# Need feedback about Spleen Tumor



## jchap

My 12 year old Golden/Collie mix had emergency surgery last week to remove her spleen after it burst. The Dr. said she had a tumor in the spleen which was also removed. There was one questionable spot on her liver but the Dr. said that it might have been a benign nodule. He said that the pathology would be able to tell us what was going on. 1 1/2 weeks later, there have been two rounds of pathology, all came back "inconclusive". They are now getting the rest of the spleen from the vet for testing. The said that they feel there are cancerous cells present, but while some characteristics are consistent with Hemangiosarcoma, others are not . My question is, has anyone had experience where there dog had a cancerous tumor of the spleen which was not hemangiosarcoma? If so, what was the outcome? Any information will be appreciated.
Thanks.


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## lucysmum

Bumping up


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## Sally's Mom

I have seen leiomyosarcomas which are malignant. I have also seen leiomyomas which are not. Even non malignant tumors can rupture. The problem with a malignant tumor rupturing is that it then seeds the abdomen with tumor cells. Five years ago, when I was taking my almost 12 year old golden girl for an abdominal ultrasound, she jumped out of the car at the referral place and was instantly laterally recumbent(due to splenic rupture). I carried her in, they found hemagiosarcoma. I asked the specialist what she would do. She said, if we took the spleen out and did nothing else, my Laney might live 2 more months. She said if after the surgery, we did chemo, she would live 6 months. She also said that if it were her dog, she would euthanize... so I did.


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## Karen519

*jchap*

jchap

I am SO VERY SORRY you are going through this!!

I googled your question and found this.

Canines-Can a dog have spleen burst and not have hemangiosarcoma - Google Search

http://www.google.com/search?source...iosarcoma+in+dogs&spell=1&fp=257357f65be41de5


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## coppers-mom

Copper had his spleen removed due to noncancerous tumors 02/04/2009. They were found during an ultrasound for a different problem and the vet was comfortable monitoring for a while. Two months later a repeat ultrasound revealed growth in one tumor and he had surgery soon after.

He also had a tumor in his stomach that was found and removed at the same time. Again, all were benign so I have no experience with a cancerous tumor, but he recoverd from the surgery and was going on 3 mile trail rides 2.5 weeks later. it never slowed him down.

He died 20 months later from some form of cancer, but we didn't get a diagnosis since it was very fast from "He has cancer" to a total system failure (36 hours). He did have more frequent skin infections and had a harder time fighting off "things" after his splenectomy, but a large increase in his dose of antibiotics and diligent bathing with medicated shampoo kept that under control.

His liver was "bright" on exam for the tumors and he started Denamarin for liver health and function just in case. I hope your girl does as well or even better than he did and he had a great life after.


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## Dallas Gold

I believe Hotel 4 Dogs' Toby is also a spleenless dog with a benign diagnosis. There is another forum member here who also got a benign diagnosis after splenectomy. I believe the literature states it's 50/50 benign vs. malignant. Our own oncology vet told us it was skewed more for malignant in his practice and for goldens, even more. In our family it's 100% malignant with 2 Goldens. 

I'm sorry you are going through this. It is scary and waiting for definitive results must be excruitatingly painful.


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## Claire's Friend

My first dog Kay Cee had her spleen removed at 12. It was only a hematoma, there were no cancer cells of any type. She lived 3 more years. But I am sorry to say that I think the fact that they even found questionable cells doesn't sound good. Most dogs that I have seen with Hemangiosarcoma of the spleen will live 60 -90 days if the spleen is removed. And those tend to be very good days. Cherish every day...


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## jchap

Thank you all very much for the information. Unfortunately, it's not what I would have liked to hear. They do feel there is cancer present, but they just can't confirm Hemangiosarcoma as of now. If they didn't know whether or not there was cancer, that would give me more hope. The Dr. said if the third pathology report comes back inconclusive, he will sonogram her liver to see if it looks clear. If it's clear, he will hope for the best and leave her alone. If it's not clear then we know it must have been Hemangiosarcoma. After the reading I have done, I and my family are not inclined to put her through Chemo as it doesn't seem to be very successful. I suppose I will continue to hope that she will be the exception until I am not able to do that anymore.
Thanks


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## coppers-mom

I am so sorry you are having such a hard time with the pathology reports.
Please ask about a liver supplement if the sonogram looks clear. You can use milk thistle and SAM-e (the OTC for mood) to help with liver function and it wouldn't hurt. Just a "just in case" as my vet said. We also did an ultrasound of Copper's heart to before his splenectomy since hemangio often shows up there too.

there are a few of us on here with dogs who beat the odds. It sure would be wonderful if your girl did too.


