Subcutaneous Hemangiosarcoma - Page 1

A friend's 2 year old German Shepherd has been diagnosed with subcutaneous hemangiosarcoma. The dog presented with a small mass on the right carpus that was completely excised. The exam was otherwise normal including chest x-rays and abdominal ultrasound. She saw an oncologist today and will start treatment with doxorubicin. My friend was told the average life expectancy is 6 months. Does anyone have experience with this disease or any suggestions for dietary management, supplements, helpful articles or any other recommendations such as seeing a holistic veterinarian. This would be in addition to getting the recommended chemotherapy she will start soon. Thanks in advance for any help.

All that chemo is going to do is cause the dog to be miserably sick for his short life. It won't save him, it will only make him sick...the hemangio won't kill him any faster than the chemo. But the vet will get his mortgage payments. Jmo.

Joanro so true

They should use the VET money to buy steaks for the dog probably do more good and the dog will be happy

I saw an article recently that said there have been NO advancements made in the treatment of hemangiosarcoma in the last couple of decades.

I have heard of SO many people paying big bucks for surgery, only to have the vet find the animal riddled with cancer and euthanize it on the OR table, or die just a few months/weeks after the surgery.

Similar results happen with chemo.

I wouldn't waste my money. Just love the dog, and keep it as happy and comfortable as possible.

Thank you for your response Sunsilver. The Oncologist gave a reasonable prognosis of around 6 months. The only positive I see is that the lesion on the leg was small and completely removed and there is no evidence of spread of disease. My friend is willing to give the treatment a chance and is just looking for other ways to support the dog such as diet change/supplements. She loves the dog dearly and I'm sure will stop treatment if the dog is suffering in any way.

I've never heard of subcutaneous hemangiosarcoma. But I am curious now and will look further into it. My girl had a lump near her elbow, I had it removed, they believed it was complete and we sent it to the lab for pathology. It was a cancerous growth, I don't recall the exact name as it was a few years ago, but I was told that it was something that may reoccur in the same area but that it wasn't one that spreads. It was classified as a skin cancer of some kind. 2 months later she went down from ruptured hemangiosarcoma mass off the liver. I've always wondered if they were somehow related.

Summer time, the tumors were related. The one on the surface is an indication of what's inside. The liver hemangio is very common.
Dogs often don't show symptoms til they are close to death.

I had a husky cross, (wolf/ husky / gsd hybrid) sled dog, that was only eight years old when I went to his yard one morning to let him out and found him dead. 
I had my vet do an autopsy..... he found a ruptured hemangiosarcoma on his liver...my vet told me my beloved Stetson bled out over night. This dog had not missed a meal, had been working in the team a couple days prior to his death.

BTW, my dog did not have so much as a pimple on his skin .his condition and coat were beautiful!

So sorry to hear this I wished they would do more studies and get somewhere BUT a friends Samoyed had a spot on his toe she took him in and it was hemangio and that thing got the size of a golf ball in a short time even with special diet treatment (holistic treatments, etc) don't believe he had chemo though and end result was still the same. Either she had to have the whole leg removed or leave him. Except for special homecooked diet all else stayed the same. He was 3 yrs. old and lived only a couple of months when starting to suffer and go off his food. Damn stuff is quick and wicked. I would probably choose comfort care and leave it be. Keep dog happy and you can with diet changed to whatever he wants and keep protein levels up. Let's face it nothing you can do to change the outcome and there is no cure. So sorry.

I'm so sorry for your friend. Unfortunately it seems like there is little knowledge about dogs and cancer, I would have a hard time trusting one, or even several vets opinions on cancer from the information and experiences I've heard from those close to me. There's not really a whole lot that can be done.

I personally would not do the chemo, it does not work the same for humans as it does for dogs. While I won't claim that it works 100% there are many out there that swear by CBD oil and THC oil. Tried it for my dogs back issues and did nothing but I know others who have used the same brand I used for dogs with hemangio and the dogs miraculously lived much longer than originally thought. Side effects are usually mild or non existent. If you are interested in the company I used PM me and I'll give you the info.

My 7 year old shepherd was diagnosed with splenic hemangiosarcoma. The first sign I noticed was a swollen lymph node and she seemed a little "off". She was diagnosed a week later. We did not do chemo or surgery. The prognosis was not good. We had 2 more weeks together before I had to put her down. Up until then she had been in great health with no issues. Hemangiosarcoma is a very devastating and quick disease. It has been 2 years and I can't even type this without tearing up:(

I now use a holistic vet. He has been a wealth of knowledge regarding dog nutrition and how to support the immune system. PM me if you would like the name of my vet. He does phone consultations all around the US.