My Dog Has Osteosarcoma: Should I Allow Amputation?
Dr. Demian Dressler is internationally recognized as “the dog cancer vet” because of his innovations in the field of dog cancer management, and the popularity of his blog here at Dog Cancer Blog. The owner of South Shore Veterinary Care, a full-service veterinary hospital in Maui, Hawaii, Dr. Dressler studied Animal Physiology and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California at Davis before earning his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University. After practicing at Killewald Animal Hospital in Amherst, New York, he returned to his home state, Hawaii, to practice at the East Honolulu Pet Hospital before heading home to Maui to open his own hospital. Dr. Dressler consults both dog lovers and veterinary professionals, and is sought after as a speaker on topics ranging from the links between lifestyle choices and disease, nutrition and cancer, and animal ethics. His television appearances include “Ask the Vet” segments on local news programs. He is the author of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide: Full Spectrum Treatments to Optimize Your Dog’s Life Quality and Longevity. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Avian Veterinarians, the National Animal Supplement Council and CORE (Comparative Orthopedic Research Evaluation). He is also an advisory board member for Pacific Primate Sanctuary.
Updated: January 28th, 2020
Summary
Is amputation a good idea for dogs with osteosarcoma? Dr. Dressler looks at this decision from two perspectives. In this article: life expectancy.
Osteosarcoma is a common dog cancer in large breeds, and it most often affects the long bones of the legs. It’s very aggressive. That’s why most of the time, as soon as a veterinarian sees the lesions on an X-ray she will recommend amputation.
(Most dogs with this kind of cancer do not survive beyond a year with amputation alone. Editor’s note: To read more about canine osteosarcoma including the numbers and stats, see this article by Dr. Susan Ettinger, DVM, Dip. ACVIM (Oncology).)
The idea of removing your dog’s leg probably kicks up strong feelings. This is a hard choice.
So, should you allow an amputation? Or should you let your dog keep their leg and try to cope?
This is a heavy duty question. You probably want to prevent pain and suffering in your dog, so it’s a good idea to carefully contemplate this so you can cope.
I recommend considering at least two factors: Life Expectancy (how long life is), and Life Quality (how good life is).
In this article, we’ll look at life expectancy, and in the next, we’ll look at life quality.
What’s the Average Life Expectancy for Your Dog?
I know it sounds harsh, but realistically, dogs live much shorter lives than we do. I know that your ten-year-old dog might not seem old to you, but for some breeds, that’s a really advanced age. Particularly for large breeds, who tend to have shorter lives in general.
So, as you contemplate amputation, it’s nice to get an idea of the average life expectancy of your dog. There is an excellent review of dog life expectancy here.
Now, be careful with these numbers. These numbers are just averages, just like they are for people. The average man might live to 72, but that doesn’t mean any one individual man will die on his 72nd birthday. The same is true for dogs.
Now, What’s YOUR DOG’s Life Expectancy?
Once you have ascertained what your dog’s potential life expectancy is, you need to weigh what that really means for your dog. Your vet can help with this by discussing the impact of your pet’s individual health problems.
For example, if your dog is otherwise healthy, your dog’s life expectancy might be a little longer than if she were diabetic, or had heart disease. Just like a human, right?
So, basically, you need to talk to your vet to see if your dog is near to or past the expected length of life given everything else going on.
For example, if your dog is already close to what we would expect for his breed and health condition, amputation might not be what you want. You will have to carefully consider whether the payoff will be what you expect.
On the other hand, if your dog is not close to her life expectancy, you might want to go ahead.
Get a copy of the Dog Cancer Survival Guide for more helpful tools and information, including an entire chapter on osteosarcoma.
What’s Your Dog’s Personality?
So far we’ve focused on numbers to determine life expectancy. But an intangible factor that you must consider is your particular dog’s personality.
Some dogs just have this will to live. I’ve seen very senior dogs fight and spit and claw for life. I’ve seen young ones so passive that they don’t seem to much care one way or another whether you poke or prod.
If you have a dog that just wants to keep going, that’s a really good sign. These dogs are driven.
