Spleen Cancer - Page 2

Just over a year ago I read up a lot about spleen conditions, particularly haemangiosarcoma as my then 3 year old female was almost diagnosed with this - her spleen was 20 x normal size! I found out that it is a very aggressive form of cancer and even with chemo the average survival time is not more than a few months (though there are a few cases of total cures when detected early). My vet did not recommend chemo even though she was so young. As it turned out it was not cancer but an inflammatory process and she was completely cured with total rest, antibiotics and without having the spleen removed, luckily we found the problem before the spleen ruptured. She is absoultely fine now. There are many benign tumors that affect the spleen as well as cancer, maybe your female has one of these, and she may be OK, dogs can survive very well without the spleen if it is removed due to ruture or danger of rupture. Especially given her age I would not think chemo would be a good idea, though who knows, it went well for sueincc with an old dog.....its a very difficult decision I know... Let us know how it goes, good luck.

I also want to say it is important to go to a specialist when dealing with cancer. They are up on all the lastest as far as supportive treatments which can make a big difference. Animal Oncologists have made huge strides in this area. I have remained close friends with my dogs' oncologist & see first hand how many more success stories there are today, even with older dogs.

I had a wonderful GSD - that had hemageocarcoma - spread to the spleen - they did a spleenectomy - at the UOFM vet hospital - I feel for you -I only had him for a short while after that. Oh yea forgot to tell you they forgot to tack the stomach - and there is alot of space in that cavity - and 3 weeks later he had bloat (which I caught within 5 mins) got him back to the UofM and they had to open him up again and there were no damaged organs - The cancer that is in the spleen - usually has traveled and will show up within weeks as also tumors on the heart............per radiologist -hemangeocarcoma travels through the blood system and I was kind of on a high after the spleenectomy because all 7 path reports showed no cancer - but they warned me that it is very hard to diagnois on path - alls I can say love her with all of your heart for as long as you have her. I don't believe that if it is hemangeocarcoma that they will suggest chemo - but if it is spleen - maybe chemo - my thoughts are with you.

Hi, I'm sorry to hear about your dog. Im going through something very similar. My 13 year old GSD girl has cancer on her spleen, we have had various options, chemo, removing her spleen or euthanasia or just let her live out her days. I feel though she wont be able to handle major surgery or chemo because of her age and she has a hard time with anesthetic. I felt best to just make her last weeks/months with us as comfortable as we can but have been told by some people its cruel to prolong her life. I'm a bit confused as to what i should do, i really don't want to have her put down but i don't want her to suffer. Is this sort of cancer a painful one for dogs, does anyone know? My dog doesn't seem to be in a lot of pain, i know she would be in a little discomfort but she still loves her food, loves coming to the beach, but i also know dogs hide their pain. so I'm really confused :(

Chemotherapy for hemangiosarcoma, at present, offers a very low success rate and little in the way of extension of survival time, unfortunately. I do know of a veterinarian who was able to get her Border Collie an additional 6 months of good time after his spleen was removed due to hemangiosarcoma, but she was also in a position to be able to give the dog transfusions when he'd 'crash' due to additional lesions that would start to bleed out internally. The majority of us aren't in such positions, however. Typically hemangiosarcoma is not a painful disease for the dog; if the disease is restricted to the spleen and the liver, what will likely take place will be a rupture of the organ followed by internal hemorrhaging which gradually weakens the dog until it passes away. It is not unusual for GSD owners to never even know their dog has hemangiosarcoma, and then come home one day to find the dog has apparently died quietly in it's sleep--but on autopsy it becomes clear that the dog bled out due to hemangiosarcoma. If the primary lesions were in the spleen, it may be weeks or months before additional lesions form and begin to rupture, or any lesions on the liver begin to bleed out. In the meantime, let your dog enjoy the things she's always enjoyed, and keep her with you for as long as she's having a good quality of life. As an aside, chemo for other cancers can be well worth the expense, time and stress involved--chemo for osteosarcoma, for example, has an excellent prognosis when done after the affected limb is amputated *if* the condition is diagnosed before it's begun to spread within the patient. Likewise for lymphosarcoma--although Blitzen's dog had a bad time of it, many dogs handle the treatment fairly well (dogs don't tend to have the severity of adverse effects that humans have to chemo)and gain a good amount of time in remission once they've completed the treatment. But whether or not to go the route of chemo is a personal choice each owner must make for themselves. There is no right or wrong choice in such a situation.

