Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi there. I'm new here and facing a big decision this weekend.
Our 7 year old cattle dog mix was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma in the past two weeks. After multiple biopsies, x-rays, and ultra-sounds, the oncologist thinks that a tumor on her inner thigh is the only place it has presented so far. She wants to amputate or do radiation.
Amputation is terrifying and sad for us since she is a super athletic dog (running, frisbee, etc). Radiation is tricky because we have to drive 10 hours to a facility.
We can't afford to do both, so are nervous about making the right decision.
AND, we're told that either way, she might only have 1-2 years left anyway. She is in pain now with the tumor on that leg. We want her to be comfortable, mobile, and happy for her remaining time.
Does anyone have experience with hemangiosarcoma and/or have thoughts about this decision? Could radiation eliminate the pain and control the cancer with similar effectiveness as amputation?
Hi to you and your pup.....What is her name?
Yeah, unfortunately, I have way too much experience with hemangiosarcoma......my precious angel Tripawd Polly fought this awful cancer, and my sweet black Lab Maggie lost her life to this cancer as well, just 2 1/2 years before my Polly also passed away from it. Hemangiosarcoma is very aggressive and generally starts in the spleen, which happened with my Maggie, and her spleen was rupturing by the time we found this cancer from doing an emergency splenectomy...she only survived for 46 days after surgery.
My Polly's hemangiosarcoma started much like your pup's did....but on her front right leg. She had 2 surgeries to remove the cancer but ultimately had to have her leg amputated. This type cancer typically does not cause too much pain like osteosarcoma does, because it usually only involves soft tissue. And as far as radiation, that was not suggested by our vet oncologist, just 6 full rounds of i.v. chemo, and 6 rounds of cyclophosphamide which I did at home. I think the reason for this route is because at some point, hemangiosarcoma does spread to major organs within their body, so general chemo is done to hopefully slow the spread. My Polly did live longer than her prognosis, which was 5-6 months....she lived almost 14 months.
I am very much hoping I have not frightened you with the prognosis, but hemangiosarcoma is a very nasty, aggressive cancer, and I very much hope your pup can beat the odds. There are those here that have tried the mushrooms for hemangiosarcoma, in conjunction with chemo, and have had great success with it. I know Jerry will jump in and can give more info on it. I wasn't fortunate enough to start my Polly on this in sufficient time......
Keep us all posted on your girl, and there are a few others here that have dealt with this ugly cancer as well. They will chime in too.
Keeping you in my thoughts,
Bonnie & Angel Polly
My heart sank when I saw this title. Like Bonnie, I too dealt with Hemangiosarcoma. Ours presented in a slightly different manner so I'll share our story and our decision.
Shelby was 12 when she broke her leg missing a jump into my car - they suspected osteosarcoma but despite three different aspirates, it presented as benign so we fixed her leg (via plate and screws) and watched it. Her limp never fully recovered but she was great for several months when the hemangiosarcoma presented in a typical fashion - in the spleen. We immediately started chemo. About 4 months later, Shelby really stopped using her leg and we amputated (her third surgery in about 6 months time). Only then (and even then after 2 different biopsies on that same leg after I sent it back again) did we find the hemagiosarcoma. It's an awful cancer and apparently one that spreads quickly.
We continued chemo - even w/a few lung mets but in April, the cancer found its way into her brain and she passed peacefully April 8.
We had 10 months from the break to her passing and it was 100% worth it in my mind. She was my soul mate, my best friend, the love of my life.
Shelby was quite energetic for 12/13 ... she was a jack russell terrier mix and a jumper her whole life. She never slowed down until that last week. She did amazing on three legs!
We also did the mushrooms with the chemo. Did it help? I don't know. When she got the official cancer diagnosis, we were given 1 - 2 months. We surpassed that ... hemangiosarcoma is a very ugly and aggressive disease, like Bonnie said. I hope this doesn't scare you. I have heard of pups that have outlived expectations. For me - all the fighting was worth the special time that Shelby and I had together since she was never really 'sick' (she did great on chemo). I haven't heard of treating this cancer with radiation so I can't weigh in on that.
