The Viewer Viewpoint - Osteosarcoma

Canine Osteosarcoma: A Rare Case History In March of 1974 my beloved Doberman Pinscher, Jenny, displayed a slight limp and had developed a walnut sized lump on her right foreleg an inch or two above the ankle joint. I took her to my veterinarian the following day and after a quick examination he told me rather grimly that, "I think this is an osteosarcoma and if it is you're going to lose this dog." To be sure of his diagnosis he took an x-ray of the leg and even forwarded it to a veterinary college. The diagnosis was positive and I was told that my only options were to have the limb amputated or commit Jenny to chemotherapy. However, I was also told that neither of these options was likely to pro-long her life for more than a few months. His recommendation was, take her home and enjoy having her until she is in pain and then, in three or four months time, have her euthanized. So that is what I decided to do. I did have her examined by another veterinarian also, just for a second opinion, who concurred in the diagnosis and the slim prospects of survival for more than a few months.

No treatment was given at all to the tumor. Jenny seemed in no real pain in spite of her slight limp. Her appetite was healthy and she was as playful and active as ever. What happened next was extremely rare. The disease simply went into remission. No chemotherapy, no radiation treatment, no changes in her life style or diet. The tumor just stopped growing. She was three and a half years old at the time of diagnosis in March 1974. For three full years there was no change whatever in her leg or in the tumor, although both my vet and my own research had convinced me that osteosarcoma is one of the most lethal and aggressive forms of cancer in existence.

So for the next three years we had a wonderful life together. Jenny was as active as ever. She would even run after me while I rode a bicycle around the nearby college campus, displaying the remarkable stamina present in her breed. Then suddenly the tumor began to grow again in March of 1977. During the course of the next two and a half months the tumor expanded from walnut size to almost the size of a tennis ball. Pressing my hand against it I could feel the heat generated by the rapid cell growth. Jenny became lethargic and x-rays showed that the cancer had spread to her lungs.

On June 1, 1977 she was painlessly euthanized with me standing beside her. It was one of the saddest days of my life. But in retrospect I believe that I had made the correct decision in not having her leg amputated and not submitting her to painful chemotherapy treatments. She lived a happy and healthy life for another three years, although I came to realize that this is an extremely rare occurrence for anyone, canine or human. (A few years later I knew a young woman who died at the age of 31 within two years of diagnosis for an osteosarcoma after enduring amputation of an arm and extensive chemotherapy.)

I am writing of my experience so that it may possibly help others whose beloved pets are afflicted with this disease, and also for whatever value it may be to medical science. And my personal advice to those whose dogs are afflicted with this or any other serious illness is simply to do what is best for the animal, not what is easiest for yourself. As much as you may love your special friend, sometimes it is necessary to let them go peacefully rather than make them suffer through tortures of therapy that in the end accomplish nothing. Jenny has been gone for 27 years but I still have vivid dreams of her several times a year and she is still part of my life. She always will be.

Note From Your Guide:
I agree with the author's statement that Jenny's case was a rare presentation for this disease. Osteosarcoma is typically an aggressive cancer that is often painful. I personally lost one of my dogs, Lotsie, to this disease. She was a Greyhound, and usually very stoic. The progression of this disease in her was this: a slight limp one day, and such excruciating pain with in less than 24 hours that I had to make a decision very quickly. I elected for euthanasia, due to the acuteness and extreme pain. She had a bony lump, visible only on radiographs, but it was large. Please click here for more about Lotsie and canine osteosarcoma.