# sHANE MIGHT HAVE CANcer(age 7)



## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

well shane has been growing lumps on his body for around 1.5 years. The first vet diod nothing for it, however we swiched vets around 10 months ago, and the vet would shoot the lumps with cortizone, and we would apply cream, and they would be gone. After one lump would dissapear a few weeks later more and more would sprout back. We jsut got back from the vet today, and he told us we have been back there 3 times within the last 5 months. he said he wants to bippsy shane, and he might have cancer. I asked him what would be done if shane had cancer, and he told me chemo =(.

shane is only 7 years old, we feed him canidae grain free, this isnt fair. shane has like 5 lumps on him now, but he said hes only bipsying one. should tell them to biopsy them all?

i also dont want shane to be alone in the vet's office from 8am to 3pm, and i dont want him under anesthesia.

idk what ill do if he has cancer....or if we have to decide between no treatment, and chemo


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## shellbeme (Dec 8, 2010)

I don't have any advice but I wanted to say that I am so sorry to hear about this and I will hope for the best for the test results.


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## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

Just curious why would he be alone from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM? The vet's office should be open and there should be a whole slew of staff there. Not to mention he'll be coming out of anesthesia and such and not be real coherent. I would just make sure they do not use Ace (I do not like it personally), but he should do okay as long as he is otherwise healthy.

I am very sorry! Unfortunately food is only one SMALL factor out of many, genetics play more of a role than anything else, but so does environment. 

My boy was 8 when he died of a brain tumor so it definitely can hit them, but I wouldn't stress until you need to. I would recommend the biopsy so you know how to proceed.

Good luck and let us know!


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

I'm so sorry to hear this. It's nerve-wracking whenever anyone you love has to go through something like this.

I also understand your feelings on leaving Shane at the vet all day without you there with him. I'm the same way. In my case, I feel like no one can take care of my dog the same way I do. And on top of that, she'll be scared! But I promise, it will be okay. The staff at vet clinics will take good care of Shane. I know I'm always shocked (and _maybe_a little disappointed) when Ania comes bounding out to me no worse for the wear. 

Keep in mind that you don't know anything for sure yet. Since you switched vets, it could just be something the new vet wants to do as a precaution. It's better to know for sure what these little lumps are, right? And it could most definitely be nothing. This happens to some dogs as they age.

I hope that all goes well. Keep us posted!!


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## cast71 (Sep 16, 2010)

Try not to worry too much. Hopefully the biopsy results come back good. I can't give advice on to do chemo or not? I'm not sure what I would do in that situation I could give advice on alternative medicine, that will have no effect on whatever meds the doctor prescribes.


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

I'm so sorry to hear this. :frown: I am hoping that it turns out to be nothing. Keep us posted.


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## RachelsaurusRexU (Sep 4, 2010)

Paws crossed for Shane over here.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

RC,
Most lumps turn out to be nothing. My 2 Goldens had them all the time and they both lived to be 12 years old and didn't die of lumps. Good luck.


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## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

shellbeme said:


> I don't have any advice but I wanted to say that I am so sorry to hear about this and I will hope for the best for the test results.


thanks i appreciate it!


BoxerMommie said:


> Just curious why would he be alone from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM? The vet's office should be open and there should be a whole slew of staff there. Not to mention he'll be coming out of anesthesia and such and not be real coherent. I would just make sure they do not use Ace (I do not like it personally), but he should do okay as long as he is otherwise healthy.
> 
> I am very sorry! Unfortunately food is only one SMALL factor out of many, genetics play more of a role than anything else, but so does environment.
> 
> ...


thank you. when i say alone, i mean locked in a cage, with other dogs barking, and people who aren't his family.. we rescued shane from a shelter when he was 10 months so i dont want him in that environment...although even id he never was in a shelter i wouldnt want him there. ugh brain tumors =(


Ania's Mommy said:


> I'm so sorry to hear this. It's nerve-wracking whenever anyone you love has to go through something like this.
> 
> I also understand your feelings on leaving Shane at the vet all day without you there with him. I'm the same way. In my case, I feel like no one can take care of my dog the same way I do. And on top of that, she'll be scared! But I promise, it will be okay. The staff at vet clinics will take good care of Shane. I know I'm always shocked (and _maybe_a little disappointed) when Ania comes bounding out to me no worse for the wear.
> 
> ...


