# Hemangiosarcoma



## kwhit

No, there are a few breeds that are also prone to cancer. Boxers and Rottweilers are two that come quickly to mind.  I know there's more but I'm not sure what they are.


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## gold4me

I know of several other people who have lost their dogs to cancer and they were not goldens.
I know the pain you are feeling. We lost our precious Petey to hemangiosarcoma in 2005. He was 9 1/2 and I miss every day.


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## Tahnee GR

There are many breeds and mixed breeds affected by cancer, and the older the dog gets, the more likely it is to get cancer.

Flat coated Retrievers and Bernese Mountain Dogs are also prone to cancer.

Cancer is a scourge of people and animals alike.


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## tippykayak

Hemangiosarcoma does appear to be more common in Goldens than in pet dogs in general, but some of that difference might be explained by the fact that Goldens may get better vet care on the whole than other pet dogs get on average. It's also very often diagnosed by tumor type and location, rather than more definitively by biopsy. So it's very hard to say how much of the greater incidence of this cancer is due to Golden Retriever genes.

I'm so sorry to hear that you lost your Sammy so young. Hemangiosarcoma in a dog who's only eight, as Sammy was, is fairly uncommon.


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## Sawyer4me

I am so sorry you lost Sammy.

From what I have read Goldens for reasons not fully known have a greater percentage of Cancers than other breeds. There is a really informative article written by Rhonda Hovan ( I hope I spelled correctly) The link was in a previous thread, maybe one of the forum experts could post it again.


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## tippykayak

I believe this is the link to the aforementioned article.


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## Sawyer4me

Yes that is the article I was talking about. Thank you Tippykayak.


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## Claire's Friend

The window period for Hemangiosarcoma is 6 -12 years old. That is why it is such an evil, evil thing. (As are all cancers really). I lost a 15 year old to it and I know of a 5 year old with it, but most Goldens are between 8 and 10 when they get it. There are starting to be more and more who are living with it longer, Lacey from this forum is a perfect example, so I think there is hope for the future. I am so sorry for your loss.


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## sammydog

I do believe dogs are prone to cancer in general, but Goldens are up there on the list. I do know the GRCA donates a lot of money toward cancer research. This is from the Morris Animal Foundation: "Cancer is the number one cause of death in dogs over the age of 2, which is why MAF launched the Canine Cancer Campaign. As part of the campaign, this project will look at cancer prevention in golden retrievers, of which an estimated 60 percent will die of cancer. "

Again I am sorry about Sammy, try to remember some of the happy moments you shared with her.


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## kwhit

The Zukes company supports cancer research, (with donations for every product sold), that's why I buy a lot of their products. Here's their site:

http://www.zukes.com/

If you haven't tried any of their stuff, I'd really recommend them. Chance and Lucy especially LOVE their Z-Filets, and Lucy is REALLY picky in her choice of treats.


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## Claire's Friend

My girls LOVE Zukes, I can get them to do anything for a Zuke !!!


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## hotel4dogs

German Shepherd Dogs have roughly the same rate of hemangiosarcoma as goldens do. They are also very high on the cancer prone breed list.
Again, I'm so sorry about your dog.
Bear in mind that some dogs that aren't prone to cancer are prone to other equally heartbreaking diseases.


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## Bob Dylan

When we lost our Bobby to hemangio I had never heard of it, but I did some research and this is what I found out.

Hemangio is a very common cancer in Goldens. It typically affects either the spleen or the heart. A lot of the time there are no overt symptoms until a tumor on the spleen or heart bleeds or a tumor in the heart affects heart function. Surgery to remove the spleen typically only buys a short amount of time.

The only good thing about this cancer is that it doesn't seem to really effect the dog until the very end, so there is little suffering on the dog's part (there's a heck of a lot on the owner's part, though).

I really didn't want another Golden after losing Bobby, but we now have a beautiful 7 yr. old girl Erica and she is a joy along with her brothers Dylan & Frankie.


