# Cancer & decisions to make for my 10 year old Wally



## GohRoh (Nov 23, 2011)

Hi all - We have a very happy 10 year old golden who developed a lump on the back of his neck. It's about 3 cm large at this point. We had it aspirated and it's an aggressive cancer. The vet told us that we should either do nothing at all, or go 100% all in with cat scan, surgery and chemo, which she said would cost $10-$15k and would require us to travel to a different city. 

As hard as it is to say this, I just can't see us going down the route. Maybe if Wally was much younger, we would go for it. But at 10, it's a tough decision because it's a bit unknown how much time we'd buy if we went all in on it. 

That being said, the tumor is large, and it is splitting open his skin in the back of his neck slightly, so it is bleeding. Wally doesn't seem to mind it at all, and doesn't look to be in any sort of pain, but I also know how stoic dogs can be when it comes to pain tolerance. 

Another option is for us to do a "general debulk", which would basically be removing the lump without doing any sort of cat scan. The vet said they wouldn't know where the margin is, so it would likely just continue to grow back.

If we don't go down the debulk route, I have no idea what will be in store for us while this tumor continues to grow and break through the skin. It doesn't seem like the do nothing approach is sustainable with the tumor already breaking the skin. 

I'm hoping for general advice? I'm tempted to just do the debulk to save Wally the discomfort of the tumor breaking open the skin. But it could just grow back and do it all over again? We also have no idea if it spread much, so maybe debulking will give us more time with Wally. 

We need to make a decision fast. The vet said it's imperative we decide right now. 

This is a tough time for our little family, so any advice on what you would do in this situation would be helpful. Thanks


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## GohRoh (Nov 23, 2011)

Reading over the pathology report they believe the cancer is either fibrosarcoma or myxosarcoma.


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## SoCalEngr (Apr 11, 2020)

GohRoh said:


> As hard as it is to say this, I just can't see us going down the route. Maybe if Wally was much younger, we would go for it. But at 10, it's a tough decision because it's a bit unknown how much time we'd buy if we went all in on it.


I apologize up front for sounding unsympathetic, but, other than "being 10", you didn't mention anything else that sounds like a poor quality of life. About the only thing I could see that would stop us from pursuing treatment is if the cancer had little chance of being addressed, and the treatment would also make Wally miserable. Outside of that, Wally deserves the best you can provide...until "the best" is simply not good enough.


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## Coastal Pup (Jan 30, 2021)

I’m so sorry, I can’t imagine what you’re going through, especially when you have to make a decision so quickly. I think if I were in your position there are a few things I would do to start - 
1. Research both possible cancers and ask the vet if it’s possible to determine which it is - one cancer can have a have different prognosis from the next so the best decision will be made with all of the available information. 
2. I would also want to consider Wally’s quality of life with or without the debulking procedure. If you do nothing and it’s already opening, consider the management needed to make sure it doesn’t get infected. If you do the procedure, what’s the recovery like? Is Wally going to be able to handle a second or third debulking if it keeps coming back?
3. If I knew all of the info about type of cancer, treatments, prognosis, cost of debunk, etc. I would then weigh my options with finances. If I knew that my dog was really healthy and the cancer treatment had a promising outcome, I would probably go for the treatment. If the cancer has a bleak outlook, or if I knew my dog wouldn’t handle surgery well and would be miserable during recovery, I may choose palliative care and keep him as comfortable as possible. 
One thing to look into if finances are an issue and you don’t have pet insurance is the Care Credit credit card. I’ve had friends who have used it for their dogs, it’s basically a credit card for pet emergencies and it has different payback/payoff options. It may help soften the 15k blow if you go that route. 
Again, so sorry you’re going through this. Many here have gone through a cancer diagnosis with their dogs and it’s my biggest fear with my puppy, too. Hoping for the best with whatever you decide for sweet Wally.


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## rosegold (Nov 9, 2016)

I am sorry Wally is dealing with this. Can you start with the CAT scan to get more information about the tumor spread? Then you may be able to make a more informed decision about further treatment.


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

I'm very sorry you are going through this. This might seem harsh to some but in my mind 10 years old is the point where I probably would not fight an aggressive cancer if it meant devastating family finances. Gather as much info as possible and when you make a decision try not to let yourself second guess it later.


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

Mine got an aggressive cancer when he was eight, he lasted four months, and died two months after he turned nine. We did chemo and his four months were mostly good -- sans about two weeks time spread out. He handled the actual treatment well and enjoyed life/seemed happy.

I don't know that I would do the same again, but I don't know that I wouldn't. Each situation is different. It's a very emotional and heartbreaking time. It was very expensive, but we could afford it. It wasn't so much a money decision for us as it was a what was best for Luke and for us. We were overwhelmed reading up on the particular cancer, doing treatment research, getting to know specialty vets we were trusting to care for him, and so on.

In hindsight, I don't think we did anything that harmed Luke -- so do no harm was intact. It's very normal to have thoughts about whether you are doing what is best for the dog or just keeping him around longer than is best for him. Luke left this world peacefully and in my arms.

