Golden has one heck of a tumur.

radman · Feb 11, 2002

dmccarty:
I am a retired veternarian and now in human medicine (radiologist). To help you make a rational decision, I need more info. Specifically, what type (name) of tumor does your dog have. Has a biopsy been performed? It is very rare to have a liver tumor "burst" in either an animal or in humans. Many benign (noncancerous) tumors are compatible with a normal life. In my line of work, I have biopsied livers, lungs, pancreas, kidney, spleen and nearly anyplace I can get a needle into. You and your vet can't make good decisions without knowing what you are dealing with. If the vet can't give you answers, get a second opinion from a university or college of vet med. What 2 tests were performed which said it wasn't cancerous. Feel free to e-mail me if necessary.
Last week, I did a CAT scan of a dog's head looking for a nasal tumor another vet told the owners he saw a mass with a scope. I don't know what the vet saw, but I could unequivically tell the owners that the dog had no tumors/lesions. The owners were preparing for chemotherapy or radiation treatments.
Dont give up hope. All the info is not available.

DVerbarg · Feb 11, 2002

We had a similiar situation last fall with our dark golden retriever. Amber, the golden, was acting stiff/uncomfortable at the age of 8. Went to the vet and he told us that she most likely had an intestinal cancer/tumor and that is was common for this breed of dog. Did not do surgery but gave her a couple meds to make her more comfortable. She lived another couple months but went down hill very quickly at the end. The last couple days were hard on us. Amber was so loyal and it almost seemed that you could see in her eyes that she was "holding on" because of her loyalty to us.
It might seem a little strange but I sat down with her one evening after putting the kids to bed and talked to her for about 30 minutes. Talked about her life with us and recounted many many stories and told her she was a great companion, and it was Ok to leave us, we understood. The next morning when I checked on her, she was gone. The kids (ages 9 and 4) had many questions about life and death. They took it pretty well. As a family we went out and buried her (the poorest excuse I ever had to use the tractor to dig a hole). Kids made a grave marker with stones and sticks.

Kids are over it now, three months later. They want another puppy! I'm not ready yet. Maybe someday.

dmccarty · Feb 12, 2002

BoonDox,

I told my wife about Tetley last night. I THINK it helped her, I'm not sure. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

When I got Kelly I picked her from the litter and then took about 30 minutes or more to actually pick her up to take her home. I had three dogs as a kid and I know what happens at the end so getting another dog was very hard. Loosing them is even worse.....

Later...
Dan

dmccarty · Feb 12, 2002

Kip,

I really wanted a Wolfhound but they are so rare. But what pushed me away from them is that they are supposed to have a short life due to their size. 11 years seems like a long time for a Wolfie... I REALLY wanted a dog that wieghs what I do! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Just wish they would life longer.....

Later...
Dan

dmccarty · Feb 12, 2002

Radman,

I'll have to ask the wife to see if they have mentioned the type of tumor. Last night I talked with a family friend who is a vet and who had talked with the vet who had operated on Chase. I worked a 15 hour day yesterday so my ability to understand the vet was a bit low.... /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif What I got from her was that the tumor was solid and not likely to burst. I think she said it was involved with the gallbladder but not the spleen. The tumor is 5 inches long and my wife said it looked like a Kong toy when they viewed it with ultrasound. They figured if they took it out Chase would likely bleed to death. Both she and the vet that did the surgery are waiting for tests results on the tissues they took out yesterday. Then we can see what we are dealing with...

I know one of the vets attending Chase is the leading Cancer specialists in the area. I'm sure he works with NCSU's vet school. Frankly, my dogs get FAR better health care than we do. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif And I'm not kidding either. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif We have had far better luck finding good vets than good doctors.

We where hoping that there would be some chemo that would work but we won't know until the latest tests are back. She had chemo for some tumors she had a few years ago and it worked wonders. She had, I know I'm getting the terminology wrong, a level 3 tumor. Four levels of tumor and she got the second worse kind. The chemo worked.

I'll post more info when I can get it over the next couple of days....

Thank you very much,
Dan

kiphorn · Feb 12, 2002

We've had three wolfhounds. Borris was the oldest when we lost him at 11 years old (which is old by wolfhound standards). The other two were 8 and 9 years old. They were both males who supposedly have a shorter life spans than the females.

Best of luck with Chase.

Kip

dmccarty · Feb 12, 2002

DVerbarg,

We lost Thorpe about 15 months ago. Here is a note I sent to
people after Thorpe died. Robin is my wife and Ashley is the 22 month old sweety pie. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Robin had planed to go see Thorpe at 11:00pm Friday but she fell asleep with Ashley and I did not want to wake her. At about 1:00am I went to sleep and shortly thereafter the vet called and said the Thrope's heart rate was becoming irregular. Robin went to see Thrope while I stayed with
Ashley.

Thorpe had been very lethargic and out of it. The vet said that a few minutes before Robin showed up, Thorpe sat up in her cage. He said it really took him by suprise that Thorpe could sit up and he wondered what was up. When Robin got to the vet, Thorpe saw her, she sat up again and started
wagging her tail all over the place. Robin hugged her, Thorpe laid back down with her head on Robin's arm and died. Thorpe knew Robin was coming and just waited to see her one last time.

The wierd thing about Thorpe getting up is that she started wagging her tail and there was no way she could have known Robin was on the way to the hospital. But Thorpe knew and waited.....

Dogs are the most loyal creature I know.....

Later...
Dan

RichZ · Feb 12, 2002

Dan, a second opinion is ALWAYS a good idea. Try to get Radman the info he asked for. Where there's life, there's hope. Chase deserves every chance possible. I know what you're going through, I've been there many times before.

Right now I'm preparing to bring Mulder, my mastiff in for his second knee surgery. Though it's not life threatening, it's still tough. Recovery from this surgery is very painful, even with medication. I know how tough it was for his first one. But if we don't do it, he'll become crippled. He badly limps on his bad knee, but the one that had surgery is now strong. I hate to put him through it, but he's only 2 years old, so he desrves the best life I can give him. I'll be taking off AT LEAST two weeks from work to take care of him. Luckily my boss is a dog lover. Mulder is the most loving and gentle dog I've ever had, and he's 160 pounds. He is so gentle with our new puppy, and loves to play with her (his little sister) and our St. Bernard (his big sister).

Good luck with Chase. Dogs are worth every emotional heartbreak they put us through!

Rich
"What a long strange trip it's been."

MDNick · Feb 12, 2002

6 Years ago this July 12th I was in a bad auto accident. My fault, ran a read light, hit a woman broadside in the drivers door. I was in an F150, she was in an Accord. I was doing about 50. You can well imagine the results. Seatbelt and airbag saved me. Not much could save her, other than me not having my head firmly immersed in my buttocks.

Anyway, that night my boss and college prof (worked for the college after graduation) picked me up and took me to his place (well he made me drive to his place). His dog, Maggie (cocker spaniel) was always friendly to me, but she was friendly to everyone. That night was totally different. She would not leave my side. Glued to me. She just was there, not wanting to play as usual. She knew I had some problems. It was amazing. I spent the night crying into her fur, she didn't care. A wonderful dog. It's the only good memory I have of that several weeks. Lot's of totally unforgettable bad memories, though.

Nick