I wish you all the best and stay close to us ... we are all here for you!
Hugs!
Alison with the Spirit of Shelby fur-ever in her heart (and little Jasper too)
Shelby Lynne; Jack Russell/Shiba Inu mix. Proud member of the April Angels of 2014.
October 15, 2000 to April 8, 2014
Our story: Broke rear leg in June 2013 - non-conclusive results for cancer so leg was plated and pinned. Enlarged spleen in September 2013 and had it removed and was diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma and started chemotherapy. Became a Tripawd January 8th, 2014 and definitive Hemangiosarcoma diagnosis. Three major surgeries in 7 months and Shelby took them all like a champ only to lose her battle to cancer in her brain. We had 8 amazing extra months together and no regrets. #shelbystrong #loveofmylife
I am so sorry you are dealing with this. I too dealt with it, but in a much different way than what you are facing (my Jake developed it as a 2nd cancer and it was penetrating a major artery). We, unfortunately, were not able to treat it due to its position. Like Bonnie and Alison said, hemangiosarcoma's are aggressive; however, just remember that your pup has no time stamp on her butt!! No one can tell you how long she has, that is impossible! The good news is that your vet said it seems to be localized. Since you asked, and if I had to choose, I'd go with the amp. I hadn't heard of radiation for hemangiosarcoma's especially since they are so aggressive (but I'm not a vet either). Especially if the radiation doesn't help then you'll probably be faced with the decision to amp later down the road anyway. What does your vet think? Please don't get discouraged, we are all here for you and trust me, all 3 of us right here will be cheering you on b/c there is nothing I'd like to see more than another pup kick that damn time-stamp's a$$ especially with hemangiosarcoma!!!
By the way, what's your pups name?
Mom to Tripawd Angels Jake (2001-2014) and Rosco (2012-2015) and Tripawd Tanner. “Whatever happens tomorrow, we had today; and I'll always remember it”
I'm sorry you are facing this. When my boy Roo had hemangiosarcoma it was on his heart and he was bleeding out. We made the horrible decision to send him to the bridge. Hemangio metastizes fast. Even if you amputate you may want to do some sort of chemo.
I'm sorry you are having to deal with this. So much is unknown about cancer that there are many choices & knowing which way to go is so hard & so stressful trying to decide.
The only experience I have with HSA is when Millie had a bleeding tumor on her spleen. They say it's cancer 66% of the time. I had to decide whether or not to do a splenectomy on a nearly 14 year old dog. I ended up deciding to do it & the biopsy came back as benign! All the reading I did, I learned that you really need to do chemo or mushrooms (THE brand to use is very expensive & may or may not be the better than others. it's called IM Yunnity or something similar if you want to look it up). I was all set to do the mushrooms and actually bought a bottle to give after the surgery while we were waiting for biopsy results.
I never even realized that HSA could go to a leg until I got on this board when Millie developed OSA (osteo sarcoma). She was 15 1/2 with some issues, and we decided not to amputate. We only got 4 weeks more with her, the last of which was not a great one.
I have heard of dogs living well with internal HSA for a long time. Working in the veterinary field, I've also seen several dogs whose owner never knew they had it come in as emergencies & not go back home (collapse from bleeding out is often the first sign). You may want to look into Yunnan Baiyo, a chinese herb that helps with bleeding. I gave it to Millie for the week that I spent deciding on surgery or no surgery & I really think it bought me the time I needed to make that decision.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Remember that there is no right or wrong choice. We have no crystal balls. You go with your choice & it either helps or it doesn't, but you have to know you made the best choice you could at that time & that you did it for your dog.
I have never had a tripawd but the other folks on here can help you with that if that is what you decide!