I'm so sorry. It's just a terrible situation to be in. We lost our Golden to brain cancer this last fall. Whatever decision you make, don't let anyone else try and pressure you into something you don't feel comfortable with. You love your dog. Outsiders don't. Your love will tell you whats best. For us it was no extreme measures. You'll know.

Thanx guys i really appreciate the info and advice :)

Hexe, when I had my dog treated ironically a friend's dog also developed lymphosarc at the same time. Both were treated with the same protocol by the same vet. The protocol was one designed by the cancer guru once associated with the Unversity of Pa vet school, now in private practice. Her sheltie never got sick, he went into remission faster than did Dylan, but his only held for 4 days. They opted to treat him again with the same result - no vomiting or diarrhea or depression, immediate remission that only held a week this time. He was put down a few days later as the nodes in his lungs were affected and he was not able to breathe. My dog took weeks to go into remission, needed a rescue protocol that was part of the noraml protocol but was needed weeks earlier for him. As you probably know, the rule of thumb for lymphosarc is to start small and work up to the big guns. His remission held for 6 weeks and we opted to not have him treated again due to his debilitation. Dylan lived 3 months longer that did the sheltie although the sheltie was treated twice and never missed a meal or had vomiting or diarrhea. Oncologists do not attempt to cure lymphosarc, they only try to put in it remission. Dogs cannot take a high enough dosage to affect a cure. They don't fight the side effects like us humans, they just lie down and die. It is expected that it will be an ongoing trematment regiment to keep most dogs alive. When I refused to retreat Dylan, the oncologist admitted to me that the only way to keep most dogs in remission is to continue to treat them every time they go out of remission. She herself kept one of her dogs alive for over 5 years, but that dog had over 20 treatments during those 5 years and was not able to be stressed in any way or exposed to any other dogs. That is the way that most vets keep dogs alive with lymphosarc; the treatment is ongoing. There is a Yahoo list for owners of lymphosarc dogs and it is about the most depressing thing I've ever read, I had to sign off after a few weeks. These people have chemo on most of these dogs almost weekly through out the course of their life. They can't take them for walks or allow any activities that might stress them in any way. They are bubble dogs. I'm sharing this as a warning of sorts for those of you who might some day have the misfortune of having a dog with lymphosacr. Yes, chemo will put them into remission, some remissions will hold for months and occasionally there is a dog that never goes out of remission. However, the cold hard statistics are - the average dog diagnosed with lymphosarc will live 6 months after diagnosis with or without chemo. Steroids will prolong the life of most dogs as long as will chemo. Vets tend to overstate the prognosis of dogs with lymphosarc. For some vets it is a challenge for them to see how long they can keep a dog alive. The saddest sight you will ever see is if you pay a visit to a canine oncology clinic - I will spare you the gruesome details. I would never advise anyone to not treat their dog for lymphosarc, but I would caution them to talk to owners who have and really do their research before deciding. They might get lucky and have the one dog in 5,000 that holds a remission for its lifetime and hope springs eternal for all owners for dogs they love. Of course that is what we hoped for. Instead we got a dog that could no longer play ball, take a walk or climb a few stairs. The worst part was seeing the sad look in his eyes. I have before and after photos and it it true, youcan see the sadness. I try to not look at them anymore. For my dog and me it was not worth it and I'd never do it again.

so sorry to hear about yr baby, i have been through this twice now, and im sure you will make the right decision. thinking of you.

Hi guys, I just a quick question, does anyone know if it would be detrimental to the health of a dog with cancer to get vaccinated? I want to take my girl to a course with me for canine massage but part of the requirement is she has a current vaccination. Just wanted to know if anyone knows if this would worsen the dog. Thanks all :)