at what age

[larue]

I am in the process of decided how to handle my old dog blaze.Blaze turns 15 in june,and has recently developed a mass on his right cheek,i found it this week.
A trip to my vet shows that that the best option to find if it is cancer is to remove it and send it in,as the location makes a aspiration tough without full sedation.
We did take an chest xray to see if his lungs had any nodes,and his lungs were clear,yet the xray found an unrelated issue,which is causing a infrequent cough.
Blaze has been on pain meds for 4 years,as his back has arthritis in it,yet with the meds he lives a happy life,sleeping and doing all the things an old dog does.
His mother lived 17 1/2 years so I might have a few more years with him,if i have the surgery done.
We took blood to have a pre op screen done,the results will show us if he is strong enough for surgery,as a first step.
any thoughts?

[Hattrick]

15 is a vary full life. Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do. I wish you well with whar ever you decide, i no what i would do.

[markj]

What does your heart say? Listen to it and forget everything else, make a plan and stick to it. Its your dog and only you can love it like you do. What someone else would do isnt important. Thats about all I got, BTDT no tee shirt only memories and pictures.

[ACooper]

I do not envy your situation, I look at it like this. Am I making my decision for my own selfish reasons or am I doing what is best for the dog? Sometimes they are one in the same, sometimes not.

[RoostersMom]

You'll do what you think is best for him - only you can decide what that is.

The question I would be asking is "what would I do if it was cancer?" If the answer, like it is for my 14 year old pointer, is "nothing" then you don't gain a lot from the surgery. If the answer is different - like you'd do a major surgery, drugs, chemo, etc. Then that gives you a different path to take. Our pointer and our older chessie have gotten to the age now that we have agreed not to do additional surgeries that are at all invasive. Now, we'll see how that works out when the reality hits and one of them goes down!

Good luck with your pup!

[larue]

blaze's blood work came back excellent,like a 6 year old dog so we are having the mass removed today,vet says 15 minute surgery,his mom lived over 17 so maybe we get few more years.

[KCBrittfan]

Making these kinds of descisions are never easy, especially when they concern such a cherished friend. I wish you both the best.

[mountaindogs]

Hope all goes great in surgery. I recently had a mass removed in my 12 year old. Didn't want it sent off for biopsy because I would not do chemo. BUT it was in an area causing some other issues and we opted to remove it. I was nervous because she has a chronic cough we have not diagnosed despite LOTS of tests. Bloodwork looked good. I told the vet that if she was hard to keep stable just wake her up and forget the mass. But all went well and she is recovering like a champ. Back to her normal self now minus the complications the mass was causing. Wishing the same for Blaze.

[larue]

blaze is home,he went through the surgery like a champ.Regretfully they found the mass had invaded his jaw way to the back.The vet removed as much as he could but the jaw is affected.So I hope we bought him some time,and we have done what we could.

[Rod W]

With tears in my eyes, I will say, You will know when it is time----------