Our dog is 14 and we have decided to opt for comfort only care for him. No surgery, no invasive procedures, no scary visits away from home. Whatever keeps him comfortable and happy.

If he seems to be OK, I would leave well enough alone, and start looking into pain control options if they'll be needed in the future, and any sort of non-invasive treatments that might be available.

Unless the vets can give a fairly hopeful out-look for after surgery, I feel it's only fair to the dog to keep him from suffering as little as possible, and by putting him through the least amount of stress, possible.

So sorry to hear about your parents dog!

I'm so sorry about the dog.

I saw your other post and immediately thought about my male cat who passed away from cancer in January. The first real concerning symptom he had was that he got bloated. The medical terminology I was given was "ascites", which is kind of a broad category, but if you read up on it, it might help you understand more about what is happening with the dog's system and why the fluid accumulates. It helped me understand where my kitty was in regard to his illness.

From past experiences with a cancer animal, I would not go the surgical route. A different cat I had never recovered a decent quality of life after having surgery to remove a tumor. The surgery was so tough on her system that she never did heal well. I'm still convinced she would have had a better quality of life had we left well enough alone and just provided comfort care.

Best wishes.

I had an english bulldog...she was 8 years old when she was diagnosed with cancer. Bulldogs average life span is between 8-10 years. The vet said they could remove the cancer but that they could not guarantee it would not have spread and they could not say how much time I would have left with her either way. I opted to have the surgery. I had another very good two years with my baby. She was happy and healthy. She did stay at the vets for a week because after the surgery her lungs got infected and had to be drained. We went to visit her everyday, and she was very happy at the vets...they let her roam around when they weren't too busy and she would hang out in their office. So If it were my dog, and there were no other problems, I would probably have the surgery. I would not give up those extra two years for any thing in the world. I thanked god for every day I had her after the cancer.

As I read your post, besides feeling very badly for you and your parents, I kept wondering what the dog's age was, because that would be one of the deciding factors if it were me.

Of course, every animals and circumstances are different, but I agree with you and your parents regarding all the other considerations, and am very glad that he is pain free.

I agree with the previous members, and about ascites as well. If it is, perhaps he can be relieved of the fluids?

Best to you, your parents, and the dog.

I would see if they couldn't do more testing before deciding. Can't they do a biopsy of the mass to see if it's cancerous? It could be benign...........

AT twelve years old, I probably would not opt for surgery.

This is a hard one due to the dogs age and because there are so many things that can cause a mass in the stomach, some can be suggestive of certain disease processes by where the mass is actually located within the stomach and sometimes if blood test results support that type of mass.
For me it would depend on the over all health of the dog separate from this issue. If the dog is healthy enough to withstand an exploratory I may be inclined to go that route before making any final decisions, but than again at 12 anything could go wrong. It's a hard call either way unfortunetly.

The ultrasound also found nodules on his liver and the specialist did not address this but my parents think this is an indication that it is cancer and has spread. They opted not to give him any pain meds (the vet didn't offer anyway) so they are able to tell as soon as possible if he is in any pain (and act accordingly) They don't want him to suffer at all but want him to enjoy the rest of his short life as much as possible. I used to live with my parents when he was a puppy but I don't see their dogs very often (they live two hours away) but it really upsets me so I can imagine how hard this in on my parents because since they are empty nesters their dogs are like their "kids" now.

I probably would have made the same choice, sad though it is. I doubt I would choose to put a 12 year old dog through a surgery that may not change the outcome.

I would, however, start reading up on homeopathic cancer/tumor treatments - things like herbs and supplements reported to slow the growth of cancerous tumors, and probably start him on whichever of those seemed like the best fit. There are reports that claim things like coconut oil, real apple cider vinegar, and various herbs have helped to stop or slow the growth of cancer, and in some instances even shrink tumors - it's mostly anecdotal, and thus not scientifically proven, but at this point, there's not really much to lose by doing some reading and trying things out.

I'm not suggesting that's what your parents *should* do, just saying that's what I would do.