My dog has a rare genetic cancer called RCND. She’ll be almost 10 years old in June.
Her kidneys are still functioning, but she’s extremely thirsty all the time and has been having accidents around the house daily. She has nodules all over her body—at this point, her body feels like one big rock. She probably has over 100 masses, too many to count. Most are slow-growing, but some are fast and aggressive.
A couple of years ago, before we knew what they were, we had one of the nodules removed. It was almost the size of a tennis ball and located above her eye. The vet recommended removing it because it could affect her vision. Looking back, it was one of the worst decisions we made. The recovery was brutal and traumatic for her, and she hasn’t seemed like herself since.
Now, four years later, she has another large one on her face, along with a new one on her paw and leg ( it is massive) that showed up last April and grew very quickly. I can tell she’s uncomfortable. She’s more aggressive than she used to be, and I think it’s because she’s in discomfort and gets irritated easily. She starting to also struggle walking up the stairs.
The last time I spoke with the vet, they said surgery isn’t a great option and recommended just monitoring her symptoms. She’s still eating, drinking, and playing, and I feel like there’s still life in her—but she’s clearly uncomfortable.
From what I’ve researched about this disease, many people end up putting their dogs down because the discomfort becomes too much. The masses apparently don’t cause pain at first, but over time they grow and become uncomfortable.
I want to keep her as long as I can, but I also know it might be selfish to do so. I’m torn. Should I consider another surgery—since this time it would be on her leg or paw, and recovery might be easier? Or do I need to start thinking about possibly putting her down?