There is an alternative to amputation that can successfully treat a soft (non-mast cell tumor) called IsoPet.  Its a gel infused with Yi-90 (a radioactive isotope) they inject straight into the tumor.  It has successfully been used to treat several dogs and saved them from having a leg amputated and given them years of extra life.  Typically pet owners only find out about it when an inoperable tumor has gotten very large (base ball sized and larger). In those cases the treatment extends their life and removes tumor burden without the several quality of life hit from recovering from amputation.  I have posted about it on this board once or twice before but its been a year or two.  It obviously can't be used for bone cancers because you can't inject a needle into bone.

The company that offers it is subsidizing treatment of small tumors to get more data on typical sized tumors.  It has been hard for them to get the opportunity to treat small tumors because when those are found a vet either removes the small tumor if it can or amputates.  I think using it instead of surgery is a no-brainer (if you can get subsidized or have pet insurance...otherwise its is very expensive), especially if a tumor is in a location that cannot be removed surgically.  The video below describes it.  While the video refers to 'Radiogel' Isopet is the same product but for animals. How it works is you take your pet into a facility that does it (one is in Eastern Wa another in Missouri) they sedate your pet. Inject the tumor with Isopet using a syringe (i.e. no knives involved), they keep the pet overnight for observation, and you take your pet home the next day.  Then in about 3 or 4 weeks a lesion/ulcer can appear over the tumor that may need to be managed with warm compresses/etc.  If the gel hits cancerous tissue the cancer is dead. They inject outside the tumor boundaries to ensure they get as much of it as possible.

The latest dog treated has a large tumor.

https://twitter.....12/photo/1

Below are links to updates on the last dog I posted about here.  It was treated July 2020.  Its tumor was larger than the one above.  The dog still has a lump but the lump likely cancer tumor rather dead cells/scarring from such a large amount of cancer cells being killed.  Because the cancer is killed in place quickly n a 2 or 3 days it takes a while for the body to clear all that dead tissue.  With a very large tumor there can be a residual lump of scar tissue forever. A horse recently was treated and they removed the lump three months later and found it was all dead cells. 

2/3). "Here she is just kicking back on the patio! Do not see it really well, but the tumor is now approximately 50% of the original size. The area is soft to the touch and still shrinking. I am sure glad WE made the drive to Kennewick. She turns 10 this July!" – Steve and Kathy pic.twitter.com/TORpdrc71g

— RadioGel™ (@RadioGel) May 19, 2021

Animal #IsoPet® therapy applied to a #cancer tumor begins by mixing our multi-patented Yttrium-90 HydroGel (#RadioGel™) with the water soluble polymer. Once injected at the markers; the tumor is destroyed over time with no collateral damage to adjacent tissue. #PetCancer $RDGL pic.twitter.com/HLaaJU1Dq4

— RadioGel™ (@RadioGel) February 15, 2021