Doggie Hospice

Veterinary surgery to remove a jaw with a malignant melanoma and accompanying chemotherapy: $5000

Veterinary surgery to "debulk" a malignant melanoma only to see it rapidly grow back: $1500

Enjoying the last few weeks (maybe month or two) with my sweet dog surgery/chemo-free: Priceless

I called the vet today after spending nearly a week not dealing with my nearly 17-year-old Ricky's diagnosis. I needed a bottom line: "What would you do if it were your dog, Doc?"

He wasn't there, but I spoke with the angelic Andrea, the Vet Tech, who knows Ricky. She very gently and sweetly related what experience she's had in dealing with this and listed out what I could expect with the three options I had to choose from:

1. Radical heroic surgery to remove the jaw, then four vaccines and chemotherapy. Caveats: surgery risks/anesthesia issues/recovery in a geriatric dog, discomfort, feeding issues.
2. Not-so-heroic surgery to reduce the size of the tumor to help with making eating easier. Caveats: Same surgery risks, but the tumor is aggressive; debulking would not slow its growth, it would grow back rapidly.
3. Do nothing and let nature take its course, making Ricky comfortable in the meantime. Caveats: The tumor may grow to a point where Ricky will not be able to chew his food or drink, so he may begin to starve before this kills him. (This will be the cue to make that last trip to the vet.)

Nothing that I hadn't already heard from my vet and the veterinary oncologist.

I said to Andrea, "I'm not sure what which is the right way to go. Andrea, bottom line it for me. If your dog was nearly 17, had a cancerous tumor in his mouth, a tumor in his lung, severe arthritis in his spine with neurological and motor deficits, and a bad heart, what would you do?"

Andrea replied kindly, "If it were me, I would enjoy every minute I had left with him."

And I burst into tears as I steered my car onto the entrance ramp of the highway. Decision made.