not to do any chemo because Tshuvah was very nervous in veterinary environments and having home care wasn't much easier for/on her.  A second vet we consulted with said that most of her hemangio dogs lived about 3 months past diagnosis, and that's pretty much exactly what Tshuvah had.  Those were three good months; torturous in many ways, but she was pain free and happy.  In the end, she was popping out in lumps and eating poorly, then her movement was compromised by what looked like another bone tumor in her rear leg.  That's when we made the decision to put her down.

Looking back, about a year from her diagnosis and about 8 months after losing her, I think the way things happened was what I would choose again.  It would be very hard to decide about amputation knowing it is hemangio before that decision is made, and knowing that the prognosis is basically quite poor.  But I'm glad we had those last 3 months.  None of us thought she was ready to go at the time of diagnosis but we were all sure she was ready three months later.

Bless that family and the sweet dog who is facing a terrible time.  Our hearts still ache, of course.  We have a new little female mutt and I call her Tshuvi by mistake more often than I should admit.

I'm happy to help with whatever part of our experience might be useful.

Thanks, I miss this wonderful community and never would have made it through those 3 months without y'all.

I forgot to mention previously that at the time of Tshuvah's diagnosis, she had no other tumors or mets.  Just the one bone tumor, as far as anyone could tell. 

Best wishes all,  Beth