This will to live, this tenacity, boosts lifespans. That’s for sure! So, remember to consider this factor too.
If your dog is a fighter, they may be a good candidate for amputation, maybe even if they are at the end of their “expected lifespan.”
Remember There are Other Things That Can Be Done, Too
In addition to amputation, there are chemo protocols, covered in the osteosarcoma chapter in The Dog Cancer Survival Guide. But beyond the conventional tools, many osteosarcoma clients have seen benefits with modification of diet, lifestyle, life quality boosting and addition of nutraceuticals like Apocaps (I’m biased since I formulated it), plus other supplements or comfort care medications.
In addition, I highly recommend joining the TriPawds community for more information on amputation.
Don’t Forget to Consider Life Quality
Looking at life expectancy is the first step in determining whether to amputate your dog’s leg or not. Next, we look at life quality on three legs, plus a little about the surgery itself.
Regards,
Dr Dressler
Dr. Demian Dressler is internationally recognized as “the dog cancer vet” because of his innovations in the field of dog cancer management, and the popularity of his blog here at Dog Cancer Blog. The owner of South Shore Veterinary Care, a full-service veterinary hospital in Maui, Hawaii, Dr. Dressler studied Animal Physiology and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California at Davis before earning his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University. After practicing at Killewald Animal Hospital in Amherst, New York, he returned to his home state, Hawaii, to practice at the East Honolulu Pet Hospital before heading home to Maui to open his own hospital. Dr. Dressler consults both dog lovers and veterinary professionals, and is sought after as a speaker on topics ranging from the links between lifestyle choices and disease, nutrition and cancer, and animal ethics. His television appearances include “Ask the Vet” segments on local news programs. He is the author of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide: Full Spectrum Treatments to Optimize Your Dog’s Life Quality and Longevity. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Avian Veterinarians, the National Animal Supplement Council and CORE (Comparative Orthopedic Research Evaluation). He is also an advisory board member for Pacific Primate Sanctuary.
My 8 1/2 year old male (neutered) American Staffordshire Terrier was diagnosed 4 weeks ago with oral Osteosarcoma. Removal of the tumor and chemo was not an option from our vet. She gave us 3-5 months with him. Immediately, I took him off the prescription food and put him on organic raw veggie diet and cooked organic chicken (put into a food processor). I also incorporated the Budwig diet (organic low fat cottage cheese w/ flaxseed oil) twice per day with Essiac Tea capsules. He has been devouring his meals. He is currently on Metacam for Arthritis and Tramadol for his pain. Thus far, the tumor has not increased in size and he is still acting like his crazy self. I am new to this and seeking out as much information as possible to provide my boy with the best quality of life. Any suggestions or advice would be helpful!
Thank you.
Nicole,
Sorry for the delay. We have been hit quite hard with Hurricaine Sandy and I am displaced from home and without power.
I am sorry about your dog. It’s hard to make specific recommendations through the blog. I am not sure why surgery and chemo are not an options. In general, if surgery is not an option, radiation can be used for local control – either CyberKnife RadioSurgery, maybe conventional radiation, or palliative radiation for pain control. Chemo can also help in conjunction withsurgery or radiation to delay the spread/metastasis. Have you consulted with an oncologist or a surgeon? A CT scan is the best to determine if surgery is an option. Plus there are pain meds – both oral and injectable like pamidronate that can help. There is also a whole chapter on osteosarcoma and another on oral tumors in the Guide.
Good luck!
All my best, Dr Sue
Well, our 6 year old Rottiegirl came out of surgery just fine. She passed away sometime during the night. We were so ready to fight this wicked disease.
I am so sorry to hear of your loss. My thoughts are with you and your family.
With sympathy, Dr Sue
Kellygirl – would you mind posting more information about the diet and supplements you used for your Bailey? Our dog was just diagnosed today with Osteosarcoma in his back left leg. We had taken him in last week after he broke his leg slipping on the bathroom floor. We had to have two metal plates and a metal rod inserted into his bone but the Vet found a suspicious place on the Xray so did a histogram and it came back positive for Osteosarcoma. We have a meeting with the Oncologist tomorrow. We are willing to do amputation if it is viable but I do not want to go the Chemo route. I would love to get more details on your regimen so we can get started on it as soon as possible.
