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Animal Health – General (Expert Forum)
spleen mass on my border collie/shepherd mix
Answered by
Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A - Small Animals, dogs, cats, C.V.A, Western Herbal Medicine, Traditional Chinese Herbalist, Acupuncture
American Animal Hospital
Randolph - NJ
This forum is for general pet health questions, such as questions about medications, parasites, vaccines, infectious diseases, breed specific and genetic problems.
spleen mass on my border collie/shepherd mix
by tommm70, Aug 05, 2008 02:17PM
I brought my 10 year old dog to the vet because he was having spells where he would just collapse and have no energy for several minutes or even hours at a time over the last weekend.
Of course when I get to the vet, he is fine, but an xray showed what my vet thought was an enlarged heart, but he was very unsure and said I needed an ultra sound.
So I took him and they said he has a mass on his spleen and it is most likely bleeding internally. They said it could be something called hemangesarcoma. He said the easiest way to describe it is that it is a bunch of internal tumors that bleed. He is telling me I need to give him immediate surgery to remove his spleen. Then they would biopsy the tumors to confirm the type he said.
So what to do??? His blood levels are low, so he needs a transfusion to raise some number so he clots during surgery. I just dunno what to do. At the moment he is fine, but the vet said he could die the next time the tumors bleed.
Surgery is costly, and he will be in pain. Then they said if it is that cancer, it will grow on his liver, and he has maybe 2 months to live!!!!
I just dunno what to do.
Of course when I get to the vet, he is fine, but an xray showed what my vet thought was an enlarged heart, but he was very unsure and said I needed an ultra sound.
So I took him and they said he has a mass on his spleen and it is most likely bleeding internally. They said it could be something called hemangesarcoma. He said the easiest way to describe it is that it is a bunch of internal tumors that bleed. He is telling me I need to give him immediate surgery to remove his spleen. Then they would biopsy the tumors to confirm the type he said.
So what to do??? His blood levels are low, so he needs a transfusion to raise some number so he clots during surgery. I just dunno what to do. At the moment he is fine, but the vet said he could die the next time the tumors bleed.
Surgery is costly, and he will be in pain. Then they said if it is that cancer, it will grow on his liver, and he has maybe 2 months to live!!!!
I just dunno what to do.
Doctor's Answer
by Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A, Aug 06, 2008 12:57PM
, Aug 06, 2008 12:57PM
It sounds like your dog has a splenic hemangiosarcoma, which is a very nasty and highly invasive cancer that easily metastasizes.
Imagine that the spleen has a bunch of tumors budding off of it that act like blood filled balloons. Each time a balloon is overfilled with blood it bursts. The blood escapes from the balloon into the abdomen instead of staying in the blood vessels where it belongs. This internal bleed causes your dog to be acutely anemic, thus the weakness and collapse after the "balloon bursts". The free blood in the abdomen will eventually be reabsorbed by the body and your dog feels better until another "balloon" bursts. If you don't have a splenectomy one of the "balloon" bursts may be so large that it could cause a catastrophic bleed out and your dog could bleed to death. This could occur whether the tumor is benign or metastatic. Some splenic tumors are hemangiomas and are not metastatic. Removal of the spleen if the tumor is benign would be curative.
It is very important to have his chest X-Rayed also to make sure there is no metastasis there. This type of cancer can even spread to bones, so if there is any unexplained lameness the bone should also be X-Rayed.
There are no really helpful treatments for hemangiosarcoma. Western medical treatments such as chemotherapy may be able to double the survival rate.
Holistic and Integrative medicine may be able to increase survival time. Please Google the PolyMVA.com, polymvatestimonials.com, Bloodroot (Neoplasene), Essiac tea, and other holistic websites if you are interested in trying the alternative therapy route. I have a cancer protocol I would be glad to post if you are interested. Just let me know.
Imagine that the spleen has a bunch of tumors budding off of it that act like blood filled balloons. Each time a balloon is overfilled with blood it bursts. The blood escapes from the balloon into the abdomen instead of staying in the blood vessels where it belongs. This internal bleed causes your dog to be acutely anemic, thus the weakness and collapse after the "balloon bursts". The free blood in the abdomen will eventually be reabsorbed by the body and your dog feels better until another "balloon" bursts. If you don't have a splenectomy one of the "balloon" bursts may be so large that it could cause a catastrophic bleed out and your dog could bleed to death. This could occur whether the tumor is benign or metastatic. Some splenic tumors are hemangiomas and are not metastatic. Removal of the spleen if the tumor is benign would be curative.
It is very important to have his chest X-Rayed also to make sure there is no metastasis there. This type of cancer can even spread to bones, so if there is any unexplained lameness the bone should also be X-Rayed.
There are no really helpful treatments for hemangiosarcoma. Western medical treatments such as chemotherapy may be able to double the survival rate.
Holistic and Integrative medicine may be able to increase survival time. Please Google the PolyMVA.com, polymvatestimonials.com, Bloodroot (Neoplasene), Essiac tea, and other holistic websites if you are interested in trying the alternative therapy route. I have a cancer protocol I would be glad to post if you are interested. Just let me know.
