One of my puppy familys called and their female has grade II Cancer. Not only is it in the chest but back leg. The vet tells them this is not good at all since it means it is already spread. Have any of you done Chemo ? Was it worth putting the dog through it ? How much time did it give them ? She is 6 1/2 years old. I am so, so sad over this. I know very little and would like some info.

If it were just in the leg, an amputation would probably be the best route to avoid Chemo. Knowing what I have seen with dogs w/ cancer, I personally would not choose chemo for my dog. Cancer in the chest has most likely spread to other organs. Chemo is costly, and hard on a dog just like humans. I personally would opt for quality comfort care and make the needed decision to put the dog down when the time comes. I have had a dog w/ breast cancer who came thru surgery great. Downside was cancer spread tremendously after surgery and she was put down 5 wks post surgery. BTW, she healed great from the surgery. You never would have known she was ill until the last day. Gotta love a labrador - they're real troopers.

My three-year-old boy was diagnosed with cancer in October 2007 (lymphoma)and died in April 2008. We elected to try chemo since he was so young and so dear to our hearts, but I don't think I'd do it again. My guesstimate is, of that six month period between diagnosis and death, we gave him an extra six weeks of quality time. Most of his days were spent building back stamina after chemo. As soon as he began to feel well, it was time to go back to the vet's for another round and the cycle would repeat itself. It still breaks my heart to think about it...

I have a dear friend who works at a specialty hosp in the oncology dept..he has been treating animals with chemo for years with one of the top spec. from our area.
He tells me that it indeed is very rough on the dogs and that although some do well, most get do get sick and it usually only buys them a few more months (in the type of cancer you are speaking about..superficial types do much better with less side effects)
I would not put this girl thru any of it..above poster is correct to say it is visible in the lungs probability is that it has spread to other organs. I would make her life as happy as possible-take her to lots of parks, give her whatever she wants to eat that she loves and let God tell you when her time here is up. If God wants her, no doc in this world will keep her here-it only means she has completed her mission and her reward awaits her..

I had a dog with bone cancer in the elbow. We did amputate. I would not elect that route again. It was a terrible experience for him and only bought him 30 days - not even enough time to heal from the surgery.
I feel guilty about this still, many years later.

When we put him to sleep because he told us he was done fighting, our specialist confirmed the cancer had spread throughtout his body and most likely had done so long before we knew he was sick.

We have an eight-year old black boy who was diagnosed with lymphoma six months ago with a prognosis of 2-3 months to live, and has been on chemo ever since. It was caught early, diagnosed via biopsy of the small intestine, and while the vet specialist suspects it's already throughout his system he still has no tumors or cancer symptoms (they were knocked back by the chemo). He is doing great, has regained weight to his normal level, is active and looks good despite some hair loss.

The specialist set up a "custom" chemo protocol and assured us that our boy would tolerate it well, and this has proven true. He has a great quality of life even on chemo, with few side effects. We hope to have him around for a lot longer!

I wanted to tell our story here because so many of the other posters have been advocating against treatment. I am glad we went to a vet cancer specialist and gave chemo a try. But all cancers are not the same, and a lot depends on how effective treatment is on the particular type of cancer that your dog has. Get to a specialist if you haven't already to help you make the right decision.

One of my puppy buyer's boy got Lymphoma when he was 3 yrs old. He went through round after round of Chemo and Radiation with remission only lasting 3 months each. He died on his 4th birthday but I should add that the chemo made him so ill. He actually died of cardiac complications and liver failure due to all the chemicals put in him. This dog's owners were so distraught and told me they would never chose chemo again. I gave them another puppy after their boy passed away.
I would never opt for chemo with a dog who has lymphoma or any sort of cancer that has spread.

My seven year old also had cancer which had spread. Chemo was recommended and we were willing to try anything. I would never put another dog through that. The chemo took his life just two days after the first treatment. If I had it to do over I would have said no to the chemo and spoiled him rotten for his remaining time.