Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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We lost Dakota Dec. 15th to internal bleeding, likely hemagiosarcoma of the spleen, according to his vet. He'd been fine after losing his leg to a STS almost 2 years before. We never expected this. I am still a stunned bunny. I think, and then I wonder. I hoped Tazziedog or Wookie might help me see a bit more clearly.
I was told likely hemagio due to his cancer history. Is it common for apparently resolved cancers to turn into something like this? If he'd never had the STS on his leg, would he probably have died from this just the same?
And what about hemangiosarcoma? I know what the first syllable means. Is it truly the sneak attacker of the cancer world, hanging out internally looking for spleens and livers? Do you ever have much warning?
I am not saying I should have done quarterly ultrasounds, but if I had opted (or could have afforded) that, would we have found this early on?
Anything else I should know? I see many of our members losing their dogs this way. I have come to hate this particular type of cancer in a very special way. It is a true hidden evil with apparently very little warning. I am just trying to find out if I missed something. Besides missing my boy, of course.
Thank you for whatever light you can shed.
Shari
From abandoned puppy to Tripawd Warrior Dude, Dakota became one of the 2011 February Furballs due to STS. Our incredibly sweet friend lived with grace and dignity till he impulsively raced over the Bridge on 12-15-12.
Dakota's thoughtful and erudite blog is at http://shari.tr.....pawds.com/
Shari, hemangiosarcoma is also known as the *silent killer*. I have so many friends with goldens whose dogs were lost to HSA. They were fine one moment...and the next, they were gone.
I lost my Opie in 2005 to HSA; however, he did have a splenectomy and we did chemo for 5 months. In retrospect, I wish I hadn't done chemo. It seems that HSA is one of the cancers that typically doesn't respond well to chemo like lymphoma or some others. But I did what I thought was best at the time.
Opie's oncologist, who was a wonderful knowledgeable and compassionate doctor, told me something that has stuck me with over the years. Like you, I wondered what I could have done differently. He said *Pam, short of running bloodwork, doing ultrasounds and xrays on a daily basis, there's nothing you could have done differently. It is THAT fast and one moment you're fine and the next....you're not.*
I know this was such a shock to you.....Shelby's cancer coming back after 2.5 years in the clear was as well. I hope that Dakota and my girl have become fast friends at the Bridge.
I'm no vet, but here's a video we did with Dr Pam (aka: tazziedog) diagnosing a spleen tumor via ultrasound...
Dr. Pam Finds Dog Spleen Tumor with Ultrasound
Hope it helps shed some light on the subject.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hemangiosarcoma sucks, probably worse than osteosarcoma in a lot of ways. The vast majority of dogs with splenic HSA aren't diagnosed until they are showing signs of internal bleeding. The problem is, they still seem to feel pretty darn good... until the mass in the spleen ruptures.
My last Germ Shep mix (they are also more prone to getting HSA)... I did abdominal ultrasounds on him every 3 months. Because I was so neurotic and worried about him developing splenic HSA, and because I had easy access to an ultrasound machine. Sadly, I should have been taking lung x-rays instead since he ultimately died of primary lung cancer. So I agree with Opie's oncologist... short of doing a battery of daily diagnostics to try and find the disease process early on, there really is no other routine screening method that is going to show everything that might be going on.
The other unfortunate thing about HSA is that they almost ALL have spread by the time of diagnosis. And they don't respond particularly well to chemo.
Splenic HSA is really one of my least favorite diagnoses. 
You did not miss anything, Shari, it's simply a very bad cancer with no early warning signs.
Right hind limb amputated 7/3/12 for OSA, started on alternating cycles of Carboplatin and Doxorubicin and oral Palladia. Single lung met 9/1. Met in the neck muscle removed 9/30. Large mass in sublumbar lymph node 10/2. Rescue chemo with ifosfamide 10/6. Mets to the rib and axillary lymph node 10/21. Started Leukeran and Pred 10/25. Wookie left this Earth for a far better place on 12/4/12. I miss you, Boo, you were my heart.
Oh Shari . . .
I lost my first golden to hemangiosarcoma of the spleen. He was a rescue (golden) and I thought he was about 5. A very reserved quiet dog. The first symptom was when I was trying to sort of move him under the tummy and he yelped. I took him to the vet the next day or so and they said back problems. This was probably Oct/Nov. They did xrays, I'm guessing of the back?? I remember they gave me prednisone and it was awful. I think they also gave him muscle relaxants. He was OK, then not OK. then they said maybe arthritis. Not good enough. I got his records together and took him to UW-Madison mid January. They said they had a good idea, they would do xrays, go have lunch and come back. I remember the Vet saying there was so much blood in the abdomen they could barely see the organs. He had a huge bi-lobe tumor on his spleen. I left him there and they did surgery the next day and I picked him up the day following surgery. I still remember him coming out slowly with his tail wagging. I never saw such a long incision. they gave him a few months. Now this was maybe 1985 or so and you didn't hear much about chemo, etc. Almost a week later he was barking at a neighbor's dog in my yard and a little later the incision began weeping. To make a long story short, he was put to sleep that night, a decision I came to regret and knowing what I know now it was probably just a seroma or something. Hemangio is a silent killer and it attacks young dogs. They may have small bleeds and you would not really be aware of it.
