MadWoofter Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 (edited) Last night Inoticed Tess had a hard lychee-sized lump on the back of her foot. Took her to the vet tonight who took 4 samples (fine needle aspirations) so now the waiting game begins. He marked them urgent so hopefully results will be in Monday afternoon. Any suggestions on how to pass the weekend without worrying? I am so proud of my girl, the vet said it would sting & got the nurse in to help hold here in case she kicked. Tess just stood there & didn't even flinch . She got lots of pats off the vet Edited June 4, 2013 by MadWoofter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Everything crossed for Tess that it is nothing at all.. Ollie had that many lumps over the years and after having so many removed and tested, I got to the stage where it was simply - don't worry until I know there is something to worry about. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy21 Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 I'll keep my fingers crossed for you and Tess. Having recently had a similar wait myself, I know it is no fun at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harley Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Here's hoping its nothing to worry about The wait is the worst though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Here's hoping that it's something simple that will resolve easily. Please give Tess an extra kiss and cuddle from me every day until you get the results... T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katdogs Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 And cuddles from me too. Just watch and learn from her - I bet it's business as usual, no worrying for her! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9angel Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Keeping everything crossed for you and your girl MW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadWoofter Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 Thanks guys. She's not phased at all...going off the snores. I'm probably (read definitely) paranoid & need to take some lessons from Tess & just chill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadWoofter Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 Results are back & it's not good news. Definitely sarcoma although results can't determine if it's in the cartilage or tissue. It doesn't appear aggressive or highly malignant thank goodness. Options are to remove the tumour, however it's in a very difficult position and would more than likely result in amputation of the foot, radio/chemo which has horrific side affects and in my vet's experience these kind of tumours don't always respond to it anyway, or do nothing. Given Tess is a giant breed and is 10 years old my instant reaction is I'm not going to put her through anything invasive, and am opting for the do nothing approach. I will be doing some pretty serious research over the next day or two, particularly around alternative therapies and natural healing stuff. So here I am at work a blubbering mess. I have to do a couple of things, and then I'm going to go home and give my girl a very big cuddle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimax Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 So sorry the news wasn't good, I had all my fingers and paws crossed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harley Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Oh no, not the news we were all hoping for. Not sure if you remember, but my boy has had a soft tissue sarcoma removed about two years ago, when he was nine. His was behind one of his front legs. The usual vet was skeptical that it could be removed, but we were sent to a specialist. Luckily for us it had a good outcome. Here's hoping you too have a positive outcome from here on in. Please give her a gentle pat from me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*kirty* Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Oh no. Its completely your decision and I think you might have made the right one, but I just wanted to tell you that chemo and radiotherapy in dogs generally doesn't cause the nasty side effects like people get. My colleagues dog was treated for osteosarcoma and she had no side effects at all. Big hugs, was hoping it would not be serious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverStar-Aura Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Oh MW I'm so sorry to hear about Tess. I don't know anything about sarcomas but will it keep growing in size if left untreated? If it doesn't appear to be an aggressive type, leaving it alone might well be the best option. As for removing it, would their be less risk if it is in the tissue rather than cartilage? If one has a higher risk than the other, maybe there's a way to determine for sure if it is tissue or cartilage then deciding on removal or not. Give Tess a huge hug for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Results are back & it's not good news. Definitely sarcoma although results can't determine if it's in the cartilage or tissue. It doesn't appear aggressive or highly malignant thank goodness. Options are to remove the tumour, however it's in a very difficult position and would more than likely result in amputation of the foot, radio/chemo which has horrific side affects and in my vet's experience these kind of tumours don't always respond to it anyway, or do nothing. Given Tess is a giant breed and is 10 years old my instant reaction is I'm not going to put her through anything invasive, and am opting for the do nothing approach. I will be doing some pretty serious research over the next day or two, particularly around alternative therapies and natural healing stuff. So here I am at work a blubbering mess. I have to do a couple of things, and then I'm going to go home and give my girl a very big cuddle Ollie had a round cell sarcoma on his toe and they removed his toe when he was 10 years old - it took him a little while to recover but he was fine and that was the end of it. We were lucky with this one, taking the toe fixed it. Ollie also had 6 months of chemo for mast cell cancer - the side effects were that his thyroid stopped working and he needed thyroxine for the rest of his life. He also had a reflux problem and that was handled with meds and mylanta. They cannot and do not give dogs the doses they give humans with chemotherapy treatment. Bone marrow transplants are relatively new in the animal world and very expensive. With humans they give massive doses compared to what they give animals. If Ollie had not had chemo, he wouldn't have lived an extra 6 years - his prognosis without was 12 months max and with it was 12-18 months maybe 2 years. He was also holistically treated. Chemo doesn't do to dogs what it does to people - they don't get sick, they may get a bit flat a couple of days after the treatment (I think this happened with Ollie maybe 4 times and had chemo 3 weeks out of 4 each month for 6 months). They don't lose hair - but where they shave them for the canula, it might take longer to grow back than if they were not being treated. I know it is a lot to take in but research, research and then research some more - you will be surprised what is out there for treatments. Good luck and if you check out the palliative care section in health and start a thread for you both, I am sure you will get loads of advice and support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 MW - talk to Katdogs about the vet that removed a scary lump from Stevie's foot/hock. They did an awesome job with a very difficult area to operate on... T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katdogs Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 So sorry to read this MW. Stevie had a para-osteal-fibro-lypoma (don't google it, it doesn't exist) taken off her hock about 18 months ago. It was growing in the joint and bone, but we were told it wasn't malignant, just aggressive. The SASH people were wonderful and talked about all her options but she was only 5, in extremely good health, very happy to stay with strangers, and the surgeon was confident he could get most if not all of it out so we decided on surgery. On the other hand, Jodie's just had a lump taken off her belly. This time we didn't even do pathology on it. If it's nasty then it will come back, if not then it was nothing to worry about, and we would never put Jodie through more than a simple general at our local vet. You have lots of research to do and thought processes to go through, but only you will know what suits you and Tess best. If you need a shoulder (or someone else to help cuddle Tess) just let me know and I'll be around in a flash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 You have lots of research to do and thought processes to go through, but only you will know what suits you and Tess best. If you need a shoulder (or someone else to help cuddle Tess) just let me know and I'll be around in a flash. Me too! I have cuddles enough for you, Tess, and Fleming... T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Her Majesty Dogmad Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Sorry to hear this, what a difficult situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coogie Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Really sorry to hear, hugs to both of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackdogs Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 (edited) My friend's dog has been on chemo tablets for three years. She was given 6 months to live at nine years of age and is now 12 and doing well. Edited June 4, 2013 by Blackdogs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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