question:
Hi,
I just found out my dog has spindle sarcoma. I would like to know how long a dog could live with this and what are the treatments. Can the treatments be done at home? My doctor recommended to call up University vets in PA but I would like to know more. They just found it in the nose area so far and it hasn't spread yet. Will it spread fast or slow? Please let me know everything… She's only 9!! How did she get this??
Thanks!
Joy H.
answer:
Joy - It is very difficult in any one case to determine how or why an individual gets cancer of any kind. Sometimes carcinogens are to blame, sometimes it is simply a malfunction of the genetic material in normal cells. The simplest answer is it just happens, and there was nothing you could do to change that. Now we have to figure out what to do about it.
I assume that the cancer on your dog's nose was biopsied, and that is how your vets gave you the diagnosis of spindle cell sarcoma. Soft tissue sarcomas behave in a variety of ways, some are quick to spread to other parts of the body and others are slow. The details of the biopsy report may help us to determine that, and hence guess at the prognosis (how long she could live and what are the consequences). The basic treatment for a sarcoma is aggressive surgery first, followed by either chemotherapy or radiation, depending on the tumor. With your dog's tumor being on the nose, aggressive surgery may be deforming, if possible at all, so radiation or chemotherapy may be your only option. These are therapies that should be determined by an oncologist - probably the specialists at the university at Penn State. An oncologist will examine your dog, review the biopsy and outline the options for you, including prognosis.
Consulting with a specialist is not an option for everyone, it is definitely expensive and can be emotionally taxing, but they are probably the best equipped to aggressively treat the tumor. I have seen some fantastic results on cases that might otherwise been hopeless.
Most dogs undergoing chemotherapy have no outward signs of it, they do not act sick or lose their hair. Treatments at home usually involve simple nursing care and supportive therapies, some of which can make a big difference, and some of which may not. Keep the area clean, offer high quality, good smelling foods (especially if the tumor has affected her sense of smell.) Sometime prednisone (an oral steroid) can make an animal with cancer feel better, and stimulate their appetite. It does nothing to treat most cancers, just improves their quality of life for the time they have left. I wish you and your dog the best.
Ann O'Brien, DVM
Goleta , CA