labadore Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 Very sorry to hear your girl's diagnosis In my earlier post, I mentioned that I had lost one of my beloved lab boys to Cancer 4 years ago and it was also Hemangiosarcoma (Spleen_ and like you and others I was totally devastated at both the diagnosis and his loss, he was my heart dog, the love of my life and I still grieve deeply for him and will till we meet again This cancer is an insidious one and very aggressive and I am so sorry that you have lost other dogs to this awful cancer. When my boy was diagnosed, I did a ton of research and the two breeds that succumb to Hemangiosarcoma the most are Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds, but Labs are also up there as well unfortunately. As Labs are my breed of choice and I have owned them for many years, a few months after my beloved boy passed I did get another Lab male pup who is now 4 years old and due to my research on Hemangiosarcoma and cancers in general, what I have done different with this boy is: kept him intact, with exception of his puppy vacs and booster 12 months later, I don't get him vaccinated, have him titre tested instead, don't apply any flea/tick control chemicals very careful with any toys I have given him to make sure they aren't made with any toxic materials (i.e. bisphenol-A (BPA) and phtalates and vinyl/PVC free) - this can very difficult trying to find out the materials that some of the dogs toys are made from. My labs being the retrievers that they are, love carrying around toys in their mouths, retrieving etc and the boy who I lost to Hemangiosarcoma, was at the time, my most obsessed with retrieving and carrying around toys in his mouth. However, my current youngster is equally, if not more obsessed (higher retrieving drive) with retrieving, carrying toys around and whilst I was extremely careful with trying to buy non toxic toys/retrieving objects for him, I was horrified to recently find out about a recent study done on "Bumpers" which are a retrieving toy that are used extensively in the Labrador/gundog community for retrieving, which found that Bumpers readily leach the harmful chemicals bisphenol-A (BPA) and phtalates. Guess what I had been using for my Lab youngster's water retrieving toy/object and I also used it as one of the toys to train him in retrieving on land Wishing you all the best for your beloved girl and you are both in my thoughts and I so hope for a positive outcome for her as whilst the statistics are pretty grim for dogs diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma, there have been some dogs that have beaten the odds and defied all expectations and lived for years after their diagnosis. I believe there is a dol member who had a german shepherd who beat the odds, so here's hoping your girl will do the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarope Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 Thanks Tarope, Sorry for your loss. I know I may never quite recover if I loose this one so young, she has really gotten to me this one. My last 2 dogs died of it as well both mixed breed one a dob x lab and a lab x gsd but they were both 10 when they got this cancer and were diagnosed exactly 12 months apart amazing. This one I feed the best food money could buy did all the right things and she has got it at 5yrs old. It has turned me off GSD's as it is so prevalent in this breed and I love these dogs they are the ultimate companion. I was speaking to one of the specialists during the week and he said that it is just becoming way too common in the breed. I too was told by my vet at the time of my girls death that this cancer was very common in this wonderful breed, and they had seen in the last 9 months 6 GSDs with this cancer and all had died. I vowed never to get another GSD because of what happened to my girl and of cause they have many other health issues too. About 12 months after Tara's death I was looking on Pet Rescue and I saw this young GSD girl who was only 7.5 mths old who had been dumped in the pound and was saved by GSD Rescue so we adopted her ....we named her Chloe and she is nearly 19 mths old now and she does remind me of Tara in some ways. We recently lost our darling Rottie Opal to another form of cancer, she was 10 years old and my vet said the number one killer of dogs over 8 years is cancer ...it's not bloody fair. My other GSD Rex is nearly 11 years old and he's been healthy all his life, but he's at the end of his life now and his back legs are starting to go ...so we don't know how much time he has left. Rex is having a blood test soon to give the vet an idea of what is going on inside him ...so I hope we'll have him at least another year or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Maeby Fünke Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 (edited) Dave, I feel so insensitive and rude for not reading your first post (or the rest of the thread). When I replied earlier I didn't realise that your girl had been diagnosed with cancer. Duh, I'm so sorry. Edited October 20, 2013 by Maeby Fünke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave73 Posted October 31, 2013 Author Share Posted October 31, 2013 (edited) Seen the Oncologist today, not much to report as she is going for a full CT scan tomorrow and will have the results Tuesday. SASH are amazing(costly) but you get what you pay for. All staff were great but especially Veronica really impressed me and feel at ease knowing my girl is in the best of hands. Thanks all for recommending her. I will update on Tuesday. So sad to see so many young dogs there for cancer treatment, both pedigrees and mixed breeds..... Edited October 31, 2013 by Dave73 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loving my Oldies Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Good to know that you were impressed with SASH. And, yes, it