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## 3 goldens

I am sos sorry you lost your girl to cancer. I had to do a double take because she looks somuch like my KayCee. I lost KayCee at 8 yrs.9 months to gastrointestional stromal tumor. It was the firt one my vet had ever removed in 20 years of being a vet. It is so rare that only 1 to 3 % of all human gasric tumors are of this kind, and almost unheard of in dogs.

I am going to post a picture of KayCee with her littermate brother Hunter and you can see why your precious Sammy reminded me so much of my KayCee, lost May 25, 2008.There is also one of her taken on the sofa just a couple of months before her diagnosis--she had surgery the day of diagnosis and died in the hospital in my arms just about 48 hours later.


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## GoldenHeart6-2

3 goldens said:


> I had to do a double take because she looks somuch like my KayCee. .


Wow! Your are right...KayCee and Sammy do look alike! It's just so devastating to lose such wonderful Goldens at a young age. They deserved the chance to grow old with us by their side.


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## tippykayak

kwhit said:


> The Zukes company supports cancer research, (with donations for every product sold), that's why I buy a lot of their products. Here's their site:
> 
> http://www.zukes.com/
> 
> If you haven't tried any of their stuff, I'd really recommend them. Chance and Lucy especially LOVE their Z-Filets, and Lucy is REALLY picky in her choice of treats.


Our dogs love their training treats, and they're a great size and consistency for training. We also give the "Power Bones" (dog power bars) on major hike days.


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## GoldenHeart6-2

we got Sammy from a reputable breeder, yet she passed away at 8. I just don't understand. :-(


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## sunshinesmom

Canine cancer has completely devastated my family. The love of my life, Sunshine (he was 10) , was a beautiful red boy. We were very close. He went to work with me in the nursing home everyday - he went everywhere with me. I never knew he was sick. One morning he didn't eat and his belly was bloated. We went straight to the vet. he was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma and died a few hours later. Two years later I found our beautiful Savana (she died at 8) - a georgeous blonde girl - having a seizure. I rushed her to the vet where her ruptured spleen was removed. We had three months to really spoil her until hemangiosarcoma took her too. Now we've just lost our sweet Riley (only 7) to T-cell lymphoma 5 months ago.
I can never live without goldens in my life - they are just too special. I now have silly Carson - a 3 1/2 legged red boy (who really misses his big brother Riley) and Summer - a rescued golden/pyr. I pray that they never get cancer.


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## tippykayak

GoldenHeart6-2 said:


> we got Sammy from a reputable breeder, yet she passed away at 8. I just don't understand. :-(


The causes are too complex and the occurrences too sporadic for people to make more than the most general efforts to breed it out. Hips, eyes, coat, and other genetically testable or phenotypically obvious characteristics can be bred for. Cancer just isn't understood well enough.


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## GoldenHeart6-2

sunshinesmom said:


> I can never live without goldens in my life - they are just too special. I now have silly Carson - a 3 1/2 legged red boy (who really misses his big brother Riley) and Summer - a rescued golden/pyr. I pray that they never get cancer.


Chris, thank you for sharing! Sammy was our first Golden, and she passed way suddenly, and not even with her family. This fact will live with me forever. We miss her tremendously!!! I am a little afraid to get another Golden, but as you said, Goldens are special. Eventually we will open our hearts to another wonderful Golden.


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## sunshinesmom

GoldenHeart6-2,
You've already been touched by the Golden Retriever spirit. I'm confident you'll adopt and love another Golden when you're ready. Yes, they are very prone to the hated cancer but you can't dwell on that. Think about how much you learned about love and having fun from Sammy. She must have been really wonderful. Now she's at the Bridge, playing with Riley and the other muched loved pets and watching over you. Maybe you'll adopt a puppy or rescue an adult in need - you'll never forget Sammy - she'll always be with you, just like my first Golden, Sunshine is always with me. You can have so many more wonderful, loving Goldens (or other pets - but Goldens ARE the best! ) in your life.
Hang in there.


