on tuesday this week took my dog out for a walk (joseff boxer 9 ish) he was fine running round and happy, when we got home he seemed a bit funny had yelped getting out of car i thought hed hurt his leg, anyway he was bit quiet went to bed, i heard a noise about 4am went into him and hed been sick, thought that must have been what was wrong, eventually went back to bed got up 8 am, couldnt get him to move spent 20 mins trying to get him up, he finally stood up went very wobbly made it down 1 stair and collapsed.i phoned vets an rushed him in, she said he seemed anemic and was very weak said you might lose him, i was gobsmacked i just thought he was a bit sick, she said i want to do some blood tests and xrays and get him on a drip, i had to go and leave him, about 2 hours later she rang and said theres somthing wrong in his abdomen and im worried its a tumor we'l need to open him up asap, i went back up and she explained it may be cancer and could poss be a tumor on his spleen which had burst, causing massive internal bleeding but he might not survive surgery him being so weak.
anyway they did the opp, and it was what they thought, they removed the spleen and eventually he came round. they let me bring him home friday he hadnt eaten and was very weak and ill, i felt id done the wrong thing letting him have the opp, but yesterday and today hes been eating and drinking and wagging, walking round and trying to get me to scratch him bum, lol. hes still far from his usual self, but now im so worried what else hes going to go through as it seems with it being in the spleen it always has spread as its agressive cancer, my poor poor baby hes been through so much in his short life already, i feel so guilty, and i had only come home from holiday on monday so hadnt seen him for a week but he was perfect jumping round. carnt beleve it can happen so quickly. has anyones dog lived through this opp??

Yes my old dog had this only it burst inside and they had to do an emergency op. Sadly he died the following day but he was 14 and a half and had a very good life. My vet did say that this sort of tumor growns very quickly in about 2 weeks, much the same happened to me, he was ok in the morning went for walk ok, then was sick in anoon, and by evening had to operate.

Hope your boy is ok, and dont blame yourself as said before these tumors grow very quickly, as the spleen has a major blood supply.

My boss has a dog that had its spleen removed well over a year ago and she is fine.
Dawn.

thanx dawn b.  do you know did your bosses dog have its spleen removed coz of a tumor? did he have any chemo or anything after it? i have read thats an option but i dont really want him to go through anything else especially as theres no guarantee, but part of me thinks i should give him every chance.

The dog is mine and no she did not have a tumour but the spleen was twisted and very enlarged.

Quite a few years ago I know of a dog that had hers removed due to a tumour and she went on to live for quite a few more years and died of something unrelated.

Hope you see some improvement quickly and my thoughts are with you.

Sue

thanx hairydog ,yes his had ruptured too.  took him vets last night shes happy hes eating but did a blood test which shown he was slightly more aneamic than on fri, which isnt good as by now she said it should be righting itself,so it could mean hes internal bleeding from somwere else or its spread etc she also said in her experience she hasnt known a dog recover from this as if they make it through the opp it does usually spread to the liver in quite a short time. doesnt seem good but hes a little fighter and seems always to bounce back, i hope he does. im terrified to leave him though incase anything happens and im watching him all the time.

I can't give any advice, but want you to know that my thoughts are with you. I lost my boy in March to a nasal tumour that had spread to his liver and I felt so guilty about not picking it up sooner. Give him as much love as you can.
Lots of hugs.
Sarah

thank you sarah, i am going to spoil him more than ever, i know we r so lucky he is even here with us now, the vet said last night that when she opened him up she was going to put him to sleep there an then on the op table as hed lost so much blood she didnt think hed even survive the opp but another vet spured her on, i can only think he wanted to come home to me, he never gives up. x

Hope he does OK.  A friend of  mine had her dog done but unfortunately she died 2 weeks later although she was 4 years older than your dog.

I've got everything crossed for you.

hi thanx spanishwaterdog. did your friends dog seem to be recovering in that 2 weeks? or did it not seem to get better after opp?

She did seem to improve and had a good 2 weeks but then deteriorated fast. 

edited to say, whoops forgot to mention that I'm spanishwaterdog :d

thanx 2 everyone for your all kind words and replys, joseff today is very quiet and was pretty unsetled in the night i have hardley had any sleep this past week im terrified to go out incase anything happens while hes alone xxx

I really feel for you Kim and Joseff.
I wish you all the best.

