Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi everyone,
I’m reaching out for some advice and support. We just got some tough news today: our sweet jack russell terrier has been diagnosed with a soft tissue sarcoma on her upper right leg. I first noticed a growth, had a cytology done, and it came back as a soft tissue sarcoma. We saw an oncology specialist today, and the recommendation was amputation, as getting clean margins would be challenging and require 3.5 weeks of radiation (which we don't want to do).
I’m really concerned about her age and recovery. She’s 12 but still full of life—she’s happy, healthy, and active, still jumping and getting the zoomies a couple of times a week. My other concern is whether the tumor has spread. The doctor mentioned that it’s localized and the spread is usually low, but they could only confirm with a CT scan, which is out of our budget at $3.5k. I’ve scheduled a chest x-ray for tomorrow to check her lungs instead. If all of that comes back good we will most likely move forward with the amputation.
I’m also wondering if it’s worth getting a second opinion. It’s been hard to process everything, especially since just this past weekend she was running around on the beach with no signs of pain, limping, or slowing down. She’s my one and only dog that I have had since I was 12 myself so all of this has been a challenge to say the least.
Any advice or support would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for this community.
Hi Liza, welcome. What is your dogs name?
I'm sorry for the diagnosis. It always comes as such a huge surprise. Usually we don't see that our dog is in pain until long after the symptoms are so bad they start showing pain signals . So at least you caught this early.
it sounds like she is a good candidate for surgery, and you've done everything right to get your facts together and make a decision. Usually we recommend a second opinion if the first one was not given by a specialist but since you have gone that route already, it's probably not necessary (especially if the diagnosis is pretty straightforward). Do it if it will make you feel better though.
It's totally ok that you are opting out of the CT scan. Yes they are sooo expensive! And even if you got one, what would you do with that information? Would it change how you felt about her being a candidate for surgery? I'm guessing probably not based on how you described her. If you feel strongly she is still young at heart than odds are good she will do fine after surgery. She may take longer than others to heal because of her age, but she can get there!
Unfortunately these types of tumors do come back so it's important to think o the long term. If it came back, what would you do? Most times you can only do one or two tumor resections on the leg before you can't do them anymore, and you're back to the amputation decision anyways.
Stay tuned for feedback from others!
jerry said
Hi Liza, welcome. What is your dogs name?I'm sorry for the diagnosis. It always comes as such a huge surprise. Usually we don't see that our dog is in pain until long after the symptoms are so bad they start showing pain signals . So at least you caught this early.
it sounds like she is a good candidate for surgery, and you've done everything right to get your facts together and make a decision. Usually we recommend a second opinion if the first one was not given by a specialist but since you have gone that route already, it's probably not necessary (especially if the diagnosis is pretty straightforward). Do it if it will make you feel better though.
It's totally ok that you are opting out of the CT scan. Yes they are sooo expensive! And even if you got one, what would you do with that information? Would it change how you felt about her being a candidate for surgery? I'm guessing probably not based on how you described her. If you feel strongly she is still young at heart than odds are good she will do fine after surgery. She may take longer than others to heal because of her age, but she can get there!
Unfortunately these types of tumors do come back so it's important to think o the long term. If it came back, what would you do? Most times you can only do one or two tumor resections on the leg before you can't do them anymore, and you're back to the amputation decision anyways.
Stay tuned for feedback from others!
Hi Jerry,
Thank you so much for you response, my dogs name is Sima!
I agree with your recommendations. To answer you question I think with the CT scan having peace of mind knowing that there is no further spread besides the limb. However, I am hoping I can achieve that with the additional imaging and taking the chance that this kind of tumor is localized.
Hello and welcome to you and Sima.
To me age is just a number- what matters is the overall health and the life in the dog. For example, when my second Pug was 12 there would have been no way she could have dealt with an amputation. When my last Pug was 12 I would not have hesitated if the situation arose (thankfully neither of them ever needed amputation).
Please don't feel bad about making treatment decisions based on finances, we all have limits! I guess I was lucky to some extent when my first Pug Maggie had an amputation because of mast cell cancer- way back then CT scans for dogs were not available so I didn't have to decide. I also declined radiation treatments for her, she didn't do well with sedation or vet visits in general. I really didn't think she would survive all the times she would have to be anesthetized.
As far as a second opinion- I think it would depend on how comfortable you are with the doctors you have seen.
It’s been hard to process everything, especially since just this past weekend she was running around on the beach with no signs of pain, limping, or slowing down.
I totally relate to this! Maggie's tumor was in her knee, I only found it when we were playing and I grabbed her back legs. She had not been limping or indicating there was anything wrong and Mag was quite a drama queen! She got a leaf stuck to her paw once and she acted like the world was ending 
. Bone cancers like OSA usually cause severe pain but mast cell tumors tend not to do this. Once I knew the tumor was there I could see that she cocked her leg out slightly when she sat down but there was no other signs of pain or even discomfort. It was really hard to wrap my mind around the fact that she needed to lose her leg because there was a little bump in her knee!
