cancer on dogs foot

my 12 year old lab has a tumor growing between his paws no one will operate. They say she will bleed to death and you can’t stitch tumor tissue. another wanted to amputate the foot.. why can’t it be cut off a little at a time. until it can be completely eradicated. we have her on an herb tonic that is shrinking the tumor and the growth is hardening up. It’s not soft and squishy like before

Hello!  Cancer cells are not normal cells, but cells which are less well formed;  they divide and multiply much faster than usual, often in an uncontrolled fashion.  Therefore the cancer cell is less strong than the normal (eg skin, epidermal) tissue that it grows from and furthermore, tends to have a much better blood supply.  Therefore, when you cut into a tumour (alas, I have) they bleed a lot and do not heal very well.

It is therefore a bad idea to cut into a known cancer and to expect it to heal.  It is done for specific purposes, eg when biopsies are taken, which affect a very small area only.  Indeed, debulking a known tumour might result in the tumour spreading faster in some cases.

Chemotherapy or part-limb removal may make a significant difference to the expected survival time for some kinds of tumour.  Where it is offered, chemotherapy can be less debilitating than we tend to think of it being for people, but available for fewer kinds of cancer.   Pathologists are skilled in identifying tumours and collecting data as to the outcomes associated with them, so they may be able to provide your vet with up to date information.  I have known dogs cope very well on three legs;  it is significantly less debilitating than a human losing one leg, for example.  But the important thing at the moment is for you is to understand the options for your dogs' particular cancer as thoroughly as possible and to make the choice that works best for yourself and your dog, using data / information that is specifically relevant to them and their condition.

It is standard practise when removing a cancer to remove a margain of normal tissue of a certain size in every direction, in order to reduce the chance of its spreading as much as possible.  Legs are only thin and so when the tumour is on a leg, this is often impossible without removing the limb.  Your paghogist is usually the person who best understands the optiond in such a case - often, they collate information regarding the outcomes of cases they have seen - so they really are well placed to comment.

I hope that this goes some way to helping with a difficult decision and wishing you and your lab all the best.

thank you for the insight.. we will continue with homeopathic tonics and see if that improves after the set days of trial…