Our 9-month old lab Murphey, yes 9-months, was diagnosed this week with osteosarcoma in his right front leg. The tumor is in the lower ulna, and we did do a bone biopsy to confirm + got a second opinion since we were so shocked. We too were presented with the option to amputate, but since the tumor is in the smaller bone that doesn’t carry much weight we’ve decided to do limb-sparing by taking out the cancerous ulna bone only (the Vet poked around the adjacent radial bone during biopsy and he said it appeared totally healthy), then follow up with chemo. A chest xray last week, before the biopsy, was clear. Murph goes in on Tuesday to have the bone removed – they’ll do another chest/full-body xray to make sure there are no visible signs of another tumor. We’re positive because we have to be. We’re aware that the cancer can pop up somewhere else in his body, but we’re also wanting to give him the best quality of life while still doing everything we can to fight it. Stupid cancer.
My 9year old Dalmation has recently been diagnosed with Osteosarcoma after I got Xray done literally “forcefully” as all the Vets(in total 5 that I had been going to) reported this as a Arthritis. The Vet I am going to now has told me that he has only 6 months left and its going to become painful for him and e suggested me to rest him sooner rather than later. He is like a baby to me and was a shocker for me that the Vet said that he can but will not operate on him as he is not sure how bad it has already spread. I am in a dilemma what to do, I cannot come over the fact that I will have to put him to sleep just without a fight and him being a fighter who when my dad died 7 years ago fought off epilepsy just by lot of care from us. Then also Vet said to put him to sleep as he will get brain tumor or something but we fought it off and he had been a playful and full of life. I am faced with same Question again, please help me and guide me what I should do.
Hi Everyone I myself had a Rottweiler Fizz who though her short life had to deal with way more than any dog should go through !
At 8 months she has a twisted gut and almost died, then at 15 months her left hind leg Cruciate ligaments went and she had to have major surgery she had the Top of the bone removed then 2 plates put either side ! The Specialist claimed she was the 1st Rottweiler who had returned to him after surgery with the same temperament they had before !! In Fact she lay on his lap giving him kisses !!!
Then by 6 she had started limping and the vet and I would poke and prod her and she didn’t blink she was given anti inflammatories and we thought she had developed Arthritis due to the op ??? her limping got worse and we decided to have her xrayed just to be safe My vet rang me up crying and said they had found a huge mass and yep my fizzly had bone cancer !! I looked all over the web for a place to go to where I could talk to someone who had lived through it and what did they recommend or how had they coped ???? I found lots of Medical Sites but nothing from a Personal / normal person’s point of view !
We had Fizz’s leg removed and she was walking the next day in fact she walked the entire outside of the surgery being cheered on by Firemen who were doing a training session !!!! She then had 3 bouts of Chemotherapy and she in fact would stay lying down on a table unsedated and lie there for 2 hours with 2 lines in each front leg and did not move once !!!
She flew through the chemo and never looked ill once, but her front opposing leg became painful and she was having more and more painkillers and in the end my Fizzly was staying alive just for me ………….. We had her put down a little bit over a year after diagnosis and as my family and friends know it almost killed me, I have decided to write her lifes story as she was an incredible dog ………But when thinking about the book I decided I would try to be that Place where when you are at that dark time in your life, you can come to my blog and have that place that I was looking for when I got the awful new’s that Fizz had Cancer and it will be a place where you can ask questions talk to others or just have a place to scream and vent …………… So I have started a Blog which runs along side my other blog and facebook page the Link to the Bone Cancer in Dogs is http://bonecancer-dogs-fizz.blogspot.co.uk/ so I hope that people will come and talk to like minded people and just have a place to come to be a helping hand or listening ear that I myself was looking for, and on a personal front May be by helping others I in turn may start healing xxxxxxx
We have a very determined and beautiful 9 year old German Wirehaired Pointer, Jade. She was diagnosed with bone cancer in the front limb 4 days ago. It has been heart wrenching to say the least. We saw the oncologist right away and found that the cancer was moving very slow. With many nights of thinking, we decided to amputate her limb. We just brought her back from the hospital yesterday. She is having issues eating and seems depressed. We are encouraging her to get up and reinforcing her with praise. I would like to know if they are any herbal diets or immune boosting foods that can help in her recovery and treatment. Any advice would be so appreciated as we have a long and hard road ahead of us.