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## Claire's Friend

Never give up hope. We have a dog on here who just passed the 2 year mark from her hemangio surgery. Lacey however, did not have it attached to any organs. Sending prayers


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## Braccarius

jchap said:


> Thank you all very much for the information. Unfortunately, it's not what I would have liked to hear. They do feel there is cancer present, but they just can't confirm Hemangiosarcoma as of now. If they didn't know whether or not there was cancer, that would give me more hope. The Dr. said if the third pathology report comes back inconclusive, he will sonogram her liver to see if it looks clear. If it's clear, he will hope for the best and leave her alone. If it's not clear then we know it must have been Hemangiosarcoma. After the reading I have done, I and my family are not inclined to put her through Chemo as it doesn't seem to be very successful. I suppose I will continue to hope that she will be the exception until I am not able to do that anymore.
> Thanks


Courage and prayers with you. Have no doubt you are doing the right thing for your dog... the more I hear about Hemangio, the scarier it seems.


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## Dallas Gold

You are in my prayers. We ended our last hemangio battle last April 30. It's a cruel disease and I hope and pray you will not join the growing number of people affected by it through your Golden.


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## tuckerbailey

We have had two goldens with spleen tumors, with subsequent splenectomy. One was hemangiosarcoma, the other was not. Both tumors had burst. THe one with the benign tumor lived just about 2 years from the splenectomy to the age of almost 14. Our other guy with HSA we lost this past January almost 7 months past his splenectomy. I would also suggest as someone else had to have them check out your guys heart as that is most likely a secondary site if any. Have read that with HSA speen tumors that 25% have heart tmor existing.
We did opt for chemo as ultrasound showed clean major organs. I do tend to agree with you that chemo though is generally useless for the disease. I have seen the stats on longevity and chemo with HSA but frankly they are not controlled studies.
It is a highly personal decision though. Though I am not sure if I would go the chemo route if i have another dog with HSA I must say that our guy handled it well and we virtually no ill-effects.


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## jchap

Thanks "TuckerBailey". It is a little more encouraging to hear that your Golden lived for 7 months after splenectomy. In your dogs case, the chemo was effective to a point. I suppose I am not clear as to what difference it makes if the end result of the pathology is "inconclusive" if they still think she has some form of cancer but just can't pin point it. Are all forms of spleen cancer fatal?


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## Duke's Momma

Thankfully I have no experience with this kind of cancer/tumors but am praying with you that there is a good outcome. Never, ever give up hope until there is absolutely no reason left to hope some more. I'm sorry you're having to go through this at all.


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## Karen519

*jchap*

jchap

I am so VERY SORRY you and your sweetie are going through this.

Our male Samoyed, Snobear,had hemangiosarcoma literally it appeared overnight.
He was playing, eating romping in the morning and then listless and anemic and pale gums in the evening. Ken rushed him to the vet.

They did an xray and bloodwork at the vet and said they thought it looked like he had a mass from the xray. The vet explained that without the exploratory surgery and a biopsy they wouldn't know for sure if it was cancer. We had them do the exploratory surgery and they found a big mass on one lobe of the liver and spots on the other. They came to talk to us while Snobear was still under anethesia and they said they were 90% sure it was hemangiosarcoma, but could not say for sure without taking a biopsy and waiting days for the results. Their comment to us, was even if they were to remove the tumors and do the biopsy we would probably be back in 1-2 months with the same agonizing decision. Ken and I chose to say goodbye to our sweet Snobear, while he was still under anesthesia from the surgery.


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## Megora

How is your dog doing post surgery? Is she recovering well? 

When we had surgery to remove our Danny's spleen, we had no plans of going the chemo route even if he had cancer. Our plan at the time was to give ourselves and him a little more time. Unfortunately with him he never woke up from the surgery (blood clot). 