Dakota has Golden genes and at one point Harley's oncolgoist told me he could have two different cancers going on -- "being a golden". She was treating other dogs with two cancers. It's very possible that you removed the soft tissue sarcoma when he had his amp, but I don't know that that would prevent another form of cancer from taking up residence. Maybe Kelly or Pam say if this is a possibility.
Since I let Harley go last week, I have been tossing and turning wondering (just like you) what the heck happened. Harley had his leg biopsied three times after surgery so these were tissue sample biopsies not FNAs and even the last one in Sept. came back as benign. He had two lung tumors. A FNA of one was done and it confirmed cancer but could only narrow it to carcinoma, histo or I think it was liposarcoma. Sample of lung and leg were not a match. So where did lung tumors come from. he had an abdominal ultrasound and there were two small masses on spleen 1.2 & 1.4 cm Since they were smaller than lung masses (4 & 6 cm) they did not met to lungs. My uneducated guess is that lung tumors were probably primary not metastasis and what was thought to be age spots on his spleen might have been the start of hemangio. His platelets had dropped to 30,000. One cause of that is splenic cancer. He was not responding to the Prednisone and Azathioprine which was another red flag that the platelet drop was indicative of something else going on -- splenic cancer or bone marrow issues. I thought about an ultrasound but to be honest could not bring myself to know that might be happening. Even if he had the spleen removed, he still had two lung tumors which were 7.5 and 11 cm as of Nov. 15. His only symptoms were muscle waste from the Pred and lethargy from the Azathioprine. I think those were just keeping him above water from any major bleeds.
Just like you, I did just about everything that could be done and have no real answers. You probably gave Dakota more quality time by preventing a faster or further metastasis of the STS, but what Shelby's mom said is so true, you can't do daily body scans. I am on the Golden Retriever Forum a lot and I have to tell you, at least once a week someone posts a tragic story about their dog being taken by hemangio. It hides in the spleen and also the heart.
You're a logical, caring, intelligent person. Logically you know you did everything right, but sometimes our hearts and brains don't see eye to eye.
Sorry, for such a long post but I tried to show the similarities. I feel Harley looking down at me shaking his head.
Harley is an 8 year old Golden Retriever. Amp surgery for an infiltrative lipoma canceled due to two masses in chest. A rescue, he found his forever home on 3/18/07 and left for his eternal home on 1/09/13. His story and medical history are at http://myharley.....pawds.com/
I agree that HSA is one of the worst cancers because you rarely see it coming. I do not think it had anything to do with the STS since it is a completely different cell line. Unfortunately Goldens can have multiple tumors which is why the Morris Animal Foundation is funding a study to try and identify the genetic basis of cancer with this breed.
The symptoms range from nonspecific signs such as lethargy and decreased appetite to full collapse with pale gums. I have seen many Goldens with large tumors with normal bloodwork and some are only slightly anemic. I also ultrasound my large dogs every 4-6 months just because I can but some tumors start out small until they burst and bleed so that is also not a perfect test.
Pam
FYI the Pitbull that I ultrasounded in the link that Jerry posted had a benign mass and that dog was cured with surgery alone. I saw him not too long ago for his annual exam and he looked great! Every ruptured spleen does not have to be malignant.
I appreciate the replies very much. I know it may seem like I'm overthinking things, but I know there was nothing that could have done in our case. I started to wonder, though, with so many dogs that end up with this disease, what are the various possible avenues for the disease to progress? I've just had it confirmed that it's the exception that is found in time to do anything and the rule is that the dog is taken quickly with little to no warning.
I have never thought much about genetics and so forth in cancer. Dakota looked largely Golden; if you put any faith in doggie DNA tests, Golden Retriever was not the predominant breed in him. Irish Setter and Airedale came out as higher percentages, but who knows? Maybe those tests are done by guys who drink too much and throw darts at a chart of dog breeds. Dakota certainly looked like a heavily-Golden mix. If the Golden expressed itself that much, perhaps he also got dealt a bad hand in terms of cancer predisposition.
Thanks again for taking the time to tell me about this awful disease.
Shari
From abandoned puppy to Tripawd Warrior Dude, Dakota became one of the 2011 February Furballs due to STS. Our incredibly sweet friend lived with grace and dignity till he impulsively raced over the Bridge on 12-15-12.
Dakota's thoughtful and erudite blog is at http://shari.tr.....pawds.com/
Dakota Dawg said
if you put any faith in doggie DNA tests
I do not.
Dakota looks Golden to me!
Right hind limb amputated 7/3/12 for OSA, started on alternating cycles of Carboplatin and Doxorubicin and oral Palladia. Single lung met 9/1. Met in the neck muscle removed 9/30. Large mass in sublumbar lymph node 10/2. Rescue chemo with ifosfamide 10/6. Mets to the rib and axillary lymph node 10/21. Started Leukeran and Pred 10/25. Wookie left this Earth for a far better place on 12/4/12. I miss you, Boo, you were my heart.
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