# Two Different Cancers Help advise



## leect (May 15, 2014)

It's crazy. I came to these forums 9-10 years ago to learn about how to raise a golden retriever and be prepared. From all you guys I learned about how to take an 8 week old puppy home, how to find the right breeders, how to raise the puppy with training techniques, as well as the classic diarrhea issues with new puppies, so thank you all for that.

But here I am again, posting on these forums for an open ear as well as advice. That golden retriever puppy I was talking about earlier just turned 7 recently. HIs name is Simba, the golden king. https://www.youtube.com/c/TheGoldenPomSquad 
Like many of you out there, we don't have any kids, and he was our first son. He was there with everything my wife and I went through, even for our wedding!

Not sure why God sent me situation like this as Simba is just the sweetest boy. 
Looking at all these other topics I know I'm not the only one and I'm so sorry to all of you who has lost someone close to you. 

A year ago, I noticed a huge lump on Simba's throat. We took him to the vet, they did a biopsy and it came back as a thyroid tumor. That was the hardest part. He didn't seem like nothing was wrong and yet, he had cancer. We quickly took him to get it removed. They found in the biopsy it invaded his blood vessels which means there's a chance it could have spread.

We remained hopeful. After a few rounds of chemo, we did a CT scan only to find 2 new small nodules in his lungs. Currently, Simba has been on palladia since then for over a year. And we were very hopeful. His energy was normal, the nodules haven't grown, we haven't noticed anything new, so it seemed that we can control the cancer.

Flash forward a few months ago. I noticed he had a weird bump in between his toes. At first I thought, interdigital cyst. It's very common. For about 3 months I did epsom salt baths, creams, but for some reason it wasn't going away. I finally took him to the vet to get it checked out. They did a biopsy and found it was a mast cell tumor. 

He's already on palladia so I was so shocked ANOTHER cancer developed. Last week we removed the digit as well as the lymph node for biopsy. Of course at this point, my hopes that he's healthy and everything is negative diminished quickly. Luckily, with the mast cell tumor it was a grade 2 with clean margins. Unlucky for us however was the lymph node showed clumps of mast cells which means it may have spread.

It's honestly so hard to write this because your everything, your perfect angel, your beautiful boy, has not one but two different cancers. We have an appointment with our oncologist but now the question remains, what do we do? 

What would you guys do? Our goal is for Simba NOT to suffer. Water and the pool is his dream. He goes crazy over it. We want him to live his best life but we are unsure how he can handle two different types of chemo medicines and if it will even work. Also, amputating his toe, he can't swim or be out and about for about 2-3 weeks. That's time he could spend enjoying his life. 

When is the time to say goodbye? How do you deal with losing your whole world? Does anyone else have their child in the same situation? 

As far as diet and the holistic approach goes I've done everything, but am I doing too much? 

When he was a puppy he was on Fromm and ACANA. He had ulcers so we took him off that and switched him to raw northwest naturals as well as farmina N&D. Now for one of his meals he's also on Carna4 which I highly recommend. 
With his meals we give him broccoli, greek yogurt, as well as turmeric coconut oil paste. Ever since his palladia we incorporate salmon as well as steak.

As far as supplements go I have him on so many things.
Apopcaps
k9 immunity blend armor up 
Immune defense - https://amzn.to/3WVQGik
Dr harvey immune support- https://amzn.to/3E24dfM
Dr Harvey green superfood blend- https://amzn.to/3Tyt54e
Fish Oil 
Pro biotics 

I give him one scoop each since there are different types of mushrooms in each one. But all this, and he still developed another cancer. 

Anyways, thanks so much for any sort of input or response.


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

I’m so sorry sweet Simba and you are going through this. I would just wait to see what the oncologist says as to treatment and life expectancy. Then, of course, you will have a decision to make. My last Golden (Luke) got an aggressive cancer when he was eight. We made the decision to treat him with chemo and he lived four more months — good and happy months. When he started taking a slight downhill turn as the chemo became less effective, knowing this cancer was 100% going to take him, we decided to let him go before he suffered. It was a hard decision to say the least, but the best decision for Luke. 

I wish you well. Big hug for you and Simba.


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## leect (May 15, 2014)

diane0905 said:


> I’m so sorry sweet Simba and you are going through this. I would just wait to see what the oncologist says as to treatment and life expectancy. Then, of course, you will have a decision to make. My last Golden (Luke) got an aggressive cancer when he was eight. We made the decision to treat him with chemo and he lived four more months — good and happy months. When he started taking a slight downhill turn as the chemo became less effective, knowing this cancer was 100% going to take him, we decided to let him go before he suffered. It was a hard decision to say the least, but the best decision for Luke.
> 
> I wish you well. Big hug for you and Simba.


SO sorry for your loss. Thank you for this info it helps out alot.


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## JDandBigAm (Aug 25, 2008)

So sorry for your loss. Your photos show how much you love and care for your dogs, just so beautiful.


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## Otter (Feb 23, 2011)

Sorry to read this. See way too many of these types of posts. Can't offer more than what @[FONT=arial]diane0905[/FONT] said. 

We currently have two Goldens with cancer (2 different types of lymphoma). Mother and daughter. It's rough. Both on chemo. Looks like one has just come out of remission. All of our goldens have died from some form of cancer. It's a reality of the breed.

Best of luck to you.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

leect said:


> We have an appointment with our oncologist but now the question remains, what do we do?........
> ..............Our goal is for Simba NOT to suffer. Water and the pool is his dream. He goes crazy over it. We want him to live his best life but we are unsure how he can handle two different types of chemo medicines and if it will even work. Also, amputating his toe, he can't swim or be out and about for about 2-3 weeks. That's time he could spend enjoying his life.
> .........................When is the time to say goodbye? How do you deal with losing your whole world? Does anyone else have their child in the same situation?


My heart goes out to you, Simba looks like the biggest love. I hate that you're facing this. He doesn't even know, which is the only blessing. If it were me, I would start with the oncologist and ask him or her what they would do if it were their own beloved dog. If the meds are tolerated, could there be 3 months? 6 months? Will you know right away if the meds are not tolerated or ? My best friend has an elderly greyhound mix who lost a toe to cancer and he has handled it beautifully. I am glad you chose to do that. I think I would really look for some input from the oncologist and weigh that opinion pretty heavily.

I would certainly have a plan in place, so that you are able to act quickly if you realize he is going down hill quickly. I lost my first Golden to cancer and we didn't have an option for treatment. We were able to be with him at the end and let him go, but I regret that I started grieving his loss before he was even gone. I was so upset that I didn't do all the things I could have for his last weeks. I could barely hold it together. I have friends who have received a bad diagnosis with their Goldens and they had professional photo shoots with their dog and made sure they had last days of cheeseburgers and ice cream cones and walks on the beach together. I hope next time I do better not wasting the days I am given. I feel strongly that it's better to release a dog a day too soon, rather than a day too late. I wish you the best as you try to navigate this journey, it's so incredibly difficult. Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos, it is certainly clear that Simba has been loved and had a wonderful life. I hope that knowledge brings you some bit of comfort.


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## Deborus12 (Nov 5, 2017)

What a beautiful boy....I hope you get some news from the oncologist that helps you. My heart goes out to Simba and your family.


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