That is one thing to keep in mind - as well as the fact that your dog is an old girl, she's going to need a lot of help with what time she has left. Aside from cancer, there are health concerns about her immune system because of the spleen being gone. 

Our vet discussed everything from helping our guy get around and keeping him as quiet as possible until he recovered completely from the surgery to avoid any infections or tearing his stitches. He was one of those who could not handle wearing the lampshade back when he had his hotspots. He would have anxiety issues over it. So that was an added concern we had about his recovery time. 

And we knew he would have to be on a special diet and meds for possibly the rest of his life. 

The last thing on our minds when we signed all of the paperwork and handed over the money for the surgery was what we would do if he had cancer. And I know we didn't even hope that he would live beyond those 6 precious months that our vet felt was possible. 

Keep in mind with Danny - the melon sized tumor on his spleen had not ruptured yet. When he would lie down, the tumor was pressing on things and causing him pain, and that was the reason why we rushed him to the vet. With him he was perfectly fine as long as he wasn't lying down. Our last view of him was him wiggling around the vet techs and wagging his tail. So we had a very strong hope for those 6 months. 

That said, even though the tumor did not rupture, the location of the tumor (spleen) and type of tumor (blood) meant that the cancer had already spread. They found the beginnings of tumors in his heart and lungs. He had his heart and lungs examined by a specialist a few months earlier and there were no signs of those tumors then, which tells you how fast growing they can be. 

Give your dog a lot of hugs and spoil her rotten. And take it one step at a time.


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## jchap

I certainly understand that choice. We had a little different situation. When we brought our Lassie in, she was bleeding internally.We had absolutely no idea. The vet said that she would have died at home if we didn't bring her in. At that point, they had no idea if she had a cancerous tumor or benign. Nothing showed up in the chest x-ray so we had to save her life in the chance that this was benign. Not to mention that we couldn't even absorb what was happening. It all happened so unexpectedly and so quickly. Either way, I am SO grateful that we took her to the vet that day. No matter what the final outcome is, these days that we have with her are, in my opinion, a gift as long as she seems comfortable. We knew she wasn't quite right and had we waited to take her and then found her dead, we would feel so guilty.


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## Karen519

*jchap*

jchap

You are so right-treasure every day you and Lassie have.


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## tuckerbailey

Jchap...to answer your direct question, I do not know if all forms of malignant spleen tumors are fatal although stating the obvious it is one of those things you hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Our very first golden had osteosarcoma. when we first noticed a lump they biopsied several times. They also came back with "inconclusive" results. Unfortunately within a year he became ill, it was cancer and he passed within 6 months. We also opted for chemo then. 
but i think in that case also it likely did not extend Dudley's life.
Unfortunately the only advice I can proffer is as all the other good folks on this thread have said and to spoil the heck out of them. When Tucker had his splenectomy my wife said she had hoped in some ways that he passed then. Although I understood, I viewed it differently. I knew it was a terminal disease and we would lose him likely in a 6 month time frame. Therefore I did everything I could for him. When he became "annoying" and wanted to play ball as he constantly did, I would not brush him off as I occasionally used to but would go out in the snow and rain and hit balls to him. I still miss him terribly.


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## KiwiD

Sorry to hear about Lassie and the uncertainty of the diagnosis. 

Our Maddie is fighting Hemangiosarcoma right now. She had a large tumor on her spleen that had ruptured and she had emergency surgery the early hours of the morning on January 30. She had been to the emerg vet 2 1/2 weeks before the tumor was discovered because she was very lethargic when we came home from work one day. They did a full panel of tests and didn't discover anything. Fast forward to 11 pm Jan. 29 when we took her in for what we thought was a bladder infection (she was off her food and seemed to peeing excessively) to be told she needed exploratory surgery as the Dr. discovered she had a belly full of blood. 

Her spleen was removed and there were 3 tumors on it. The large one that burst and 2 smaller ones. There was no cancer visible on any of the other major organs. We opted for no chemo and so far:crossfing she is doing very well on day 52. 

I hope you get the answers you need sooner than later...


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## Karen519

*Jchap*

Jchap

Want you to know that I am praying for Lassie and you.


