Dog diagnosed with cancer

[ShadowCat]

I posted earlier that my dog was sick. We got the pathology report back and it turns out that my dog has hemangiosarcoma, which is a very aggressive cancer of the blood vessels. If we don't use chemotherapy, he will probably only live for another 1-2 months. If we do use it, he will probably live for 3-6 months. My mother is going to talk with the oncologist tomorrow and decide whether or not to use chemo. The cancer had caused a large tumor to form on his spleen, which made him lose his appetite. Now that he had his spleen removed, he seems much better. He's acting like he normally does. This will probably only last for a month though, at least without chemotherapy. I've had this dog for 12 years and we adopted him when I was 2, so he has been around as long as I can remember. I can't imagine life without him. Any advice on how to cope with this, advice on caring for dogs with cancer, or just support would be greatly appreciated.

 

[logitechdog]

had a bird for 7 years before it was dieing while i sleep, You will feel down and empty and upset but then i look back on how much of a good life it had playing around in the house and sitting on me shoulder nibbling on me neck.

sorry to hear it - i ended up getting another bird except a parrot but i still think of my other bird.

 

[Bexi]

O God, that's so sad

I just hope your dog goes through no more pain, which I know is no relief to you, but i'm glad you gave him a good life for all those years xxxxx

 

[ShadowCat]

We've decided to give him chemotherapy. Since with dogs, chemotherapy is used only to prolong the life, not cure, they get small doses and it doesn't affect them as much as it does with humans. It has changed his life expectancy from 1-2 months, to 3-12 months. I hope my dog is one of those rare cases that lives for a year or more with this cancer. He is doing well right now. He is very happy and besides the cancer, he is pretty healthy. He is still a little thin though.

 

[crazyfairyx]

I'm so sorry that you've had such bad news, losing a pet is one of the most painful things.

The only way you can cope with it is by allowing yourself to grieve, writing about it, and letting yourself remember the good memories. Because you know you have a limited amount of time left with him, you can make the most of it, and make sure your dog has the best time, lots of walks and dog treats I would have loved to have been able to do that with mine, just consciously appreciating the time we had together, but mine was spoilt already I guess lol.

Big hugs hun

Naomi x

 

[Chilling__Echo]

hey sweetie, like in your other post, i mentioned having been in your shoes. i don't have any more advice than what i posted, but to sum it up again because i know you need to hear it:

prepare in advance. enjoy every moment you have with your dog now and accept what's going to happen. there's nothing you can do to change it and i hope you get many many, uncharacteristically many days with your dog to come.

you're going to be okay, i promise we're all here for you, be thankful for the many years you've had, i'm sure he's been a blessing in your life

((((hugs)))) hang in there and see it as an ending to his suffering

 

[paul]

shadowcat -- I know I'm just repeating everyone here ... but I wish you the best with your dog. I lost my dog when I was 11 -- had her for all my life too. It is sad, but putting down and old dog that's in pain at least makes you feel a little like you're doing the right thing. I found http://dogcancer.net/ this site... hope you find it helpful

good luck and my thoughts are with you
paul

 

[LittleMissScareAll]

I'm sorry about your dog