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## thoreau

my wonderful golden was diagnosed in February with Hemangioscarcoma. We have had two surgeries, and four chemo treatments. Our first three month checkup was clean, however, it is not a good cancer so I take a day at a time. Her hair is beginning to grow back and she seems to have energy. It has been a very rough seven months. She just has to make it, I love my big six year old puppy! 

Many breeds get cancer. It is all too common now. When I took her in for her chemo treatments there would be a waiting room full of oncology dogs. I can relate all too well with you.


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## Ljilly28

Hemangiosarcoma is probably my biggest dog fear, and I have been through it twice. The silent way it creeps up makes it especially scary. . . I hope someday soon there is a vaccine to prevent it, and I try to support research every way possible, from donating blood/DNA samples to making donations. I am so sorry for everyone who battles hemangiosarcoma alongside their best friends.


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## Karen519

*Goldenhearts*

Goldenheart:

I am so very sorry for your loss.

Golden Rets. are very special indeed and a VERY GOOD ADDICTION!!


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## mybuddy

Gosh, it seems over the past few days, that is all I see up there on the thread titles...so much of it--you are right. It is such a worry for me. Buddy is 7 now and I think about this all the time. I know I shouldnt but cant help it. Oh, it is terrible.

Everytime I read about another sweetie taken by this horrid disease, a piece of my heart breaks. 

I am so sorry for your loss. I just know how you must be feeling...she was so beautiful. I love her name too...oh I am so sorry!


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## rappwizard

My two goldens now at the Bridge were struck with hemangio; the first one had a cutaneous form at age 5; he did not die from it. He was lucky--got it with clean margins, and from what I understand, the site was not near any lymph nodes, and he lived to nearly 13.

My second golden, younger than him, passed away suddenly at age 9--hemangio, located in the heart--she lived one month after diagnosis. I was devastated, since she was the picture of health, had a good weight, a good appetite up until the day we put her to sleep (couldn't keep anything down at that point) and it was such a shame, because she was just a sweet, sweet dog, with not a mean bone in her body, and this was such a mean disease.

We got several cards, emails and phone calls, but one call stuck with me. It was from someone who had also lost their golden to cancer--I believe the dog had died at around 9 or 10 too. This dog was the owner's first champion golden. The owner told me that as much as it hurt when their golden died, it would have hurt far more if they had never known their golden. 

That's the way I feel about Alli--as much as it hurts to have lost her, how much less enlightened my life would have been to have not known her! You lost Sammy far too soon, but if you had never had known Sammy, think about how less interesting, and how far fewer wonderful memories your life would have.

When you're ready, you'll be eager to open your heart to a new dog, and make some new memories. Life is all about chances, isn't it?


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## paula bedard

I'm sorry that you lost your girl to cancer at a young age. I lost my Sam to a combination of diseases at 12 years old. He had a neurological condition that effected his hind end and also had a partially paralyzed esophagus. When he became ill with aspiration pneumonia, an xray found a huge tumor near his heart. Most likely a hemangio. We could not treat the cancer, he was too ill. We had to say goodbye to Sam a few days later.

I knew that I had to have another Golden in my life and went in search of my next new best friend. I pray every day that Ike will have a long, full, and healthy life...and I cherish my time with him just in case...


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## Duke's Momma

I am sorry for your loss of your golden baby. Duke is 8 1/2 and as many know here, we are WINNING the battle of multicentric lymphoma. He was diagnosed last Sunday, the 13th of September - the day that changed my life forever.

I have no answers to your questions but many did. I just wanted to chime in and agree with whoever it was that said once you're touched by a golden, there is no turning back. The world is a better place because they are in it.

Samantha was truly beautiful


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## Sliver

It's amazing how deeply these dogs work themselves into your heart. 