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## jchap

Maddie's mom,
I am glad to hear that Maddie is doing well. The fact that she is here nearly two months later and doing well gives me some hope, regardless. With a 12 year old dog, I know we are on borrowed time even if this did not occur. Thank you to everyone for all your good wishes. I will keep you posted.


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## michiganj

Well, my Hannah had a rock in her stomach, so we had it removed last week. While in surgery the doctor thought her spleen looked OK, but did notice a nodule on it. We removed it because my last Golden did get Hemangiosarcoma, and the doctor figured as long as he was "in", he would perhaps catch it before it spread. (My Hannah is 11). The doctor's "gut" feeling was that is was benign, but we did get whatever it is, early.

The doctor _JUST_ called me. The lab reports say it is NOT hemangiosarcoma, but is *IS LYMPHOMA*. So now, there is a very expensive blood test I can give her that will tell us if it has spread. There is an 80% chance that it has already spread because it is in the spleen, and if it has spread, she has on the outside, 6 months left. If it hasn't spread... we are probably in the clear.

He went on to tell me there are drugs and chemo you can do, but the dogs don't feel too great on them, and still, the life expectance only goes up maybe a month or 3. So right now, I am thinking, _"why do the blood test? If it is negative, great. But if it is positive, I can't do anything about it anyway... and the drugs won't do anything except prolong her suffering."_

I am going to think about it over the weekend. If she were much younger and they could extend her life by a longer period of time, I would go for it. But these odds are so bad, I am thinking I might just continue to give her all the love I can, and just help her enjoy all the time she has left. Right now, she is completely a-symptomatic; running around and playing with my younger golden, and I hate to put her on a drug that will take her good feeling days away. BTW, I said to the doctor, _"I am in shock; I certainly was not expecting this." _ He replied, _"I am in complete shock as well. He spleen basically looked healthy, and nothing ever appeared in any of the x-rays."_

Sorry you are going through this as well. These Goldens we LOVE them, but this cancer thing in them is hard to rise above.


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## michiganj

I just had to post again with a picture of "My Sweet Hannah". 
Thanks for understanding.


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## michiganj

michiganj said:


> I just had to post again with a picture of "My Sweet Hannah".
> Thanks for understanding.


Ooops - let's try again!! - Isn't she a cutie??


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## jchap

She's Beautiful! Well, i have an update too and your post has clarified some things for us as well. As I had stated before, Lassie's first two pathology reports were inconclusive, although suspicious. The pathologist tested the rest of the spleen in an attempt to get a diagnosis. Believe it or not, the Dr. called saying the third path report was benign. So , while this is great news, we don't know whether there was some thing that is cured or was there nothing, or was there something that will come back? The Dr. suggested a few options. We can just run periodic blood work and watch her. We can sonogram her and look for mets.If we see anything, we can aspirate cells and see if there's cancer, if it's treatable. After much of the reading I have done, I am beginning to feel that if something is there and it has spread,there really isn't much we can do so why bother with all the tests? Sounds like we are in a similar situation.


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## GoldensGirl

*5+ years after splenectomy*

My Charlie has had a good 5+ happy years since his spleen was removed. An ultrasound showed a large mass on the spleen and the doctor who performed the ultrasound said to get his spleen out immediately. It was removed the next day. The pathology report showed the mass to be benign, but that is never 100% certain. Another ultrasound in late December of 2010 showed no tumors in Charlie's abdomen and the doctor commented that he is in good shape internally. But Charlie began having grand mal seizures last July and it is possible that brain tumor is the cause.

Charlie has done quite well without his spleen and he is now almost 13 years old. He is on a variety of meds - soloxine for hypothyroidism, Pheno and zonisamide for the seizures, and sometimes Rimadyl for arthritis pain. 

I pray that you and your sweetheart find a happy path forward, one that leaves you at peace. Knowing what I do, I would not put a dog I love through chemo. 

Sending healing thoughts, prayers and hugs,
Lucy


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## C's Mom

I am so sorry that you and Lassie are going through this but was encouraged to hear that the third test showed no cancer. I also have a golden/collie mix and we send healing roo roos to Lassie.