Our pittbull will be 8 in November, his names Paco and he’s my daughters best friend, she’s only two and a half and just doesn’t understand. He doesn’t like things with wheels, cars bikes you name it. Hubby was taking him out and he jumped at a car passing by. The worst cry I ever heard from him. His leg hadn’t been the same since, we kept thinking it would heal but he would keep jumping at things. So we thought since he was older it was just taking him longer we finally took him in 2 weeks later and the cancer was so bad his shoulder is completey gone. We can’t let him go and the dr said his eye sight is next. How long until he stops eating, that’s where we draw the line for his pain, we are all so devastated and at a loss what to do. It’s so far gone amputation isn’t necessary, just let it run it’s course, if we decide. Please tell me what to do and what is best for him..
Our 12 YO St. Poodle was a bit lame last month. He has been then picture of health all his life, despite a Nov.’11 bout with Bloat and surgery that he came back full force from. The vet did some manipulation to see where he was hurting, (hind femur) gave me her suspicions and we x-rayed. It looks very suspicious of Osteo sarcoma, but possibly in the early stages. We decided to just make what time he has left as fun and pain free as possible…He is taking 25 mg Tramadol and 50 mg Rimadyl twice a day. He doesn’t seem to be in much pain, a bit of weakness. Jumps in and out of car, wants to play with other dog at night, and seems generally very happy. It has been 3 1/2 weeks this way…is this par for the course of OS???? Should he be x rayed again, second opinion??? We are always hopeful.
A
Dear Andrea,
these tumors are not all the same so I’m not sure how to comment on whether or not it is par for the course. They get worse without treatment over time.
A second opinion never hurts however. Bear in mind limping=pain.
https://www.dogcancerblog.com/blog/how-do-we-tell-if-a-loved-dog-is-in-pain/
D
Daniel, I have to respond to your grim comment. I have an 8 year old standard poodle who was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma almost 1 year ago (Will be on June 29th) and had an amputation of one of her back legs. We are celebrating her one year anniversary and amputation this month. There is no doubt that amputation can help to extend the life of a dog, even without chemotherapy, BUT it is not the sole purpose in doing it. The reason is, is that the amputation stops the excruciating pain of the cancer. My dog was smiling, yes smiling, the day after her amputation. She was trotting by day three and was not even using the ramp my husband made her to get off and on the deck. You could tell she was already feeling better that the leg was off! She has no metastasis as of March (crossing our fingers). We will get another X-ray soon but she is loving her life and is happy. There are no guarantees about length of life for any dog whether they have cancer or not, but the point is to make them pain free and comfortable. I would have chosen to amputate all over again if I had to because bone cancer is painful and aggressive and her quality of life is better now that the sick leg is gone. We opted for chemo also, which she did great on. Yes some dogs get sick, but you do have an option to stop the chemo and just use supplements and other types of immune support. Like Dr. Dressler said, cancer is not an immediate death sentence. Daniel, how do you know your dog would only have a few months. Look at my poodle, 12 months post diagnosis. If we would have put her to sleep thinking that she only had a few months, look at the time we would have been missing out on. It is hard, but with the right support and education about the options, you can make the most out of the situation. The most important thing is to remain positive for your dog and be a strong pack leader. If anyone has any questions about my dog or just needs to talk, please respond to this post with your email and I would be happy to talk to you.
H.
Heather,
Thanks for sharing your expereinces. So great to hear she is doing well. Wishing her continued happy days!
All my best, Dr Sue