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There is a special day or awareness month for just about everything imaginable. I have mixed feelings about the awareness for May which is pet cancer awareness. Do you really want to think about it or if you have had a dog with it do you really want to remember that? Since I blogged about K’Ehleyr’s osteosarcoma I get reminded anyway when other Great Dane owners are facing the same diagnosis and just need some answers. I don’t mind getting these emails, I’m happy to help and try to answer their questions and usually end up in tears for a little while. The questions I get are the same choices we were faced with and they are hard choices. And the choices we made won’t be the same as yours.

The experts can give you all the facts and options but they can’t give you answers to what it will be like or how you will feel. They can’t answer the question “what is best for me and my dog?”. I can’t either. All I can do is explain why we made the choices we made and hope that you get some sense that you are not alone.

Just remember I am not a veterinarian, this is just our experiences and hindsight.

Hemangiosarcoma in Great Danes

I never wrote much about Varel because it was so fast, traumatic and heart wrenching. One day she was blazing through a 4 mile hike and 3 days later she had collapsed on the sidewalk and couldn’t get up. She had a bleeding tumor on her heart, the official name is hemangiosarcoma. Once the blood around her heart was drawn off she felt great until it built up again. It is not operable and the only physical treatment was inserting a large needle in her heart cavity to drain the blood off it. It can occur on other organs which may have more options than when it is attached to the heart.

Chemotherapy was an option to try to reduce the size or slow the growth of the tumor but it could not cure it. We tried and she felt horrible. She stopped eating and slept most of the day. We feared to go anywhere that wasn’t in close proximity to a pet emergency hospital. She was only 9 but had the energy and attitude of a 2 year old.

What to watch for:

1. White gums – the fluid on the heart prevents normal circulation. If you push on healthy gums the color will briefly fade and then return. With poor circulation the color will not return or will not be there in the first place.
2. Lethargy or fainting

Osteosarcoma in Great Danes

Far too many of my readers have had to face this just as we did. You can find the posts about K’Ehleyr’s osteosarcoma here.

First signs that we had:

1. limping
2. hard lump on her wrist joint

Unlike hemangiosarcoma, there are surgical options in this case. Amputation is the common treatment although limb-spare surgery may be an option. This involves removing just the segment of bone with the tumor but it has its own set of complications. K’Ehleyr was not a good candidate for this because she would not leave a wound alone. She pulled out all the stables, twice, from her biopsy incision.

Amputating a leg is a hard choice to make. The dog needs to be in good physical shape to be able to deal with it. Maintaining a healthy weight and exercise routine is important no matter what. Dogs carry 60% of their weight on their front legs which can add to the difficulty if that is what needs to be removed.

A biopsy of the lump will be the first step. Lung X-rays will be the next. Then the harder decisions come into play. 

When Great Dane owners have messaged me about their Dane the answers they are seeking are for: 

1. Should we amputate and what to expect if we do?
2. What about chemotherapy?

What helped us decide to amputate was to bind K’Ehleyr’s leg in her Fido Fleece jacket. This forced her to walk on 3 legs assuring us that she could do it. She eventually learned to run and dig again as well. Going down stairs remained a challenge and fearful thing for her though. Using a harness to help balance her and keep her from going down too fast was important.

Chemotherapy we are unlikely to pursue again if faced with the need. There was no measurable way to see if it was helping either Varel or K’Ehleyr. It messes with their appetite and it cost a whole lot of money if you aren’t insured. Even if you have pet insurance you may cap out your benefits quickly depending on your policy. Remember dosages are determined by weight and as we all know, Great Danes aren’t lightweights.

We were recommended and used some holistic supplements to boost their immune system and cut down on free radicals. Again, it is hard to quantify the benefits if any. With what everything else was costing they were a small addition to the growing debt we faced.

I hope you are not reading this because you are facing a cancer diagnosis for your Great Dane. If you are and have questions or have gone through this you can leave a comment below or email for more privacy. 

I mentioned some products we found helpful

Here are links for your convenience to some of the things I mentioned which we found helpful. I do have to say that they are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. But I hope you don’t need them.

A book with more information than you will ever want on pet cancer.

Medicinal mushrooms from Aloha Medicinals

Ruffwear Web Master Harness, we also purchased the brush guard for more chest/belly support

Pee pads for post surgery