Sonya & "Millie"--born Feb 1999, diagnosed with OSA 8/27/14, set free 9/27/14
(RIP baby girl)
Hello and welcome. I'm really sorry you're faced with this tough decision but as you can see you've got a great community of support here with lots of folks who have been through hemangiosarcoma.
When it comes to making decisions like this, it's a balancing act between what you think your dog wants, what will eliminate the pain the fastest and what you can afford to do without causing a lot of stress that will make the situation worse. Because when it comes down to it, all any dog or cat wants is to feel better. Days on a calendar, prognoses, all those things we humans focus on mean nothing to an animal, they live in this very moment and all they want is to live it without pain with the people they love the most. Jerry's Required Reading List has lots of good stuff about this topic.
After losing a leg, most dogs adapt very very well, especially any dog with a cattle dog gene, they're super tough pups! As far as being athletic and all that, life can still be full of good times in the great outdoors, just on a more limited basis. Check out the Tripawds e-books library if you haven't already for more insight, as well as the Tripawds Gear Blog. You'll see that there are more possibilities than you ever imagined.
I don't have direct experience with hemangio but lots of dogs and their humans here have. It seems like that disease can go either way; one dog, Bucky, has lived for YEARS with it while others didn't survive to the minimum prognosis. Again, that's where the #1 priority of getting rid of the pain comes first, without thinking too much about those statistics.
Here are some search results in the forums that mention "Hemangiosarcoma." You may find some that are helpful to you.
Also, do check out Dr. Dressler's blog posts about hemangioscaroma. His book, the Dog Cancer Survival Guide, is essential reading no matter what path you take.
I hope this helps. Do keep us posted and know that we are here to support you whatever you decide.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
There is also another blog you can look up here on Butchey Hudson......I don't know how to post the site to get easy access to it, but he was a true champion survivor of hemangiosarcoma, and I think reading about him will inspire you to fight this awful cancer.
Thinking of you,
Bonnie & Angel Polly
bcullom said
There is also another blog you can look up here on Butchey Hudson......I don't know how to post the site to get easy access to it, but he was a true champion survivor of hemangiosarcoma, and I think reading about him will inspire you to fight this awful cancer.Thinking of you,
Bonnie & Angel Polly
Oh thanks for that reminder Bonnie, here is Butchey's blog
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you all for your thoughtful responses. It feels so good to know there are others who understand (even more so than I do yet) how awful hemangio is.
Our dog is Lina.
We'll be checking out these resources and weighing our decisions today. Again, it means so much that you would each take the time to respond so thoroughly with so much helpful information.
I'll update you all more soon.
Hi All -
Lina has officially been an tripod for two weeks today. I can't thank you enough for all your responses to my initial post. Really. They gave us courage in choosing amputation.
She is doing really great. She was using the stairs alone (slowly) within 36 hours and is now moving really quickly (practically a run!), jumping up on all her old perches, and barking at the mail-lady.
I thought you might enjoy seeing a video of her on a walk after one week. We think she's a champ!
We are now figuring out diet and chemo, so I'm sure I'll be back with more updates and questions. We're also posting updates & photos on a fundraising page: http://www.gofu.....iheartlina
Thanks again for sharing your wisdom and experiences.
-Stacia and Lina
Hi Stacia and Lina,
So glad things are going well and also glad you gave us an update on your girl.....we love good news of any kind here! She definitely is a champ!
Let us know what you decide for her going forward, there is a ton of experience and knowledge here in this community to help with anything you need an answer for.
Keeping you and Lina in my thoughts,
Bonnie & Angel Polly
Yay! So glad to hear (and see) things are going great! Thanks for the pawesome update.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Stacia,
I'm so glad that Lina is doing well. Our fur kids are amazing in their ability to adapt.
And Lina,
Happy 2 week Ampuversary!!! You keep getting better and barking at that mail lady....
Sahana and her Angel Leland
November 17, 2009 - June 30, 2014
May you finally be healthy and running free at the Rainbow Bridge. Until we meet again my sweet boy!
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