Jake and his tumours

Just sounding out on what other people would do here really...

My Staffy Jake is now 16, he struggles with his health but is a fighter and is still going strong(ish). He has lots of tumours from old age and i used to have the bigger ones checked for cancer. He now has one that has grown very big between his legs, its took abouta year to get to this size and ihave not had it checked for cancer likethe others. I think at this age an op to remove it would be too much for him anyway and i wouldn't want to see him go through that sort of pain, i'm also 99% sure he would not survive the anesthtic, he's allergic to a few medicines as it is. So, i took the decsion when it first appeared that i would not have anymore of his tumours screened.


Do people think i'm doing the right thing here? I'm interested in what other dog lovers would do...


Edit:Sorry! Thought i was in the health forum, please feel free to move! sorry!

Hi Mike,
Sorry to hear about your old lad, Jake.
My immediate concern would be: is the tumour that large and in such a position that it prevents or makes it difficult for Jake to get about?
I am with you on not having it removed at his age.
I guess it all comes down to quality of life. If that's pretty much ok, then let him carry on. I think you'll know when the time to say goodbye comes around
*hugs*

Hi Vicki,

It is getting very big but its not stopping his movemnt just yet, his back legs did stop workng for two days but after a couple of injections for arthritis and swicthing to KD for his kidneys he was back to his old self. I was sure it was the tumour as its so visible but the vet was sure its wasn't that and was proven right. He has a few tumours springing up on his muzzle now and a large one on his throat that i really don't like the look of but i guess these are a feature of old age and i'm very lucky to have a dog of 16 at all!

Hi.
Sorry to hear you are so worried about Jake.
We are ina fairly similar situation with our old x breed Biff, who is almost 12.
He has a lot of lipomas (fatty lumps) and a couple of cysts.
One lump is in his groin and is getting very big quite quickly. It is probably the size of a tennis ball (maybe not quite that big, but bigger than a golf ball). The vet is satisfied it isn't interfering with his movement etc at the momnet, but the time will come when it is.
His lump is just by his penis, so removing it would pose quite a few problems, also given his age and arthritis and the number of other lumps he has, we are thinking we would not have it removed. The vet has said it is in a tricky position and that removing all his lumps is impractical as 'it would leave you with half a dog and what is the point in half a dog?!!!!'
We feel it would not be fair to put him through an op and the recovery from it, but that is now...if faced with it we may decide differently, but I doubt it. The trouble is all his lumps are growing quickly now and so once one is removed I am sure another will grow that big...then another and so on.
Hope fully it will be a while yet before you (or I) need to make a decision, but I am sure that any decision you make will be about your boy Jake and what is best for him.
Hugs.

My Golden Boy Sweep is now 12yrs old & he too has many lumps & my hubby & I desided a while ago that we would not have any of them removed(he has lump near penis also) he also has a constant ear infection that nothing will cure, but he is still eating & going on short walks - Our Vet agrees also not to do anything.

Sweep's time will come & we will know when - I don't think it is far away.

I agree with the others - its all about quality of life.

When we love our pets as much as we do, I think it is very easy to keep them going past what is best (but I don't think you are doing this).

As long as you are always thinking about Jake's quality of life, I'm sure you will make the right decisions as and when they are needed.

Thanks guys.

Its sad to hear people are in a similar situation, but i guess that can be a fact of life with older dogs. Its heartening to hear people are making the same decision and i guess it is all about quality of life, and in that respect Jake is doing great, i got home tonight and despite that fact he can't be bothered to walk far he seemed to have had enough energy to steal a full size duvet, drag it down some steep stairs and lay it next to his bed in my room. I guess theres still some life in him yet!

Thanks for your kind words and i wish each of you all the best with these decisons.

Mike

our dog went thru a 4 hour surgery when he was 15,he had an infection in his lungs and they were stuck to his chest cavity,he also had a heart murmur,the vets at the uni said there was no way he would survive the anesthetic and we should just take him home and wait for him to die,they said he had no chance for survival if we took him home,and a small chance if he went to surgery,I opted for the small chance where he would go peacefully under anesthesia rather than painfully at home,he made it thru and is still alive 3 yrs later at the grand old age of 18 he is a german shepherd,if they have a will to live they will xx

I am sorry to hear what you are going through
Storm had three tumours(cancer) between his legs(he had loads of other lumps and bumps), we had the first two removed, but when it came back for the 3rd time we decided to leave it and let nature take its course as we and the vet felt it was not worth putting him through another op and let him enjoy whatever time he had left. It got quite big but he coped with it fairly well and was running up until a few days before he left.

It is down to you to do whats best, like others have said its about quality of life.

We were in the same situation at the end of last year. We had taken our 15 year old to the vets for a routine check and to see what they thought of a lump. The vet wanted to do all sorts of tests and said if the tumour was on her spleen, they could operate. Goldy was at the end of her life and I didn't want her to go through an operation. We brought her home and she was sadly pts on 28 December. I would do the same thing again.

Helen