(I would love to see a pic of her if you feel up to it).


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## jchap

Here is a picture of our beautiful Lassie.


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## coppers-mom

Lassie is absolutely beautiful! Such a sweet looking girl and a beautiful face and expression.

My older GR had his spleen removed 20 months before I lost him to a very surprising diagnosis of metastasized cancer - type unknown since he went into full system failure 36 hours later. He had two tumors on his spleen and a stomach tumor which were all removed at the same time and were benign. We had the original ultrasound done because of a bogus blood test (for shoulder surgery) that turned out to be incorrect so sometimes they don't get it right.

His last 20 months were filled with medical challenges (mostly due to age, but some from lack of a spleen), but also with great love on both our sides. I hope the mass really was benign and you get to have more good time with your girl.


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## jchap

Thanks Coppers mom. I will be thrilled if we have Lassie for 20 more months, as long as she is happy. You were very lucky, although it may not seem that way. I know that whatever this was may rear it's ugly head again. I am just conflicted about how to proceed. I have read enough to know that even when the findings are benign, things show up months later. I guess, if I thought a metastasis would be treatable i would really consider chemo but from what I read, I don't think that's the case. I am going to speak with our vet(s) about what percentage of metastatic spleen cancer is really treatable. If it is a very small %, I may opt to hope that it is benign and let her be happy and comfortable for whatever time she has left.


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## C's Mom

Lassie is a beautiful girl. Sending healing thoughts her way.


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## Dallas Gold

Lassie is beautiful! 

If I were in your shoes I'd be very happy about the final pathology and just do lots of periodic re-examinations, including lab work and sonograms. I would enjoy the heck out of Lassie and try to make every day a good one for both of you. 

Would they even offer chemo to a dog with a benign histopathology report? I'm not sure it would be a good thing since chemotherapy does a number to the dog's body and immunity and you might be creating a bigger issue, especially since there is no spleen anymore. JMO. Chemo was expensive and after the 4th session they did an echocardiogram to make sure our Barkley could survive a 5th round--this is standard protocol because chemotherapy weakens the heart. That's why I'd not do anything chemotherapy wise unless absolutely warranted. Maybe I misread your post above, but it seemed you were considering this?


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## jchap

Thanks Dallas Gold. To clarify,
the only reason we would consider chemo is if we do a sonogram of the liver and the heart and see some mets. My issue is would it really do any good? It may not be worth putting her through that.


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## Karen519

*jchap*

jchap

Your Lassie is just beautiful!! Whatever decision you make is the right one.


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## Hali's Mom

jchap said:


> Thank you all very much for the information. Unfortunately, it's not what I would have liked to hear. They do feel there is cancer present, but they just can't confirm Hemangiosarcoma as of now. If they didn't know whether or not there was cancer, that would give me more hope. The Dr. said if the third pathology report comes back inconclusive, he will sonogram her liver to see if it looks clear. If it's clear, he will hope for the best and leave her alone. If it's not clear then we know it must have been Hemangiosarcoma. After the reading I have done, I and my family are not inclined to put her through Chemo as it doesn't seem to be very successful. I suppose I will continue to hope that she will be the exception until I am not able to do that anymore.
> Thanks


Unfortunately that was the same decision I had to make with Hali, didn't see that chemo or radiation really prolonged much so opted to wait and see rather than put her through anything. I was able to have almost 6 mos. with her after the oral melanoma was removed, turns out lymphoma got her in Feb.
Wishing you and your family a longer time together with your girl.


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## Dallas Gold

jchap said:


> Thanks Dallas Gold. To clarify,
> the only reason we would consider chemo is if we do a sonogram of the liver and the heart and see some mets. My issue is would it really do any good? It may not be worth putting her through that.


Okay, good, I must have misunderstood your post. If it's spread into other organs it's pretty difficult to control at that point and chemotherapy might not be a good option. I hope that is not the case for you.


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## Karen519

*Jchap*

JCHAP

praying for Lassie and you each night.


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## jchap

Thank you karen. My family is very conflicted about whether or not to do a sonogram. The reality is that if we see any spread I don't think we can do much any way. If it would be treatable, there would be no question..I would do it. My son wants to do it just to mentally prepared. My husband feels that she is doing well and we should leave her alone because he is hoping for the best and if there is something there, we will eventually know. I don't know yet how my daughters feel about it.


