Welcome to the family. I'll throw a couple things your way that you might want to consider.If your vet says Peyton would be a good candidate for amputation and you can afford that, I would be inclined to move ahead with that. The pain from cancer can be terrible, and I have seen here where a few have had their dog fracture a leg due to the cancer, thus putting you in maybe a tougher situation. I don't know how well pain meds work once the cancer pain increases, maybe someone here can help with that if your vet doesn't have an answer. As far as treatment post op, or possibly if you don't do surgery, if you live within reasonable distance of a university, you might want to ask your vet if he can see if they are running any trails right now that you may be able to get involved with, your sort of a guinea pig but it lets you get some treament at little or no expense sometimes.. Quality of life should be your prioroty and there is never a wrong answer, you do what you think is best for Peyton and you hope the outcome is what you intended. Good luck, Paws up, Spirit Gus and Dan

Hello Peyton! Glad you found this site, everyone here is always willing to share their experiences with you. Its amazing how well these pups do on 3 legs. FYI-I can relate to the financial part- our vet recommended carecredit for the amputation. Int free for 24 mths. 

Brenda,

  My heart truly goes out to you. You couldn't have found a more knowlegeable and/or compassionate group of people. There's been so much good advice given already; I'll add another layer that might be of help. While the prevailing wisdom is removal of the tumor through amputation, unfortunately there are those cases where it's not an option...or there's that grey area where judgement has to take over.

  When our dog Spammy(10.75 yrs. old) was diagnosed on July23, 2010, the Dr. had taken both shoulder and lung x-rays. We've known this wonderful guy for 16 years...it still chokes me up to remeber his face as he walked in the room. Diagnosis of osteosarcoma in her right shoulder; on top of it, her lungs had significant mets. He went on to explain what we were looking at and answer our questions. Then the options...after saying he would normally recommend amputation ,but, (oh no!) in Spammy's case we might consider palliative care. My understanding was that he was concerned about spinal mets.

  We went home and talked things over. That was on a Friday. He had sent us home with a big hug for us and Tramadol and Dexamethasone for Spammy. She responded well to the medications. With almost nonstop online research and dialogue with my husband, A.J., we realized our Dr.'s gentle suggestion was the best choice in this bad situation.

  Now Spammy was truly a dog motivated by food so giving her meds wasn't a problem. Since I wanted her to be as pain-free as possible, I decided to tweak her dosing schedule to every 6 hours instead of every 12 hours. She did even better on that schedule (another peice of hot-dog? woo-hoo!). After two weeks we went down to every 4 hours on the Tramadol. We were lucky that she tolerated it so well. Other than the fact that she didn't really use her leg any more, she was still our smilin' Spammy..happy for an endless stream of love and...another hot-dog piece? woo-hoo!

  A.J. and I knew where this road would end. It was important for us that Spammy would leave this earth with the dignity she so much displayed here. Through countless hours on this site I had gained so much wisdom and strength. There was a saying that resonated with us profoundly...."I would rather be a week early than a day late". We had adopted Spammy at 8 weeks old so we felt we really could read her. She did remarkably well on her meds. She was happy, she slept well. Although she was no longer capable of going on our daily hikes, she was quite content to hang on the deck or even occasionally go sniff for chipmunks and squirrels with her sisters.

  Then on the 29th day we noticed a change. She had been restless during the night and although she still was happy to beg for meds, she preferred to sit instead of standing like she normally would do. Everything was pretty uneventful that day but in the evening I noticed that she was starting to have a bit of difficulty going up the stairs. The next day she stumbled (for lack of a better word) again in the morning...it was becoming obvious to us. She had been aliitle more restless than the night before also. We talked and cried and cried some more and then made the the hardest call of all. We knew from the changes of the previous day that in her own way, we were getting the sign.

  On tuesday August 23rd, Spammy took her final car ride. She walked to the car under her own power and walked (or hopped) into the vet hospital, tail wagging...knowing there were treats waiting..like always.

  We would have LOVED to have her around for even a few days longer, but it was about HER quality of life. We've talked about all of this alot since her passing and both of us are at peace with our decisions. We had a wonderful month cementing memories and making new ones with Spammy and also her sisters, Chloe and Xena.

  I guess that if there is anything I'd do differently, it would have been to get a second opinion; if for no other reason than to put my mind at ease. If we hadn't felt such confidence in the Dr. that knew and cared for her for her entire life, I probably wouldn't have even thought twice about it. I know that I've gone on at length here, far longer than I intended, but I guess when it's all said and done, you need to be at peace with your decision so that you can put your full focus on really enjoying the time you're together.  I'm sending really pawsitive thoughts your way.

    Anita   mom to Xena, Spammy angel and Chloe angel

Glad to hear Peyton did well during and post surgery, thats half the battle! The other half includes pawsitive thinking and encouragement on your part.  You can also look into alternatives that others have suggested, there are many options other than chemo.

Here has been my experience:

Over 10 years ago we had a dog, Bonnie, diagnosed with lymphosarcoma (cancer of the lymphnodes).  My mom went through chemo for 6-8 months with her, lungs were clear, she seemed to be rebounding, everything seemed fine. Until a few months later when she became lethargic, lost her appetite and lost that life filled look in her eyes.  Really the chemo only extended her life by months and in the end we had to say good bye.  And the chemo sessions weren't cheap either.

When faced with a second dog having cancer (my now tripawd, Chloe), I knew I did not want to undergo the chemo option for both the financial reasons and past experience.  I didn't want to put her through that especially if it might only preserve her limb and not actually fight off the cancer.  Luckily, her type of cancer was a soft tissue tumor and she was cured with the amputation.

I am not saying that my mom shouldn't have had Bonnie undergo chemo, just that the experience made me realize that it is not a "cure all".  It is another "time buying" treatment.  Some dogs do well, some dogs get cured, and some dogs do not respond to treatment.  It's all a gamble since there are things going on in their bodies that we just do not know about.  Do not feel bad about not being able to shell out the dough to get the treatments done, I think it is a far better thing to enjoy the time you have left with Peyton, since he does not know he has cancer.  Love him, spoil him, and keep doing what you think is right. We are all here for you.

-Chloe's mom