we've been at thi vet for like a year or so, we switched a long time ago. i actually posted this same thread on another forum, and they think i should switch again. apparently biopsies can be done by a needle...and their conclusion is my vet aint the brightest. thanks for your kind words 
sHANE MIGHT HAVE CANcer(age 7) - Golden Retrievers : Golden Retriever Dog Forums


cast71 said:


> Try not to worry too much. Hopefully the biopsy results come back good. I can't give advice on to do chemo or not? I'm not sure what I would do in that situation I could give advice on alternative medicine, that will have no effect on whatever meds the doctor prescribes.


thanks for the support.


saraj2878 said:


> I'm so sorry to hear this. :frown: I am hoping that it turns out to be nothing. Keep us posted.


thank sara.


RachelsaurusRexU said:


> Paws crossed for Shane over here.


thanks rachel!


RawFedDogs said:


> RC,
> Most lumps turn out to be nothing. My 2 Goldens had them all the time and they both lived to be 12 years old and didn't die of lumps. Good luck.


yes, according to the golden forum, there's a high chance, that shane is fine. they also think i need a new vet. i told the vet goldens get lumps a lot, and he said no.
I've always been suspicious of him since he went to ross which is a foreign school. I just researched a vet clinic where the docs are either purdue or cornell grads, and one of them wrote an article on choosing great vets so they prob care too. theyre 50 mins away
sHANE MIGHT HAVE CANcer(age 7) - Golden Retrievers : Golden Retriever Dog Forums

have you decided to treat abby


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

I can't give you any advice on whether it's better to change vets or not, but I would treat Shane like you were treating yourself in similar circumstances. You can either ignore the fact he's got the lumps or get them tested to see exactly what they are and take it from there. If they are benign, then go have a cold beer and celebrate. If they are cancerous, start looking at the different options available, maybe get a second opinion and above all, do your research.
Honestly, I wouldn't worry at all about him being in a cage for those couple of hours either. All of us have to do stuff we don't like but we are no worse for wear, its part of life unfortunately.
And, I can see how worried you are so I just wanted to say that sometiimes it's so hard to not let your imagination run away with you, but try your best to save the worry for when you have the hard facts.
Anyway, I truly wish you and Shane all the best luck in the world. He's a lucky pup to have you.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

RCTRIPLEFRESH5 said:


> have you decided to treat abby


No, I'm not going to treat Abby except for pain. The vet said there is nothing he can do but there are places I could take her for treatment but the chances of prolonging her life are almost zero. She is 10 1/2 years old and has lived a very full life for a Dane so I'm not going to make her last few months any more uncomfortable than I have to.


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## werecatrising (Oct 15, 2010)

I am sorry you are going through this. Did your vet do an aspirate? If it is just a fatty tumor he should be able to see what looks like grease on the slide. If it is something else, I see the reason for a biopsy. I'd say more than half of the time that we send aspirates in of non fatty tumors, the pathologist recommends a biopsy. When we do biopsies of surface tumors they are done under a local. If the dog is stressed we sedate, but avoid anesthesia. The owner usually stays with the dog and they go home shortly after.


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## spookychick13 (Jan 26, 2010)

Hopefully they are just fatty tumors.

Keep us posted, please.


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

I am certainly hopeing that these are fatty tumors like my two dogs have! They have had them for a while now and they are fatty cells. I really hope its not cancer. Praying for Shane and hopeing for the outcome to not be cancer! Please keep us updated on little Shanes progress. so sorry to hear of this and hope its not the C word.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

I'd also recommend getting a second opinion on that. At my clinic, we always aspirate surface tumors and look at them in-house to see if we can determine whether or not it's a lipoma (fatty tumor) or not. If it looks suspicious then we send it off. And as someone else said, if surface tumors need to come off, it's often just done under a local anesthetic and maybe sedation depending on the dog's attitude toward the whole thing.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

RC ----as malia gets older (she'll be eleven next week), we have her lumps mapped every year....if there is a new one, my vet aspirates to make sure it's nothing more than a lipoma....

we were told they don't have to be removed...rarely do they turn cancerous...it's part of aging...

and, bill..i commend you for what you're going to do with abby....sometimes the answer is to go balls to the wall and sometimes the answer is to be there for her and make her comfy....i'm sorry this is happening, but you're right. it's the circle of life...i just hope she goes easy.....when it's her time....thoughts are with you.


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