:( i hope everything turns out ok. <3

I'm sorry. Kerouac is such a good dog. I hope his condition improves. Dogs can't read Bernie Siegel, but I think he can read your mind enough to know he's loved and needed. No matter what, he knows that.

A doctor with great theories on surviving cancer longer than expected, against the worst possible odds. I'm a big fan, although of course I don't put my faith in any one theory. I like to diversify.

I'm so sorry

Ah. Man. :(

Hope he turns out right! He's a trooper.

Damn...what part of his leg was the mass on, low towards his foot or high up?

Please let us know if we can be of any help through this. As you know, we are both crazy dog lovers and will lend a hand as is needed.

Well there is some "good news" to go along with the gut-punch of "your dog has cancer". Keep us updates - luck and strength to you both.

*hugs*

He is a great dog, and a fighter.

Whatever "fair" means, it's better than most cancer prognoses.

This made me cry.

:( I <3 wakky.

Since I'm sure Melissa's telling you what everything means, I'll skip that bit and go straight for the vet side explanation.
With cancer in animals, unlike in humans, the goal is generally NOT to give the body as much chemo/radiation/whatever to stop those cells from growing.
It's more to give as small an amount as possible to get the best results.
Does this mean a dog with cancer has less of a chance to survive? The jury's still out on this. It's very much a balancing act of how much can your pet handle versus how much will his quality of life suffer.
Anyhow, most vets won't try the "big guns" first. They'll start small and work up depending on results. It has a lot to do with how much you're willing to do and how much Kerouac is able to tolerate.
As for the financial side of this, it varies. A lot of cancer drugs are not shockingly expensive, but there are plenty that set the vet's office back hundreds of dollars for a single dose. Keep in mind the bill IS negotiable. Markups for drugs are huge and I can tell you what your vet is paying for any drug they suggest. Hell, you can ask them if they use Webster as a supplier and if so, I can cut them a deal on what they use for Kerouac. And on top of all that, there's a program out there called CareCredit (http://www.carecredit.com/) that's really worth looking into if your vet allows it as a payment form. It can save you a huge amount of hassle and it's better than racking up credit card fees.
And please, you can call me absolutely anytime if you have any questions about this. Even if you're at the vet and something seems weird on the bill, go ahead and call.

I'm sorry, bud. :(

If you ever need to talk, I'm here. I'm sure hemperz is there better, but I'm still here just in case. Here's hoping for a "fixable" cancer. I don't know much about spindle cell carcoma- does it spread? What stage is it usually in when it's located? My girl had axial myosarcoma, so she was already terminal by the time we discovered it. If Kerouac's prognosis is "fair", that's better than terminal, non?

Yeah, poor guy. Just be sure to give him lots of love and make him as comfortable as possible while he's dealing with this. :(

me and sean and duncan send our love and well wishes to kerouac... and i'm sure duncan would try to purr it better, if he could. hang in there, you two!

I'm so, so sorry. For about two thirds of Damien's life we were having cancerous lumps of various kinds removed and it's a shitty thing to deal with. You guys are in my thoughts and I hope you have many more years together.

I know it's been a long time since we talked last but if you'd like photos of Kerouac when he's up and around from surgery I'd be happy to do them for you - a gift from one dog lover to another and all that. :)