FrodofromAus

If anyone has lost a dog to cancer and would like to contribute to the In Memory page on my website, I would love your photos. It saddens me so much reading the stories of the poor dogs who are battling this disease and the loving owners who are doing whatever they can to help their beloved pets. Canine cancer affects all breeds all ages and it is important we remember by name those that we have lost. Not only do we remember these dogs but with photos of the different types and breeds it serves as a reminder of this. In Memory Thanks in advance

Always best to get any spots or lumps and bumps checked out. Probably nothing but better to err on the side of caution.

Sorry to hear about your dog. You are obviously a dedicated owner. You never expect to hear that your dog has cancer and it is an awful shock. Not sure if there is any info here that might help you. I hope all goes well for you xx

I am really glad you decided to get pathology done. At least you will know one way or another. I hope the results turn out to be great news for you. Keep us posted.

I have not had a dog with this condition but what I can say is that if this is removed make sure you send it to the lab for pathology. It probably isnt cancerous but even oncologists dont take a stab in the dark and say it is nothing to worry about. When you get something like this removed ALWAYS send it to the lab no matter what you vet might think it is. This saved my dog Frodos life as my vet got his educated guess wrong. Sorry about the above post hit the wrong button and couldnt delete it

Whilst the lump on the head is a worry it may not be cancer. In terms of one of the comments regarding chemotherapy making your dog sick etc that is not a correct statement. When used with skilled hands ie an oncologist who has had years of training with cancer patients only, the side effects can be minimised. They know precisely what to do if a reaction happens as this is part of their training. Some dogs like mine had no side effects at all from chemotherapy. Often what happens is that the wrong chemotherapy is used to treat the cancer and this in turn can not only make it unpleasant but it does not treat the cancer correctly and therefore you do not get the best results that you would otherwise get. An oncologist wont start any chemotherapy until they have conducted a series of tests to determine precisely what cancer it is, and the grading and staging. The treatment for harmangiosarcoma may not be the same for a mast cell tumour. I know of many, many instances where the correct tests were not done and the diagnosis was by breed (as certain breeds have higher incidents of some cancers) and physical examination/ Following that determination chemotherapy has been given out. The correct testing as required by an oncologist prior to treatment is not cheap and that is why it is better for most people to have insurance so that their dogs can get the best treatments.

I think you need to get to a specialist vet asap as they have internal medicine specialists. There is a lot of experience with your vets and they are struggling. The lump on the head worries me. Was the lump on the head there before or did that also appear at the same time as the other symptoms? Good luck with it as it is awful for you with not knowing a diagnosis. Hope your dog is ok.

I am sure it is quite daunting but I have seen lots of dogs manage exceedingly well when they have had an amputation. Your dog is lucky to have you as there are dog owners out there who dont give their dogs the chance your giving yours. She is very lucky to have you and it sounds like SASH is confident she will be fine. Please keep up posted and I am sure you will have her for a long time to come.

Great news MF. Anyone that has been through the horrible wait on news knows how you feel so you dont need to appologise. When you use any natural form of medications (which I did) when under the treatment of an oncologist, always get both the natural vet and the oncologist to work together. I know some of the natural stuff can interfere with the cancer treatments like chemotherapy. I was advised to cut back on the dose of the calcium ascorbate which I did.

Glad you liked them at SASH. Always nice to hear good feedback. I hope the news is good for you Dave. Keep us posted.

Great news. Would be great if you could come and tell the cancer story at our website. I am sure a good news story would go down well for us. www.caninecancer.org.au

Link should be right now.

Hi I am sorry you are facing this battle with your dog. As someone who has had a dog suffer histiocytic sarcoma which is aggressive I know the worry and heartbreak you face. My dog is still with me four years later. Why well apart from some lucky my belief is that diligence, quick action and the use of an oncologist was the reason he is with me now. As a result of how grateful I am, I have done a website on canine cancer. I had to do so much reading and studying to be able to do it but I wanted to be able to help other dog owners and save more dogs. There is so much for us all to learn. I have been allowed to post the web address in the health forum but I would really urge you to use an oncologist. On the website you can read about the different treatments. I will say this. It is very important that people get the experts to administer these treatments. By this I mean and oncologist as opposed to a general local vet has done many many years additional training in just cancer. If there are any problems or side effects with chemo the oncologists know what to do, what to change, what types of chemo for what types of cancer. I have heard more stories than I can remember of dogs getting treatments that are probably not right. Why would you give a dog chemo if there is no pathology to confirm, staging and grading have not been done etc and further testing to know precisely what cancer it is. Please take the time to look over the site. There are articles on all of the things I have mentioned in this posting. All have been checked for accuracy and the oncologist has his name to the medical articles. They are also answering questions on the forum. The cancer message is just so important to get out there so that more dogs are saved and better treatments found. I cant tell you the time I have put into this website and I hope people find it useful and learn from it. The cancers are done by body part and the main ones on each body part ie Lymphoma are done in more simple detail with links to world sites that open precisely on the page of for eg Lymphoma. No looking bang it is there. You will also note more than one cancer for these body parts and this is why pathology is so important. I hope your dog does well and I hope you find the site helpful http://www.caninecancer.org.au Lisa