I pass zero judgment on anyone who opts not to go the route we did -- be it they simply don't want to put their dog through it due to age or condition, go through it themselves, or can't afford it. (For information purposes, we spent $20,000.)

Can you get a scan which would provide you information on the margins and remove the tumor, with no further treatment/chemo?


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## pawsnpaca (Nov 11, 2014)

I'm so sorry you are dealing with this. I have lost two dogs to cancer (one to intestinal lymphoma and one to sinus cancer). The first became ill very quickly and we had to let him go three weeks after he first became ill... the very day we finally got a definitive diagnosis... so there really wasn't any chance to debate treatment options. The other was a fiasco of trying to get appointments and trying to get oncologists to talk to us about our options. When we finally got an oncologist to talk to us, the cancer had progressed and the treatment would have involved driving our dog down to Boston _every day_ for two weeks, having him anesthetized, and then radiation to the location... cost estimate around $10K, and no guarantees that it would buy us more than a few months. We opted to go the holistic route with him (herbs, diet, homeopathy). He lived about two months post-diagnosis but had a decent quality of life during that time and passed largely on his own terms.

This is such a hard decision for those of us who love our dogs. As others have mentioned, I think I'd want more information and I might opt for debulking just to buy a bit more time. If it comes back, it comes back... but hopefully by then you will have had some time to research and consider your options and will make a well thought out decision about what is best for all concerned.

If you'd like to consider some "natural" treatments that may extend your boy's time or slow tumor growth, you may want to consult with a holistic vet. There are some other good resources online. I like a website called "Dog Aware" for some general information, but having an actual trained holistic vet will likely always get you the best result.


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## Taoslover (Apr 13, 2013)

I am so sorry your little family is dealing with this hard decision. We just dealt with this with my 8-yr old Golden, who was diagnosed with lymphoma and then died just 3 weeks later. His cancer was not the aggressive kind, and our vet told us that with chemo treatments, he could live many months with good quality of life. He passed away after just one treatment. My suggestion to you is to get specific with your vet and ask how long you have without any treatment at all, and how long you have if you do the aggressive treatment. If your vet isn’t able to answer these questions or at least give you the trust you need that he/she is educated to know, then I would take your dog to another vet who is better qualified to answer. The estimate you were given for the treatment cost is a lot for most people to absorb. If you choose not to do the treatment but just love him and give him good days until the end, no one will judge you. Every situation is different and everyone’s ability to go the extra mile is different too. In a way, we were lucky we didn’t have to make more decisions, but if the cancer is already known to be aggressive, then I would sure find out how long he would have if you did the treatment and what his quality of life would be like. I don’t know if you have a university vet school near you, but that is always a great option to check out. Often they have clinical trials you can join, you just have to make the trek there. My list of priorities would be quality of life for my dog with or without treatment, and financial stress on my family. I am so sorry.


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## Oceanside (Mar 29, 2021)

So sorry you’re going through this. You’ve gotten a lot of good answers already. There are so many factors that only you can decide, but I would also be tempted to do the debulk to buy some time in making a decision. I think quality of life is one of the biggest factors — I wouldn’t want to put a dog through a bunch of treatments that make them sick if it wouldn’t buy much time, but sometimes dogs do really well on conventional treatments, so you’d have to weigh that out given the information you have/are getting. The holistic options that Lisa mentioned can also be a good approach at giving you some more quality time with Wally if you decide against the conventional options.


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## Taz Monkey (Feb 25, 2007)

At 10 years old, I still had 3.5 years with my girl. At 13.5 years old, she had her spleen removed and as far as the surgery went, she recovered fully like it never happened. I would not hesitate to treat and remove cancer on a 10 year old dog who is otherwise in good condition.


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## Tkrosey (Jun 13, 2020)

GohRoh said:


> Hi all - We have a very happy 10 year old golden who developed a lump on the back of his neck. It's about 3 cm large at this point. We had it aspirated and it's an aggressive cancer. The vet told us that we should either do nothing at all, or go 100% all in with cat scan, surgery and chemo, which she said would cost $10-$15k and would require us to travel to a different city.
> 
> As hard as it is to say this, I just can't see us going down the route. Maybe if Wally was much younger, we would go for it. But at 10, it's a tough decision because it's a bit unknown how much time we'd buy if we went all in on it.
> 
> ...


My girl had myxofibrosarcoma. A rare and very aggressive cancer. We also found a lump about the size of a dime on the upper shoulder blades below the back of her neck. We found it early since she had many lipomas so we were constantly checking. She was 12 but super healthy and active. Without surgery she had about a month but with surgery a year or perhaps longer depending on how she responded to Chemo. We decided on surgery. It was a big surgery and when she came out we felt at first like we made the wrong choice. She looked awful with her back and sides shaved and so many staples but she bounced back and had IV chemo every 4 weeks for a full 6 treatments which was the oncologist’s plan. She was doing fabulous and then about two months later she developed a cough. Cancer in her lung…devastating news. They said she had about a month. She died a month later. Would I do it again? Yes with how happy and healthy she was going into it. I will always be grateful she was able to play at the beach and enjoy life for another 11 months. I will say I was lucky to have pet insurance because it’s not cheap. Surgery, IV chemo, bloodwork every month. Meds. Only you can make the best decision for Wally. 💛








Post surgery (sweater to keep her warm since her back and sides were shaved) and going through chemo. About 6 months before she passed.


