my rottie aged nine as just been diagnosed with a tumor in his front leg , its in his shoulder do you think i should persue chemo , ampitation etc or just try to keep him as pain free as possible for as long as possible x

OH Sarah, so sorry to hear your news, but what a big question, we can't answer for you but only say what we would do. And me I'd go for the pain fee as long as possible.

So so sorry but i go with what Jackie H. said xxxx

sarah, I'm sorry. I was in excactly the same situation as you a few months ago. When I suddenly found out my 9 year old rotti had osteosarcoma.
you need to do what you feel is right & noone can make the desision for you .  :)

Sarah, I had an identical dilema some years ago, and I sympathise in how difficult this can be. I left it until  he became pretty lame, then opted for amputation (only after rigourously checking that there was no cancer elsewhere in his body) and he then went on to live another 12 months with a good quality of life. At the end if the 12 months, old age (which comes v. rapidly in this breed) set in & he struggled with 3 legs so the time came to say goodbye. Only you can make this decision but if your rott has a great will to live & joi de vivre, then it is a viable option. Good luck, & let us know.

So sorry, Sarah; it's a very cruel thing.   

Only you can make the right decision, and I'm sure you will make the right one.

When we had a synovial sarcoma with dear Birdie who died earlier this year, we were told that if we opted for amputation, which would have been a high-level amputation involving the shoulder as well, she would take six months to get over the op, and maybe live another six months after, so we decided not to.   She lived about nine months quite happily, but just a bit lame; pain controlled pretty well by medication.  

Each case is different, and I'm sure you will make the right decision, and enjoy his company and live life to the full within his restrictions.

Hugs

Jo and the Casblaidd Flatcoats

Hi I advise you to see a good cancer surgeon ( if you want the name and address of mine just email me).  My dog had oesteocarcinoma, and we were advised to keep her comfortable for the remaining few months, but I insisted on referral and am so glad I did.  The referral vet was very honest, she said she would xray her lungs (next place it can go) and if there was no cancer there, then she could operate and amputate, providing I would agree to have chemo too.  She gave no false hope and said that after the op my dog would have 6 months to a year good pain free life.  When she was diagnosed she was 8 years old, and that was in her favor as the older the dog the slower growing the cancer.  I decided I had to give her every chance and agreed.  She had her leg and hip amputated.  You know we were so lucky last week I took her for her check up and it is three years since she had the leg amputated, the surgeon said she now considers her cured! having been over three years cancer free.  I know we were one of the lucky ones, but it does show there is hope.  Only you can decide what you need to do for your dog, I can only tell you what happened to mine (it is hard, alot of my family said let her go, now they acknowledge that I was right to give her the chance).  If you want to know the referral vet etc just ask.

Sorry but I really don't agree with treatment.  We lost Ella (Rott) in 1994 to exactly the same thing.  We also lost Storm last year to Lymphoma (cancer of the Lymphatic system, which is supposed to be one of the 'easiest' cancers to treat).  I know its hard when diagnosed but to be quite honest I think its cruel to make them go through chemo and amputation at 9??? Not for me.  Ella didn't have chemo we kept her comfortable for as long as possible.  The vet kept us fully up to date with her illness and she had regular xrays to see its terrible progression.  He said we were 'safe' to go on holiday as she had a long time yet.  Famous last words, because she died while in kennels, it had gone to her brain not her lungs as he had said, he had kept xraying her chest didn't think to look at her brain.  Even after all these years and 3 dogs later I'm still full of guilt that we wasn't with her at the end.  She was diagnosed in September 93 and died in April 94.  Storm had 3 treatments with chemo which gave him 3  more months with us, he was dagnosed in September 02 and died beginning of January 03.  I really believe that keeping them comfy and spoil and love them to bits is best and that they can't really give a dog a cure.  Please don't all start shouting at me coz this is only my opinion I just could'nt face putting my dog through chemo again let alone a massive operation at such a grand age - when there is quite obviously no guarantee of outcome.  I think far better to let them go with their dignity in tact as much as is possible.  If you want to mail me I'm always around for a chat and would be more than willing to share your worries etc...  I know its such a distressing time for all concerned and my thoughts and best wishes go to all of you at this very difficult time.

I wouldn't shout at you :), everyone is entitled to their opinion and does what they think is the best thing for their dog.  All I will say is that I had never had a three legged dog and was so scared on how  she would cope being over eight etc, but was assured that all pain would be gone with the removal and that would make the rest of her life pain free, more so than using medication and that she would cope perfectly well with three legs. That was the finial reason for me to go ahead.  You will not believe how scared I was the day of the operation (it took 11 hours to do!) and was terrified the next day to go visit, but at the same time nothing would have kept me away!  When we got there we went down to her room, she saw me stood up and bumped over to me like everything was normal!!  I took her round the garden there and she was so good.  She was in 10 days and I drove 160 miles every day to see her lol, when she came home she just slotted back into her place with the other dog.  now she is 11 1/2 years old, and sadly I lost my other lab last year, she now has a new friend (8 month old lab) whom she runs like a lunatic with down the beach, and hardly anyone ever notices she has three legs, sometime I see a large dog coming and I put her on a lead just in case and have to explain why as people have not noticed.  It is a major operation but not to the dog, they cope so much better than us, I am sure if it was me the story would be totally different but dogs just seem to accept and carry on with life as normal.  Not all cancers are suitable to use chemo with but bone cancer is one of the few that works well with it.  In the end you have to go with your own instinct, luckily mine paid off and as I said three years on I still have her and her quality of life is suberb, she still swims in the pool and sea runs down the beach and through the woods. even if she is a three legged dog :)