good news and every day is a blessing

My dog was four when he got histiocytic sarcoma. He is still with me now thank goodness. He went through chemotherapy and suffered no side effects whatsoever. There are many different types of chemotherapy. I have just been allowed to post in the health section regarding the new canine cancer website which gives all the info on the different types of chemo and other therapies out there as well as on the different cancers by body part. There is an article on haemangiosarcoma under the spleen and if you follow the links there is five different websites that give you direct access from reputable world sites on haemangiosarcoma. Hope that helps.

I hope many owners will learn from it and hopefully save some lives just because people are more aware. Please forward the link and fb addy to as many people you think might benefit from the material. We are lucky to have the oncologists making themselves available for cancer questions on the forum as well.

The wait is always the hardest part. Good luck and I am sure you will get the best treatment options using the specialist vets.

Glad you like the site. I have put thLe link up to the page in the site where the video is located as I must have messed something up. Lisa

I have requested the permission of Troy prior to posting this message. A new canince cancer website launched on the 3rd October. The purpose of the site is to provide information on canine cancer in a way that is more understandable to owners. My own dog survived histiocytic sarcoma four years ago and since that time I have learned a lot on the topic which I wanted to pass on in the hope of saving other dogs. I also found it hard to research the topic when I was looking for info. Sites so medical you couldnt understand them; going to sites and then having to hunt the entire site and often still not finding what you are looking for. Diligence prompt action and a fantastic oncologist is why I still have Frodo. All the material has been checked for accuracy by Australian oncologists and the name of the oncologist who checked it is alongside each article. There is a must see video for all dog owners which shows the correct way to check your dogs for tumours so you are more likely to find them http://caninecancer.org.au/checkingforlumps.html There are research components so owners can get involved. The Uk Research is one ALL of us can do if we have a dog that fits the criteria and breed they are looking for. Thhe cancer types are handled by body parts and you can see how many different types of cancer can affect each body part. More detailed information on the most common ones is available in an easy to understand manner with links at the bottom of those articles to direct links on the type of cancer from reputable medical sites. No more hunting sites for the main ones we cover. The web address is www.caninecancer.org.au The FB page is Caninecancerorgau https://www.facebook.com/pages/Caninecancerorgau/244099682407239 and if you like it there you will get feeds to the ongoing updates that will be provided on the site. I hope you will all take the time to review the site and that everyone finds it informative and useful when researching cancer. Please read Frodos story to find out his circumstances. Had he not had pathology done he would not be with me. If you think the site will help others please forward the link to your friends. I am also collecting photos of dogs (of a similar standard to what is there) is people want to submit them to me. Please seek permission of the photographer if it is not your own photo. Thankyou for taking the time to read this Kindest regards Lisa

Surgery is usually the best option if it is possible to do so but clear margins are really important. The specialists at both places will give you the best chances.

There is an article on staging and grading here that explains it in simple terms. http://caninecancer.org.au/stagingandgrading.html

There is a new canine cancer website that has just launched that will be able to give you a lot of answers to questions to have relating to cancer. It is written so it is not overly medical. There is a section that lists all the oncologists and where you can find them. A great must watch video as well. The forum is being answered by the oncologists to. All the oncologists here have just so much training and your dog will be getting the best treatments if you use one. If you google canine cancer australia you should be able to find it.

Sorry to hear about Bella. Cancer is an awful disease and so many dogs dont make it. I got lucky with Frodo and this is why I am so keen to see the research done. Ken and his staff are absolutely fantastic and I hope that he finds suitable dogs for this trial. Any new data that can be gained can only be of benefit to all dogs. If you could email my original post to your contacts in Perth maybe we will locate suitable dogs for the oncology trials. The more people who know about them increases the chances.