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## three retirees (Aug 31, 2018)

I am sorry hear of your Wally and cancer. I assume it is hemangiosarcoma,. Since you did not say. My Eden had it. She was 9 years old. She had a tumor on her Thigh. It grew to the size of a orange, before I put her down. She was happy and a joy to be around, the day she went to the bridge. In hindsight, I should have removed the tumor early on. The breeder said it was a fatty tumor and not to worry about it. Wrong Diagnosis! So my recommendation to you is find another Vet who will remove the tumor surgically and then hope for the best. Yes you can spend 10 to 15K and still have the dog only live 2 to 10 months more. It is a hard choice to make. The real choice is are you doing the best for the dog OR are you doing it for yourself, because you don't want to lose the dog. 

I am not being harsh with you. I did the research when Eden had cancer. I read everything I could about it, I joined web sites and dog cancer forums. I read storied of people who amputated dog limbs to remove cancer. Vets told the owner the dog would live another year or more, only to have the dog die in 2 months. Why put the dog through that for a few more months of life.

Your choice, your decision. I held my Eden even as she passed to the bridge. MY wife left the room before she passed.


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## alexisefabian (Aug 14, 2020)

I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this, it is the most horrible part of loving a golden. My boy had a recurring lump on his arm that eventually became cancerous. We got it removed a few times. It started as a fatty deposit when he was fairly young but it was diagnosed as cancer when he was 6 or 7. We were offered the option of chemo, but it was so expensive and we were worried about how it would make him feel. The surgeon was fairly confident that he had gotten most of the cancer removed during the last surgery, so we left it be. My boy died from cancer when he was 11. We'll never have all of the answers, but he suddenly lost mobility and we had to put him down two weeks later. He had chest X-rays to help the vet try and diagnose why he had lost mobility, and they discovered his lungs were full of cancer. We think that the cancer on his arm spread over the years without us knowing and it eventually caused him to be paralyzed. 

If you think your boy can handle debulking, it might give you more time. I don't remember exactly what cancer they told us my boy had, but it was categorized as aggressive. A few removals gave us 5 more years, even though it was a horrible ending. If you do decide on debulking, try to get an awesome surgeon if you can spare the time to research a bit. I don't think multiple removals would have been needed for my boy if we had found a highly recommended surgeon the first time around. 

Much love and support to you and Wally


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## Clipper's mom (Apr 27, 2019)

Those of us who’ve been through cancer in a pet can feel your pain…My boy, at 11, had an aggressive tumor in his intestine, that we had removed through emergency surgery before we knew what it was, because he was in pain. It was a huge incision, and the recovery was grueling for all of us, and he couldn’t tolerate chemo at all. He simply stopped eating. So we stopped the chemo, and just gave him things to make his digestion more comfortable, knowing the cancer would come back, but not when. It only took three months after his recovery from surgery. But they were three good months. We got some helpful advice about that: think of your pet’s three favorite things: can he still enjoy at least two of them? If so, it is too soon to let him go. Only one of his favorite things? Then it is probably time. But when it is time, remember it is better for him to let him go a day too soon than a day too late.


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## three retirees (Aug 31, 2018)

I put Eden down on Thursday July 5. She was 9 years 3 months an 1 week old. We got her a week before she was 7 years old.

On Monday July 2 Eden would not eat her breakfast. I gave it to her 3 times before she finished it. Not like her at all. Usually she would wolf it down.

On Tuesday July 3 we talked with a Vet. Eden seemed to be ok.

On Wednesday July 4. Not a good day. Eden just followed me whereever we went for a walk. If I stopped she stopped. No chasing Rabbits or Balls. Just followed me, 2 steps behind me. I knew it was time, but it was a holiday.

Thursday July 5, We gave Eden all her favorite foods, We let her on the furniture and bed. We never let her do that before.

Eden was diagnosed with cancer in May of the same year. She Passed in July when I put her down. It was the hardest decision I had to make, but the best for her. 

On Thursday July 5 when we put her down a Vet Tech wanted to know why we wanted to put her down. I told the Vet tech to feel her left hind thigh. She found the tumor. The tumor was between the size of a orange or Grapefruit. The Vet tech understood why I wanted to put her down.

So of the last 4 days she had one good day and 3 bad days. Eden was a champion show dog, before we got her. But she was a pet to us. She went to the bridge 3 years ago in July. We still miss her and compare our current dog, Paige to her. Paige, too is a retired show dog. We got when she was 7 1/2 years old. Six weeks after Eden passed. This is why we call ourselves Three retirees.


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