breast cancer

[mybrownbaby]

Hello,
Before Christmas my dog was diagnosed with breast cancer and we were given 2 weeks to decide to operate or not because of the size of the lump.  At that time it was 9X6 cm's.  After alot of crying and talking with my husband we decided to let them do the operation on her. When I called the vet back and asked her a few qyuestions we ended up changing our minds.  Once we told her that quality of life was our goal for Misti and not necessarily the length of time we had with her, she told us not to proceed with the operation.
It has been one of the hardest and most questioned decisions I have ever made in my life.
We made peace with spending christmas with her and probably not much else.  Well to our happiness the lump started shrinking and she came back to her old self.  About 2 weeks ago the lump started growing and she has stopped jumping on the couch or anything else, she seems to be stiff but expressing no pain.  Now we are questioning every thing we do with her now but we always watched what she ate to avoid hip problems, with this news we have been letting her eat more than usual and she has gained some extra weight so I dont know if that is bothering her or not. She also seems to be sleeping more. She is slow moves like an older dog, she is a 10 year old chocolate lab.
Sorry, I am putting way too much random info here.  A friend told me that a dogs pain tolerance was incredibly high and if she made noise it woule be because she was in horrible pain. I am worried that this is true, like I said she is not making any noise like she is in any pain but is moving slow and deliberate.  She doesnt shake or strech like she used to, only slow easy motions.  I would like to know of any signs to watch for, the vet told us to watch for signs that the cancer was invading organs or anything like that.  Really, any info at all would be helpful.
We know it could be any day now and would like to know any info that will let us know what we are watching for.

[Big Dog]

First, welcome and know our hearts go out to you at this difficult time.

I'm not a Vet so this is not Veterinary advice, but we do have a Vet Tech on the forum who will hopefully reply here as well.

Every dog is different. However, as a rule, most animals do suppress outward signs of weakness that could clue a potential predator in that they are an easy target. Pain would be one of those signs.

Keep a careful eye out for blood - it could appear in the mouth (look at chew toys) or from the nose, and of course in the stool. If it is in the stool it could either be bright red or nearly black so pay close attention.

Also keep in mind that a dog that is in discomfort may act in unpredictable ways - a dog that has never snapped at any one may suddenly bite because a painful location was aggravated accidentally. Another way of saying that is like humans, some dogs are better patients than others.

Of course, if she can no longer stand or suffers from fecal or urinary incontinence those too would be clues that her condition and quality of life are taking a turn for the worse.

Sending good thoughts to you all for now...

[mybrownbaby]

thank you so much for your response and i understand about you not being a vet. 

I have been watching her very carefully when she goes outside, and checking her stool and that she is urinating.  For now the snow makes it easier to check.  I never thought about checking her mouth, thanks. 

She is still eating plenty and for the time being is slow but having no problems standing or getting around.  She isnt jumping up on anything anymore though (like the bed or couch). She came right around after an 'off' week Christmas time and we were praying that it would happen again but given the rate that the lump is growing I dont think that is the case.

I talked to my vet but as usual i can keep thinking of questions long after i am done talking to her. Thank you again!!!

[Kaberle]

Hi mybrownbaby,
I am really sorry to hear this about your dog. Chocolate labs are the sweetest dogs.
It sounds as if the extra weight your dog is now carrying is causing her some joint pain and making it hard for her to move around.
You might want to get her on a reducing diet for a time. The weight might be the main reason she is having these issues with moving around.

When a dog has a cancer that spreads quickly (and this kind generally does not) then it will spread to the lungs first, or the liver.
So you would see some lack of appetite, some vomiting, things of that nature once it goes there.

Most mammery tumors only spread locally unless they are not treated. 9 x 6 CM is a big tumor, for a dachshund, but for a lab it is not that large. I would strongly encourage you to seek another view from a different vet and have it removed. Not having seen the tumor, or knowing what the vet said to change your mind about the surgery, I can only go by my experience with these tumors. When they are removed as soon as they are found, or at least before they spread to the other areas of the belly, they don't usually reappear for a long time. They will come back in unspayed females, but in spayed dogs the re-occurence is not as common. More might grow if she was spayed later in life, but they will start out small and can be removed as they are found.

If you just want to leave things as they are, I totally understand. You will want to watch for her breathing to become more labored as she moves around. Panting can be a sign of pain in dogs. Deep breathing, with or without whining, is also another sign of pain and that the cancer is in her lungs. Big Dog is correct in saying that a dog will hide signs of pain because of their instinct to survive.

The most definitive sign you will see is that she will have trouble getting up and will refuse all food. At this point even force feeding her will not help. She is telling you it is time and she is ready.

The kindest gift we give our pets is the gift to end suffering Mybrownbaby. We cannot give this gift to each other but we are blessed with the ability to end our own beloved pet's pain. You will know when the time is right. She will look at you and you will see the look in her eyes and know what it means, even if you have never seen it before.

My heart is with you on this journey. If you should have any questions, please feel free to post them to me. 

[mybrownbaby]

Every time someone responds to me here it makes me cry!!
There were 2 reasons we changed our minds. The vet said she was doing us a favor by doing the surgery in the first place. She said most of the vets at her office would not (due to the size) in the first place but she would try.  Since it was so large she said they would have to remove surrounding skin and basically she made it sound like there would be issues with being able to pull it closed again with so much being removed.  She said there would be drainage tubes and such for awhile and healing would probably be hard for her.
The second was my vet had gone through her records to see if another lump as large had been removed and how it had gone. She said the other dog had a lump return in a month.  Misti has 2 more deeper ones the vet was able to feel as well.  The vet felt Misti would suffer with the surgery and it would only add month of suffering on her life.

I will calm down her food as much as i can but that will be hard. She is begging for food constantly now!  She has always been fussy and easy to get sick with new/different foods or treats.  She had an off day where she didnt want to eat awhile ago so we began mixing some canned food with her dry and now she cant get enough.

I know what you mean about knowing the time, I had a dog growing up (we rescued Muff when i was 5 and lost him when I was 19) that we had to put down.  He too lived a full and happy life and is remembered with a huge smile.  My biggest fear is not knowing what to look for or being selfish and holding on too long.  Thank you so much for your help and understanding it really helps.

Here is a picture of her just a few days ago, as for a lab she is small I guess at 60lbs (well at last weigh in)...