Post by 3spoileddogs on Feb 16, 2007 23:58:07 GMT -2
I am looking for opinions. All opinions welcome - I am having a hard time making this decision on my own...
We have a 9-10 year old female basset we rescued from the shelter about 2 months ago. She has about a dozen mammary tumors, most about the size of a pea but some larger than others. She also has a large tumor on her back end. We rescued her because we knew no one else would and she has now become a loving member of the family. She is 9 years old and her entire spine is fused from arthritis so she has a hard time some days getting around. We took her into the vet last week for excessive thirst/urination we had been noticing. Upon examination, our vet told us that one of the tumors had changed - it appeared to have started to spread, forming 3 other close by tumors all which appear connected (indicating possible metastasis). Our vet says that if we are going to save her, we need to do surgery immediately to stop the tumors spread. However, there is no telling whether her other organs have been affected already. Her excessive thirst/urination could indicate possible spread to the kidneys, or it could just be a simple bladder infection. If the tumors have spread, she will likely succumb to the cancer no matter what we do. If they haven't, we could save her life. We X-rayed her lungs which were all clear but we don't know about the other organs.
If she does have cancer, I hate to put her through an unnecessary surgery if I could save her the pain and let her live out her days comfortable, in a warm loving home. Is it selfish to put her through the surgery, considering her age, her spinal issues/pain and the chance that she could have cancer just because I love her? Do I spare her the pain? Do I take a chance and put her through surgery? There is also a monetary issue involved in that I don't have $2000 for the surgery but I am sure I could find a way to track down that money. I have considered just letting her live out her days but then I feel terribly guilty that I am just sitting back and letting her die when I could be saving her life. What would you do in my position? Any advice is appreciated. I am at a loss and devastated at the thought of losing this precious girl after only a few months. Thanks in advance for any help.
We have a 9-10 year old female basset we rescued from the shelter about 2 months ago. She has about a dozen mammary tumors, most about the size of a pea but some larger than others. She also has a large tumor on her back end. We rescued her because we knew no one else would and she has now become a loving member of the family. She is 9 years old and her entire spine is fused from arthritis so she has a hard time some days getting around. We took her into the vet last week for excessive thirst/urination we had been noticing. Upon examination, our vet told us that one of the tumors had changed - it appeared to have started to spread, forming 3 other close by tumors all which appear connected (indicating possible metastasis). Our vet says that if we are going to save her, we need to do surgery immediately to stop the tumors spread. However, there is no telling whether her other organs have been affected already. Her excessive thirst/urination could indicate possible spread to the kidneys, or it could just be a simple bladder infection. If the tumors have spread, she will likely succumb to the cancer no matter what we do. If they haven't, we could save her life. We X-rayed her lungs which were all clear but we don't know about the other organs.
If she does have cancer, I hate to put her through an unnecessary surgery if I could save her the pain and let her live out her days comfortable, in a warm loving home. Is it selfish to put her through the surgery, considering her age, her spinal issues/pain and the chance that she could have cancer just because I love her? Do I spare her the pain? Do I take a chance and put her through surgery? There is also a monetary issue involved in that I don't have $2000 for the surgery but I am sure I could find a way to track down that money. I have considered just letting her live out her days but then I feel terribly guilty that I am just sitting back and letting her die when I could be saving her life. What would you do in my position? Any advice is appreciated. I am at a loss and devastated at the thought of losing this precious girl after only a few months. Thanks in advance for any help.