I dropped my 8 year old girl off at the vet at 9am yesterday because she had snubbed her food the day before. I told myself she just had a stomach bug or an infection, but I know how these things can go with dogs, so I anticpated the phone call from the vet with butterflies in my stomach. By 3pm I got the bad news, she had a bleeding hemangiosarcoma on her spleen and was going downhill in a hurry. By 7pm we had a second opinion confirming the diagnosis, and at 9pm last night we held our baby in our arms as the vet injected a massive overdose of barbituates into her veins.

This was my 3rd dog lost to cancer (2nd golden), and as many of you know it doesn't get any easier with practice , I am truly heartbroken. But like sunshinesmom, I don't want to live a life without a golden. 

I've been doing some research to hopefully help me avoid this heartache with my next golden, which brought me here, but I can't say It's been encouraging when I continually see facts such as 65% of goldens die of cancer, that is freaking nuts. By comparison, only 25% of smokers get cancer, and they're actively encouraging it! Something has gone seriously wrong somewhere along the line with this breed, the more I research the more it feels like goldens are a guaranteed 6 to 10 years of anxiety followed by a broken heart... but I just love them too much.


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## beccacc31

gold4me said:


> I know of several other people who have lost their dogs to cancer and they were not goldens.
> I know the pain you are feeling. We lost our precious Petey to hemangiosarcoma in 2005. He was 9 1/2 and I miss every day.


 What do the 22's mean on the top of your puppy's heads?


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## Debles

Our Sophie died at 14 from a ruptured tumor which I didn't realize was probably hemangiosarcoma. She went fast but it was excruciatingly painful. I would never want anyone to go through something like that! She led an unbelieveably healthy life for 14 years.

I am so sorry about your sweet Sammy.


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## NuttinButGoldens

Three of my 4 previous passed from Cancer. Ages 8, 10 and 12. The 4th was complications from Epilepsy.

A long time ago I read an article that indicated it wasn't always this way with Goldens. IIRC, the article seemed to implicate that the popularity of the Golden was it's own worst enemy, and brought out a lot of irresponsible breeding that ended up working the dreaded disease into the breed.

All we can do is keep up the research, and do our best to breed it back out again. I'm sure that it would take decades to breed it back out, and would require a whole lot more breeding scrutinization than we have going on today unfortunately. There are still too many back-yard, high-volume breeders out there that aren't researching out the prospective pups parental lines thoroughly enough.


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## cubbysan

I lost 2 german shepherds to cancer. Both were around 10 years old. Not sure what kind they had. Both of them I had PTS because one had a rupture and the other went down hill quite quickly.

My Nikki had been boarded at the vets only two weeks ealier while we were on vacation, and the staff was very involved with her. It wasn't until two weeks later when I noticed she was "off", hanging her head low, that the vet diagnosed her. At that point, it was already in her lungs stomach, spleen, etc. The vet was shocked. 

I think if we had gone on vacation 2 weeks later, we would have come home to her being gone like you did.


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## Golden Lover

*Buster*

My heart goes out to all of you who have lost a golden to cancer. We have shared our life with 3 incredible goldens during the past 34 years. All have been diagnosed with untreatable cancers. Most recently our best buddy, Buster (12 years old), was diagnosed on October 28 with an invasive right atrium hemangiosarcoma. We had one challenging night before the diagnosis was made (it was just that quick) and by 3PM the next day it was clear what we needed to do. The joy of sharing your life with a golden is worth the pain of saying good-bye. Don't know how long it will take, but, here's to the next fluffy butted golden who will wait joyfully for us at the back door.


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## gold4me

The 22's are a magic number for the dogs on the dawgie chat thread. Vic's Buddy and my BoBo started talking about everything being done in 22 minutes, hours etc. Vic later learned that the number 22 had special meaning. Now all the dogs have a 22 in their pictures. Some are easy to see and some are hard to find. Come visit us in the dawgie thread.