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## Karen519

*Jchap*

Ken and I would not opt for doing chemo either-if it is hemangiosarcoma it might only buy a month or two, and we decided that Smooch and Snobear's quality of life was more impt. In Snobear's case they found the tumors on his liver when they did exploratory surgery and we said goodbye to him while he was still under anethesia. In Smooch's case, the xrays showed spots all over in her lungs and she didn't want to eat and her gums were very pale and you could see her sides moving in and out when she was breathing. Ken and I said goodbye to Smooch right after the xrays were done. 

My heart goes out to all of you and Lassie.


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## jchap

Thank you so much. I am so sorry that you had to go through such a terrible ordeal and such a short time apart. They really do become part of your family and it hurts so much when they are sick or you lose them. My son said it is almost as bad as hearing that one of his siblings was sick. Whatever happens, right now she is happy and comfortable and will hopefully stay that way.


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## Karen519

*Jchap*

Jchap

I am so very happy to hear that Lassie is happy and comfortable-spoil her rotten!!

Hope you have many more great times with Lassie!!


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## rpiper

*Dealing with the same situation*

We just had to make a decision about our 8.5 year old Golden Elvis. On April 2nd 2011, Elvis went from playing with his human sister on our deck to laying on the couch and refusing treats. We moved him to a place where he could rest and checked on him frequently. On one check, my wife found that he was having trouvle standing and called me upstairs to help. A check of his mouth revealed pale and cold gums. We immediately took him to the PET ER.
The ER did an abdominal ultrasound and found a very large tumor that had ruptured. They explained that the tumor may be on the spleen or the kidney and that the risk of it being a very agressive tumor was 50-75% if on the spleen and much greater than 90% on the kidney. They also explained survival rates, which were not good, and what would be involved in treatment.
We decided that there were several factors involved in the treatment that we could live with. They were:
1/ He needed to be kept overnight in an attempt to stabilize him before surgery and I couldn't let him be alone at a time when he needed me (or die alone).
2/ The treatment would be difficult for him and it was better that he not spend any time in pain.
3/ The Dr said that if we took him home, he may not survive the night. We wanted him to be surrounded by the people who loved him and be as content as he could be.

We chose to let him go. It was the best thing for him and the hardest for us.


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## Karen519

*rpiper*

*rpiper*
I am so very sorry about your precious boy. Almost the very same thing happened to us with our Snobear, Samoyed, in March 2010, and we chose to say goodbye to him, too. We did not want him to go through any suffering, or possibly die when we weren't there, and there really was no hope. You made the right decision.

*Jchap*I hope Lassie is doing better.


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## jchap

Tomorrow will be one month since Lassie's splenectomy. At the moment, she is back to her usual self, thank God. I spoke with one of the surgeons who operated on her and his opinion was that although we received inconclusive path reports as well as one benign report, there is still a strong likelihood that there was cancer and only time will tell what we are dealing with. I choose to be positive( and realistic) about this. He felt that if we want to sonogram her, we should wait a while because if the sonogram is clear now, it might not be in a couple of months. It will be more telling if it is clear a couple of months from now. That makes sense. It was never discussed with us to put Lassie to sleep at the time of surgery and it all happened so fast. Regardless, as long as she is happy and comfortable, I want her around!


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## KiwiD

So glad to hear that Lassie is doing well 1 month post surgery. Maddie is now 69 days post splenectomy (confirmed hemangiosarcoma and we opted for no chemo) and she's still going strong so I have high hopes for your Lassie as well. Our vet suggested a follow up ultrasound at 3 months so we're just over 2 weeks away from that now. Choosing to be positive as you mentioned and to always have that attitude around her I find has helped us deal with all of this.


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## Dallas Gold

I'm sending out good thoughts and prayers for Lassie and Maddie in their fights against their diseases.


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## Karen519

*Jchap*

Jchap

Checking in on Lassie and you!


