Hugo has cancer

[boxmom]

Sorry to hear about Hugo's cancer. Hopefully they will come up with a good treatment plan that kicks some cancer butt. Remember to enjoy everyday with him and try not to let the cancer diagonosis get you down. Good luck.

 

[RogerE]

I took him to OSU vet ER to have the lump checked out, there was no way I was getting any sleep until he saw a dr. Stiil have to wait on Pathology to read the slides but the dr gave a probable diagnosis of soft tissue sarcoma. She said she saw a lot of 'spindles' on the slide and that's an indicator of this type of cancer. I can't believe I have any tears left to cry but I'm still crying. He's my best friend, and I know he's 8 but I need him around for a lot longer. I have to call at 6am to schedule an appt with the Oncologist. I feel like the worst Boxer mom ever that this large a mass was on his elbow and I didn't notice it sooner. :(

Will keep you updated.

I can agree & disagree. I can agree from experience that you "feel like the worst Boxer mom ever" however,I disagree & say that you're not the worst dog mom ever.

It'll be 2 yrs in February 2010 that I lost my AKC White German Shepherd Cheyanne. She was just 8, and was the most loyal & lovable dog I've ever owned. In late September of 2007 Cheyanne gradually began to cough, but mostly it seemed worse while indoors. For some reason I foolishly assumed that it was allergies or environmental things, but it wasn't.

Finally in late December 07 to early January 08, her coughing went from intermittent to frequent & strong. Then it dawned on me - Heart trouble! I had that gut feeling because I once had a dog with heart worms "back in the day" before any emphasis was put on heart worm prevention. Anyway, to make a long story a bit shorter, I was correct. Cheyanne was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure. A case of CHF that went months without treatment or diagnosis, and in my case I should have known better having heard that familiar "heart cough" years ago, but I let her down. She died exactly 1 week before turning 9. I was 38 at the time and I cried like a baby when she passed on.


Just don't place too much blame on yourself. These things happen & hindsight is ALWAYS 20/20. I'm sure Hugo knows how much you love him and he's probably aware that the people around him are helping him.

I'll keep you in my thoughts, especially knowing how tough times like these can be. Best wishes & best of luck, Roger.

 

[hugomom1]

Results of testing from Wednesday...

It's officially positive for a soft tissue sarcoma. They aren't sure without more testing, but they think he has histiocytic sarcoma. I googled it and what I found made me sick. It's very aggressive. If it's just the one tumor (localized), the typical treatment is amputation of the leg and radiation. I found some vet studies that only gave prognosis of a year or less but I'm really hoping those are the vets that just barely passed vet school.

When it spreads, it hits the lungs, spleen, and lymph system. At that point it's untreatable and terminal within weeks to a month.

I'm hoping with all my might that it's just the one tumor. He doesn't act sick at all so I'm hoping we caught it in time. Oncologist appt is tomorrow, I'll give another update tomorrow. I should know a lot more by then.

Thanks for all the kind words!! Only you all really know what I'm going through.

 

[Independence]

Keep postive and try hard not to cry in front of Hugo. He needs you to be strong for him and whatever comes from your meeting with the oncologist. We will be praying and hoping for a positive outcome. Please keep us posted.

 

[Gatorblu]

My heart goes out to you and Hugo. We're praying for the best possible out come.

 

[kelseighgirl]

I am so sorry. Thoughts and prayers to you and Hugo. group

 

[punchinella]

I am so sorry to hear about your sweet Hugo. I am sending lots of healing vibes to you dear boy. Punchinella sends lots of sweet kisses.

 

[CAndrews]

I hope you read my previous post. Let us know how it goes. They usually give the worst case scenario, doesn't mean that will happen. Think positive and we will think positive thoughts for you and Hugo too.

Christy

 

[Cami]

I found some vet studies that only gave prognosis of a year or less but I'm really hoping those are the vets that just barely passed vet school.

Those numbers are only AVERAGES. To get a year as an "average" there were dogs in those studies that surpassed that time line.
Stay positive and let us know how it goes at the oncologists.

 

[hugomom1]

Good news for Hugo!!!

We met with the Oncologist at OSU (who also happens to own Boxers) and the 1st thing she told us was that they thought the soft tissue sarcoma he had was either a histocytic sarcoma or osteosarcoma, which are both bad. We waited while they ran all the tests and met with her again. His chest xray and abdominal ultrasound were clean! No other tumors except the one on his leg.

She said there was a big debate going on between all the drs and vet students about what type of sarcoma he had, so they couldn't say for sure until the biopsy results were in, but they were now leaning toward toward a (still malignant) typical soft tissue sarcoma that doesn't metastasize beyond the one tumor. WHEW!!!

He's got surgery tomorrow to remove as much of the tumor as possible, he has to stay at least 1 night at OSU. When the biopsy report is done, we'll know if he has to have chemo or radiation. This has been a long week. My Dad died of cancer 18 mths, his was inoperable. I was imagining the worst for Hugo but I didn't want to be caught off guard again. I'm relieved it al worked out. I know he's 8 yrs old now but I'm kind of in denial about that.

One thing I did not like about his dr...she called him 'geriatric'. He is NOT, he's just mature.