I know what it's like as I lost my beloved Boxer Trudi when she was 10 y.o.
She had a ruptured kidney tumour and although she survived the op and looked perky etc
she died at the vet by 9pm that night :(
I wished I'd had the time to spoil her and say goodbye etc.
Her cancer too was very agressive and they said she could have ruptured at any time as her cancer
was feeding on her arteries too. :(

I really hope that there's a good outcome for Joseff.
Love and special Boxer beanies to Joseff from my Boxers Misty, Abby and Sophie :)

hi boxacrazy,
poor trudi xx  thanx 4 ur kind wishes

Hello Kim and Joseff
I'm sorry I have just seen this post because my computer has not been working.  My Goldie Abby had the same problem and was operated on at the end of April this year, very similar symptoms.  The vet operated to see what the problem was and found what she had suspected a tumour in the spleen and also cysts on her ovaries.  The Spleen hadn't ruptured and the tumour was about the size of a plum.  Abby wouldn't eat for 3 days after the op and I was very worried - so was the vet - at nearly 12 years old we thought perhaps it was too much for her.  I heard so many stories of other dogs not making it through the operation or dying shortly afterwards that I was devastated I'd made the wrong decision.  However after many scares Abby is well and enjoying life to the full at the moment, she is not the same dog as before the operation, I think the op took it's toll on an elderly dog!  However we are enjoying our time together at the moment and she really is happy just a little more tired than before.  The tumour was sent to a lab to be checked to find out where the cancer could have spread to, unfortunately because it is a very rare tumour we didn't get very much information only that it has spread somewhere but we don't know where.  Next Friday 12th August it's my lovely girls 12th birthday a day we really didn't know if she would make!  I hope Joseff will have a good recovery and send you both all my best wishes, I know exactly what you are going through, I have spent more days in the vets in the last few months in tears than I would care to think of. Good luck and please email me privately if you want a chat  Best wishes
Jan and Abby

Hi Kim and Joseff
It's me again, just noticed your other post about Joseff being anemic - this has also been a problem with Abby, the most worrying one for me!  Abby stopped eating one day - which is about the only sign she gives that she is not well - she was rushed to the vet and we found that she was very pale, all her gums and skin were almost white.  Immediately checks were done, bloods, ultrasound, xrays, etc all came back normal except that her red blood count was low.  She was put on some medication for a week and the blood test done again - same result!  The vet said that it could possibly be another tumour but they couldn't find it!  It could be internal bleeding but they couldn't find it!  Or it could just be Abby and that after the spleen had been removed her blood/body had adjusted and this would be how her blood would be for a while!  I must say I didn't believe this but as no other problem could be found went with it, now her colour has improved still not perfect but better and she does seem to be very happy! Please let us know how you are getting on.  Best wishes  Jan and Abby

Just read you OP, my friends 11 year old black labrador has just had his spleen removed because of a tumour, the tests showed it was cancerous.  He's perked up after the operation (nearly 3 weeks ago) and even seems livelier than before it.  The vet has said chemo isn't really an option, quality of life is the most important thing now.  My friends have been on the internet and looked for alternative things that may help slow down the regrowth of the tumour and have heard that cottage cheese with linseed oil mixed in may help with this, they are trying it and he loves it, so it can't do any harm.  They just want to do anything they can to keep him feeling well and happy for as long as they can.  Good luck.

thanks carol, i might just try that too, will have a look on the net.

I'm getting the website address for you that my friends found the info on, I'll post it as soon as I get it.
Hope things go well for you. x

hi, joseff is doing well  he seems a little more himself and a bit more lively his appetite is pretty good but hes soooooooo thirsty im trying hard not to get my hopes up too much as its early days still,  jan i hope abby too keeps getting better, xx

Keep us up-to-date.  Glad he seems to be improving.

Diane

Hi Kim and Joseff,
My friends have given me the following info for you - hope it helps:-
www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com this gives various links and the one that they are following is Dr Johanna Budwig - the Budwigs Diet, which recommends Flax Oil/Linsed Oil + cottage cheese three times a day.  It claims this reduces and even cures cancers.
All the Best.  Carol

try to be as optimistic as poss.  my old boy had his tumourous spleen removed over 2 years ago and hes still going strong.  were very lucky in that it was benign altho ready to burst.  no additional on liver (altho any liver involvement can often be seen during the op and is noted if obvious.
he's now 11 and thats good going for a flatcoat and grateful for every day.
the spleen is very vascular so if heamorrhage they become anaemic,  often during op there is great blood loss (sometimes given transfusions at same time).  hopefully his red cell count will pick up quickly.
please please make sure that you only give him small meals and several as at this time he is at high risk of bloat (torsion)unti lthe abdominal contents sort themselves out (particularly as boxers as a breed are susceptible).  wishing you all the best
Tamsin x