Let us know how that xrays look and how you decide to proceed.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls and Boy
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Hi Karen,
Thank you for the sweet message and for sharing your experience. I totally relate to the struggle with sedation and vet visits—Sima doesn’t handle them well, and today was such a hard day.
Here are the updates from today: We went to our family vet this morning and received clean chest X-ray and blood test results. The vet then referred us to a surgery consult within our insurance network, where the surgeon offered two options: remove the mass and excise as much of the cancer as possible emphasizing that clean margins would be really hard in the area of the tumor or amputate the limb.
The surgeon explained that with Soft Tissue Sarcomas, the spread tends to be very low, and we can determine the grade of the cancer by biopsying the mass after the operation. If it’s a lower or intermediate grade, the chance of re-growth on the limb is relatively low. However, there is always a risk, and we might still end up needing to amputate later. She is concerned that amputation would be a harder surgery, especially since it’s a front limb, but assured me that recovery within a month is possible. When I asked for her recommendation, she couldn’t provide a definitive answer and said she would support either option.
This has left me feeling quite conflicted. I did some online research and found cases where mass removal led to no re-growth, as well as cases where it did re-grow, and others where amputation was the initial choice. I’m planning to consult with one more oncology specialist tomorrow for another perspective. I am leaning towards trying to remove the mass first and taking our chances with re-growth before considering amputation. However, I’m still unsure if this is the right decision and hope to gain more clarity after tomorrow’s consultation.
Liza, I'm sorry you didn't get really clear direction. Ironically, the sign of a good vet is one who doesn't spell out what they would do, but rather provides the information and lets the client decide. It's hard though!
We do tend to see many people return here when the tumor has regrown, and they're facing the amputation dilemma all over again. It's not at all uncommon, but it also depends on the tumor type and every case is different.
If you want to be absolutely certain, a consult with a surgical oncologist would be my recommendation. Not sure if that's the type of surgeon you saw today, but you really want someone who is well-versed in this cancer.
Following your gut is also so important. You are doing a great job getting the information that will help you do that.
Also, you may want to ask about a type of treatment called electrochemotherapy . It's not very common in the states (but is overseas), but there are vets doing it in a few cities. It's a great option many times when a dog isn't the best candidate for surgery and if a person has the ability to travel to get it.
One more option I just remembered: Precision Radionuclide Therapy™. It's super new and vets are still being trained on it, but it's a great option for soft tissue tumors in some dogs.
Just catching up. First of all....great news on clear xrays and good bloodwork!
What's your JRT's name?
No wonder you are conflicted after meeting with the Surgeon. If I read it right, it soun ded like, on one hand the recommendation was to try and remove the tumor.....and on the other hand it would be hard to get good ,margins so amputation would be better.....but then amputation "would be a harder surgery on a front leg"? So this was an Orthopedic Surgeon, right? Not sure what the comment about a harder surgery meant in relation to your pup.
Anyway, hope you'll have more clarity after speak with the Onco. By all ,means, if you need a other opinion froman Ortho Surgeon, that maybe helpful. BTW, I've never been able to afford cat scans on different occasions with some of my dogs for a variety of issues.It's a hard pill to swallow knowing you are not able to do some of the best diagnostics available, the best Specialist available, etc.
As far as recovery "taking a month". Every dog is different and every dog recovers at the own pace. Usually, not always, dogs have some form of hopping mobility within the first 24 - 48 hrs. Some need assistance this early on. It generally takes about two weeks to recover from the surgery itself. Wiithin about thirty days the dogs have adjusted to fully to three. They have developed a good gait, balance and flow of motion.
I imagine the biggest hurdle you'll have with your Jack Russell is keeping him calm while recovering from the surgery IF...IF.. you go that route.
Jack Russells are such fun dogs who play full out all the time. I have a friend who has had several "Russels" through the years and they all lived between sixteen and nineteen years old!!!
We are here to help in any way we can and support you in anu decision you make.
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Hi everyone,
I truly cannot thank you all enough for your support and encouragement, it has made this week so much easier.
Update on Sima: I took her to a surgical oncologist today and they took her into surgery to remove the mass I will pick her up this evening. The doctor said that removing the mass and sending it for proper biopsy would tell us the grade and such as the cytology was pretty unclear. They said that most of time these tumors are low or intermediate grade and since its not growing exponentially and she's not showing pain signals he thinks that is the case. They also provided us with information that with a low grade tumor the chances of re-growth he said are less than 10%, intermediate 10-20% and high grade 30%.
I went with my gut here and decided to take my chances, a little nervous about my decision but hoping for the best. If it does grow back they tend to stay local and not metastasize and we would then go through with the amputation. From this community and reading about all your experiences that is not something I am too worried about anymore. Thank you all again.
Hi Liza! I'm glad you made a decision you could feel comfortable with, that's what matters. Nobody wants a pet to lose a leg if they don't have to, so hopefully you will get that pathology report that says it's a low grade.
We hope Sima has a speedy recovery! Thanks for letting us know.
I went with my gut here
Sometimes when there are conflicting options, "gong with your gut or "listening to your inner voice" is the best path to take. There has to be some relief now knowing you are taking action and will
Paws crossed for good results!!
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
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