is hard to see the other animals injured, sick, in pain, but at least with places like SASH, they are offered the best treatment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrodofromAus Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Glad you liked them at SASH. Always nice to hear good feedback. I hope the news is good for you Dave. Keep us posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Everythings Shiny Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Glad you got Veronika, fingers and paws crossed for you :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave73 Posted November 5, 2013 Author Share Posted November 5, 2013 Got the results good news in a way its no where else but the leg but the leg needs to come off to give her any chance she reckons 18months to 2 yrs if we amputate and 3 months if we don't. Since she is a young strong fit dog we are going to go the surgery route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puglvr Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Good luck with the surgery Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave73 Posted November 5, 2013 Author Share Posted November 5, 2013 Thanks puglvr, It weird that it was good news that the cancer hasn't spread as yet but to be told that her rear leg has to come off at the hip joint is pretty confronting. SASH surgeons and Veronika were amazing they are very up beat that she will be fine as she is a strong fit 5 yr old GSD. I was concerned that this will be her 3rd anaesthetic in 4 weeks but they says she will be fine. We are going off to get her kitted for a Ruffwear webmaster harness and some non slip booties for her as we have tiles all down stairs and it will hopefully cut down on any slip overs she will have and a orthopaedic bed as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loving my Oldies Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Well, it is a pretty drastic solution and confronting as you said and I am sure you are still in more than a bit of shock. I'm sure Veronika has told you that you will be amazed how well dogs manage on three legs, particularly as it is a rear leg. They can have difficulties with balance and back problems with a front leg amputation, but once healed and back to good health, a rear amputation seems to not even slow some dogs down. Good luck with the surgery and I hope your girl makes a speedy recovery. I'm so glad she has you and your wife on her case Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rappie Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Dave73, I'm glad to hear that there is no spread and that you've been given a plan. I know it seems like a drastic solution but most often the humans have a harder time dealing with the prospect of their pets having a limb amputation than the pets do adjusting - especially with a hind limb. A little while on "training wheels" and they adapt pretty quickly I'm also really glad that you're comfortable at SASH - having confidence in the specialists is vitally important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave73 Posted November 6, 2013 Author Share Posted November 6, 2013 Well it is drastic but its what's needed as its location its the only option to get safe margins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Shepherd mom Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 Good on you for doing everything possible for your girl. I hope this is the last time you see this cancer in her. With the love and care she'll get, I'm sure she will bounce back in no time. I lost my Bella to haemangiosarcoma in December so I really wish you the best outcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarope Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Dave, I'm sorry it's come to this,I wish you and your girl all the best...please keep us posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarope Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Good on you for doing everything possible for your girl. I hope this is the last time you see this cancer in her. With the love and care she'll get, I'm sure she will bounce back in no time. I lost my Bella to haemangiosarcoma in December so I really wish you the best outcome. I'm so sorry for your loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loving my Oldies Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Well it is drastic but its what's needed as its location its the only option to get safe margins. I didn't mean drastic in that it was a step too far. On the contrary: sometimes drastic measures are needed. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Shepherd mom Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Good on you for doing everything possible for your girl. I hope this is the last time you see this cancer in her. With the love and care she'll get, I'm sure she will bounce back in no time. I lost my Bella to haemangiosarcoma in December so I really wish you the best outcome. I'm so sorry for your loss. Thank you Tarope. I still miss her every day. I am sorry for your loss too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave73 Posted November 8, 2013 Author Share Posted November 8, 2013 Well it is drastic but its what's needed as its location its the only option to get safe margins. I didn't mean drastic in that it was a step too far. On the contrary: sometimes drastic measures are needed. :) I know!! We got her all fitted out with boots and a ruffwear harness, Leura Doggie Store were amazing as well very helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loving my Oldies Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I know!! We got her all fitted out with boots and a ruffwear harness, Leura Doggie Store were amazing as well very helpful. Pix in due course, please :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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