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## Dave R

Hi,

I don't post here very often, mainly because i am to busy with my golden girl, Mandy......but now i need the comfort of strangers.

Two years ago she started to have nose bleeds, had an horrific operation to remove the nasal cavity lining, which was biopsied. Results were clear. About 5/6 months later it returned, another op, and this time the biopsy revealed Hermangiosarcoma. We had radiotherapy, and the speciallist said they had never seen it in the nose before. If she survived the treatment she might have six months....We were lucky (?) that it presented in the nose, and we had some warning....

She has had a small but growing lump between the eyes for a while now, and the day before yesterday, her left eye was swollen. so we went to the vet. I hoped beyond all hope that there was something that could be done.

We had two wonderful, extra years with her, but the vet could do nothing...she's gone, and i don't really know what to do now.

Just writing this bring on the flood of tears, i can't yet speak the words out loud.

D


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom

Dave, I'm so very sorry for your loss. There are alot of shoulders to lean or cry on here, and many who want to offer their support. Cry, vent , share memories.... it's all part of the grieving process and one we'll walk with you. Many hugs and Godspeed sweet Mandy. As Sharlin says, the reunion is guaranteed... just the date is uncertain.


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## AmberSunrise

Dave R - I am so sorry you lost your Mandy.

Run free little Mandy, free of pain and able to smell all of those lovely scents


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## HovawartMom

Priska died of Hemangio,as well!.
Never shown any pain,until the very last week!.
She was 10 yrs old!.
She was PTS cos she was bleeding,internally and I didn't want her,to suffer.


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## gold4me

Dave I am so sorry for your loss. We lost our Petey(hemangiosarcoma) and it showed no symptoms until one day he collapsed and he was gone within 1 week. The pain of loss is unbearable but here is a place that people truly understand what you are going through. My thoughts are with you.


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## NapaValleyGolden

I am so sorry for your loss, Mandy was a beautiful girl. Hemangiosarcoma took our Jake last year also.

RIP Mandy


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## achamber

so sorry for your loss!


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## Makai

*Heart Hemangiosarcoma*

Riley, aka Smiley Riley has been yet another victim of this horrible and dreaded cancer. No warning and 4 days after a sudden unexplained collapse, he is gone. Riley, the joy of our lives was just two weeks shy of his 11th birthday. He was exercised multiple times per day and given the best care and high end food. Sadly, cancer doesn't care.


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## solinvictus

Welcome to the forum Makai. Your Riley was beautiful. I am so sorry for your loss. This is a great group and most of us have been touched by this horrible disease at some point. We would love to read stories and see more pictures of Riley when you feel you can.


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## Pilgrim123

I'm so sorry for the loss of Riley. He looks magnificent.
You're right - cancer, particularly hemangiosarcoma, doesn't care. It takes so many of the dogs on this forum, from seniors down. It doesn't seem to matter how well fed they are, or how fit they are. Many members here have voiced their reluctance to risk having another golden who may develop it. And yet, goldens have a habit of getting under your skin, so no other dog quite lives up to the joy a golden retriever can bring.
Perhaps you would consider leaving a tribute to Riley in the rainbow bridge section? I'd love to know more about him.


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## Brinkleythegolden

I'm so sorry. We lost our first golden to hemangiosarcoma at the same age. It's just not fair!


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## alphadude

Makai said:


> Riley, aka Smiley Riley has been yet another victim of this horrible and dreaded cancer. No warning and 4 days after a sudden unexplained collapse, he is gone. Riley, the joy of our lives was just two weeks shy of his 11th birthday. He was exercised multiple times per day and given the best care and high end food. Sadly, cancer doesn't care.


Very sorry for your loss of Riley.

I lost my guy Axl @ 8.5 from this vile disease last September, also exceedingly fit active and well exercised. Cancer indeed doesn't care.


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