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## jchap

Hi Karen, Dallas and Maddies mom (and everyone else). Thank you all for your good wishes. "Maddies Mom, I am so glad and encouraged that Maddie is doing so well 69 days post surgery. It's interesting that so much of the reading I have done says that dogs with Hemangio can die very quickly, but my vet said that on average, in his experience, it is 7 months. When you are expecting one month, seven is a long time. Each day that I see Lassie acting like her old self it makes me so happy and I cherish it. Since our tests were inconclusive, I still hold out hope that she did not have Hemangio but I am prepared (as best as I can) either way. I hope Maddie continues to do well for a long time! Thanks for caring!


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## Karen519

*Jchap*

Jchap

Glad to hear Lassie is doing well.

Kisses and hugs to you both!!


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## codybearwright

This past month my sweet Cody Bear has been having trouble with his hips and groaning a bit so I thought it was just old age . arthritis etc. as he is 9 yrs old. We just found out that he has a large tumor near his spleen and may have cancer. We are heartbroken and I am going for a second opinion as the general opinion is that if they remove the tumor and the cancer has spread they will put him to sleep. I just worry that he is in pain and how do you know ??? Please let me know if anyone out there has had a similar situation. Thank You


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## KiwiD

So sorry to hear about Cody Bear. Our almost 10 year old Golden just went through a splenectomy for a tumor on her spleen that had ruptured at the end of January. The vet saw something suspicious on the liver while doing the pre-surgery ultrasound but it ended up not being anything. She had a follow up ultrasound yesterday and the vet saw no new tumors on any of her other organs. Is there any indication (i.e. ultrasound) that the cancer (if that's what it is) has already spread to other organs? Is Cody Bear eating, drinking, playing etc? If he's not wanting to do some of these normal activities it could mean he's not feeling well.


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## jchap

We had a very similar experience with Lassie. 1 1/2 month ago we brought Lassie to the vet because she wasn't acting right. Turns out she had a tumor on her spleen which had ruptured and she was bleeding internally. There was no time for discussion and no one ever mentioned putting her to sleep. The vet told me that the tumor could be benign. There was something on her liver, but they did not feel it was cancerous. Although they were suspicious of Hemangiosarcoma, they could not confirm any diagnosis and one Pathology report was completely benign. 6 weeks later, she is back to her old self., eating like a pig, playing etc. We will sonogram her in a month or two to see if she is clear, but in the meantime, we are enjoying having her around, whatever the ultimate outcome is. I suppose I would want to know that Codybear is not in pain, but remember that it may just be arthritis. These may be two separate things. Unless they find some wide spread disease and codybear is in pain, I would not jump to do anything extreme. Good Luck.


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## Karen519

*Jchap*

Jchap

So very HAPPY that Lassie is doing well!! Love her up!!


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## jchap

Just wondering, I have noticed that Lassie has been panting a bit more than usual. She was always a "panter" but I can hear her at night when she's sleeping at times. Otherwise, she is acting fine. Does anyone think this is cause for concern?


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## Karen519

*Jchap*

Jchap

I know that panting can be indicative of pain. You can ask the vet.


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## Lisabethe123

*True Heartbreak*

So sorry to hear about your dogs but glad that Lassie and Cody Bear recovered after their surgeries. My dog, Teddy Bear, was almost 7 and we had him since he was a pup. On Sunday, April 29, he had trouble getting up, went in to the ER, had emergency surgery for internal bleeding, and died during the operations. Saturday he was fine. Sunday he had bleeding and a tumor on his spleen and 75% of his liver that was cancerous. 

This is my first time owning a dog (other than growing up) and the first having a Golden. My son (we got him when my son was 10) and I fell in love with Bear. He was the best dog ever! He made a dog person out of me (a former cats only person).

We were devastated. I can't understand why they can't spot these tumors early and get intervention done before they burst. Reading the posts here seems to indicate that the symptoms occur very suddenly and usually when a rupture has occurred and the odds are not good. We paid for everything the doctor could do to try to save Bear (even though I am out of work), and I would do it again, even though we still lost him.

I would like to get another Golden, maybe a relative of Teddy's. My son is very concerned about this happening again. I know that big dogs live shorter than small dogs - usually about 10 - 12 years, but 7 seems awfully young. Does anyone know how common this problem is in middle aged Goldens with a family history?

