Houndess Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Just got a call from the vet. Music has been diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma, locally invasive. Her "numbers" are between 1 and 2 (I understand 30 is bad). I am panicking I'm so scared right now.... The vet says just to watch it for now and if I see a bump come back then I should bring her in for a second removal. Does anyone have any advice for me? Does this sound like the right thing to do ? Just wait and watch? thank you so much in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patsy Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 No advice but a huge hug for both of you. Quote Patsy and DH with the Humane Society specials, Linus & Jazz, in North Dakota Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a_daerr Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Where was the lump? And are those numbers the tumor's mitotic index? The problem with soft tissue sarcomas is that it's difficult to get wide enough margins. But if the mitosis is fairly low, many dogs live fairly normal, healthy lives. My boy had a spindle cell tumor in the soft tissue around one of his femurs. The bone was already compromised, so we ended up having to amp the whole leg. I think his is an example of a more extreme FSA, just because it affected the bone. As I understand it, that's very atypical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Did the pathologist label the type of sarcoma? As already asked--where was the tumor located? Given a low mitotic level you may never see it again. Dr Couto does have a non-invasive protocol that can used if and when it might return. You may benefit (may put your mind at ease) to consult with Dr Couto. http://www.coutovetconsultants.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EllenEveBaz Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 No experience, just adding our Quote Ellen, with brindle Milo and the blonde ballerina, Gelsey remembering Eve, Baz, Scout, Romie, Nutmeg, and Jeter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MeAndMouse Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 My girl had a fibrosarcoma on her front leg. It was removed and grew back a few months later. It grew fast the first time, but it grew very fast the second time. It ulcerated when it grew back, and like mentioned above, they couldn't get clean margins on it. We ended up amputating as it was really the only option at that point. If your girl has a fibrosarcoma, watch that area like a hawk! I don't know for sure, but I feel like if I had gotten Mouse into surgery sooner the second time (before it got huge and ulcerated) that they may have been able to get clean margins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carronstar Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 No advice, just lots of hugs and prayers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Fasave Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 My first greyhound had soft tissue sarcoma on his front leg. They did not get complete clean margins when removed but I chose to watch it as it was low grade. It did come back years later but was about the size of a grain of rice. He also had a nerve sheath tumor removed from this back. He lived to be 12 and his cause of death was not related to either of these cancers. You may want to have Dr. Couto read the biopsy report just for a second set of eyes as there are many types of soft tissue sarcomas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJNg Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Were the margins clean, and how wide were they? Soft tissue sarcomas have a fairly low potential for metastasis, although they are more likely to recur locally. As others have mentioned, some may not come back, or it may be a long time before it does. With a low mitotic index, and if margins were clean and wide, it would be very reasonable to watch and see if it comes back. But tumors that recur are often more aggressive on the next go round. If you want to do more to try to prevent regrowth, or if there are incomplete margins, standard adjunctive therapy is to follow surgery with radiation. An alternate protocol is to do local injections of a chemo drug called 5FU in the area where the tumor was removed. Dr. Couto has had a lot of experience and excellent results with this treatment, but unfortunately nothing is published so most oncologists aren't familiar with it.My whippet had a soft tissue sarcoma on the outside of his elbow last year, and after he had surgery to remove it, we did the 5FU injections. Dr. Couto consulted with my local oncologist to provide the details of the protocol. Dr. Couto's unpublished results using local 5FU injections had equal, if not better, results than the traditional approach of radiation. He told me that if it was his own dog, he would do 5FU rather than radiation. An additional plus is that 5FU is much less expensive. Quote Jennifer & Willow (Wilma Waggle), Wiki (Wiki Hard Ten), Carter (Let's Get It On), Ollie (whippet), Gracie (whippet x), & Terra (whippet) + Just Saying + Just Alice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houndess Posted November 6, 2014 Author Share Posted November 6, 2014 (edited) Big thank you to everyone who gave me support and provided information. It has been very hard to not break down - I just love her so very much and of course the first thing I think is she is going to die. I just spoke to the vet. She was very surprised this little bump turned out to be a sarcoma. It was on her torso just above her front leg so lots of loose skin there. It was not attached to underlying muscle. The margins were not clean because the vet did not go deep (this time). If it comes back she will do so. The vet does not think chemo or radiation is appropriate at all at this point. I will face that if I have to. She turns 11 this month. I will be watching her like a hawk from now on until the end of her days! Again - I am so grateful for all the replies to this thread. I don't know what I would do without this community. Hugs Leah and Miss Musical Kittens Edited November 6, 2014 by Houndess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MeAndMouse Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 I would think they could get deep enough if there's a next time since it's on her torso...that's a good thing! Fingers crossed for no lump return though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carronstar Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 Fingers crossed for no lump return and many more years of love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest skinnerjenna Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Our 10 year old Greyhound Jax had a soft tissue sarcoma on his back by his hip. It was a connective tissue cancer that was pretty non-aggressive and localized. It didn't bother him at all, and he had other issues such as allergies and seizures that prevented us from doing other treatments. So we just had it removed every 6 months and it never spread or caused a problem. I hope this helps! -Jenna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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