My cat has a bone tumor. What's the life expectancy after amputation?

She has most likely been diagnosed with osteosarcoma (in the forelimb probably head of the humerus) which is a primary bond tumor. Bone tumors are painful and typically amputation is recommend with follow up chemotherapy. In the event the cancer has metastasized (spread) or it is suspected the patient will not have a good quality of life with three legs, less invasion options such as radiation therapy are recommended but only as palliative measures. If you have not already discussed talking to a veterinary oncologist with your veterinarian, I would recommend doing so. They will be able to provide you with a detailed treatment plan and prognosis.

Unfortunately only your veterinarian can answer this question. In general amputation buys a few months time and considering your dog is already very old for a Belgian Shepherd, it may be more humane to give your dog palliative care than go through with the surgery. If your dog has arthritis in his hips, having only one hind leg may put serious strain on the arthritic hip and this will cause more pain. Discuss good pain management with your veterinarian. An alternative would be to go see a veterinary oncologist who is most experienced in assessing bone cancer cases and can give you good statistics as well as has most experience with good palliative care.

I'm sorry to hear about Tuba's cancer! Luckily, most dogs do very well even on only three-legs, so if your vet is confident this will help treat the cancer, and that prognosis is good, moving forward is a good option. If there is still a lump or tumor, you vet can also help you determine if the margin of removal was good or not, the type of cancer present and its prognosis, and can help you monitor for any additional growths. If the cancer is spreading or wasn't caught, your vet may also be able to refer you to a nearby specialists or oncologist (cancer specialist) that can help with further information and a care plan for Tuba.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Playing the odds based on Skylar's breed and the fact that she has a tumor in the leg I would assume it is potentially a primary bone tumor such as osteosarcoma though of course your veterinarian would know better. Regardless of the tumor type, if they already made the determination of amputating her leg as the next step I can tell you that most dogs tolerate being on 3 legs very well and get around just fine even if older. Only dealing with cancer patients myself I have a lot of cancer patients that are three-legged and do great. As long as she does not have another orthopedic or neurologic condition that affects her ambulation, she would likely be ok in three legs. Good luck!

Unfortunately in most cases amputation will not be curative, it will probably slow down the tumor but in most dogs amputation do not eliminate the condition as the tumor in over 95% of cases has already metastasised (even if the chest x-ray looked clear).

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am so sorry about Chunk's diagnosis! This is a terrible situation! If Chunk is having such a hard time now, it will likely be the same if the rear leg was amputated. Amputation is just palliative unfortunately, meaning it buys you and the pet time. Most bone cancers have microscopically spread by the time they are diagnosed. If Chunk's tumor is a fibroscarcoma then it is slower to spread and he could get more good time if he loses weight and is able to learn how to get around with 3 legs. So, if you are not ready to give up or give in to the situation, ask to have a biopsy done of the tumor so you know what cancer you are dealing with. If it is a fibroscarcoma then amputate and deal with losing the weight afterwards. If it is osteosarcoma then I think putting him down is fair. I am again very sorry that this is happening to you and Chunk. He is too young!

Hi there. I'm afraid I don't understand all the abbreviations in your question, so it's hard for me to make sense of what you're asking. In general, I can tell you that osteosarcoma (the most common type of bone tumor in dogs) is a very aggressive type of cancer, and most dogs do not live more than a few weeks to months after diagnosis without amputation and chemotherapy. So if your dog lived for 1.5 years after the initial diagnosis, he may have simply been very fortunate, or he may have had some other type of bone tumor, or some other problem entirely - since I didn't get to examine him and the time and have not seen his x-rays, I have no way of knowing. If your dog has now passed away and you would like to get a more definitive answer as to what was wrong, I would recommend having an autopsy done - called a necropsy in animals. Your veterinarian should be able to advise you on how to arrange this, if you wish.