Also, the regular vet, who I visited last week, told us that even though Teddy had been in 4 weeks prior and had blood work (routine) done, a dog can have advanced cancer like Teddy did and not show an elevated white blood cell count? Is this also your understanding? 

I asked her about preventive care and she said ultrasounds are best but cost $400 to $600. I was thinking to do one every three years to try to identify any potential tumors early. Does anyone have any thoughts on how to prevent or get these tumors identified and removed early on?

I just love the Golden personality. I realize most dogs are prone to one type of disease or another. Any thoughts you have would be welcome, because as much as I love my cats, it was so much more devastating to lose Teddy - he was like a child I had for seven years!

Thanks, Lisa


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## Jennifer1

My Bear currently has hemangiosarcoma (which is what Teddy sounds like he had). She has tumors in her liver, spleen, and lungs. All of her bloodwork is that of a normal dog even with all of the tumors. 
This is a tumor of the lining of the bloodvessel. Usually by the time you notice any symptoms (Bear didn't want to eat one morning), the cancer is already wide spread.
Even with routine ultrasounds, it can be fine and have a tumor 6 months later.
Unfortunately this is just an extremely aggressive cancer.
There is a sticky at the top of this page about it, here's the link http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...109422-excellent-article-hemangiosarcoma.html


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## SBennett36

My Hercules was diagnosed with hemangio and underwent spleen removal and chemotherapy. He just passed the six month mark from his spleen removal. I have a customer who is a vet and he also has lost a golden to hemangio. When speaking to him to the other day he told me hemangiosarcoma and hemangioma appear similar and can often be mistaken for one another depending on whether or not the whole spleen was sent to the researcher or just a biopsy. From what I understand hemangioma is a cluster of benign tumors. I am not sure whether or not this helps but it might give you some additional questions to ask your vet. I hope for the best diagnosis for your fur-friend and wish you the best of luck!


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## Buddy's mom forever

Lisabethe123, I am very sorry for your loss of Teddy Bear. He was too young to leave, but this evil disease doesn't care taking so many of our beautiful friends.


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## naa

*Howie*

Hi everyone. It is very comforting having this forum to share our Howie's condition. Howie's my sidekick. He's eight and had been in excellent health. Last Saturday night he suffered a gran mal seizure. A shorter period seizure occurred the next day. The emergency clinician performed labs, labs showed no disease. Howie's abdomen was sonogrammed, his lungs were x-rayed. Lungs were clear. An intact mass was found on the spleen. Howie was placed on Phenobarbital and released. He has had no further seizures. A splenectomy is scheduled for tomorrow morning. We are praying for Howie and hoping that the splenic mass is benign. However, the relationship between the splenic mass and seizures is unclear. A visit with a neurologist provided stroke as a possible cause for seizure. If he has brain tumor(s) we hope they are benign. If the brain tumors are malignant we hope reasonable chemotherapy along with palliative care are available. We're just hoping for the best. 

Does anyone have experience with the above issues? 

Golden Retrievers are the sweetest.

Thanks!


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## Buddy's mom forever

naa said:


> Hi everyone. It is very comforting having this forum to share our Howie's condition. Howie's my sidekick. He's eight and had been in excellent health. Last Saturday night he suffered a gran mal seizure. A shorter period seizure occurred the next day. The emergency clinician performed labs, labs showed no disease. Howie's abdomen was sonogrammed, his lungs were x-rayed. Lungs were clear. An intact mass was found on the spleen. Howie was placed on Phenobarbital and released. He has had no further seizures. A splenectomy is scheduled for tomorrow morning. We are praying for Howie and hoping that the splenic mass is benign. However, the relationship between the splenic mass and seizures is unclear. A visit with a neurologist provided stroke as a possible cause for seizure. If he has brain tumor(s) we hope they are benign. If the brain tumors are malignant we hope reasonable chemotherapy along with palliative care are available. We're just hoping for the best.
> 
> Does anyone have experience with the above issues?
> 
> Golden Retrievers are the sweetest.
> 
> Thanks!


Welcome to the forum, just to send you some good vibes for surgery and speedy recovery for Howie.


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## Doug

Also sending Howie healing, light and strength during this intense time.
GOOD luck Howie!!


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