What should I expect from a Spindle Tumor?

[Hollie]

My boyfriends Jack Russel has recently had an operation to have a Spindle Tumor removed from his leg joint. The op went superbly and they're confident they got it all, but only a couple of weeks later the area is becoming raised once more. The vets approximated him 6 months if the surgery was a success (he's an old dog, the operation was decided on as a better alternative to allowing it to grow and kill him painfully). Unfortunately the vets are now reluctant to offer advice and can not give any guess as to wether or not he will soon need another operation. They also won't discuss alternatives i.e: euthanasia, steroids. My boyfriend is very possesive of his dog and will not allow me to go with him to the vet, so I can't be sure he's understanding what he's being told (he doesn't listen half the time). I've been searching online but the information is limited. Has anyone else had a similar experience with a pet? If so, can anyone offer any advice on what to expect?

[carmalee]

Hollie sorry to hear about the problem - I googled in spindle tumours in dogs and got quite a few sites - maybe you've been on these already. Really if your b/f isn't communicating with either you or the vet the only thing you can perhaps try is to encourage him to get a second opinion (which is of course an owner's right to do) - maybe b/f will communicate better with a different vet as you say the initial one is reluctant to offer advice. Put it in the guise of 'we both want what's best for woofie so let's try and get some answers elsewhere' - that sort of approach may work. Good luck

[Hollie]

Thank you for your response. I've found quite a few sites online but nothing that really helps with our actual situation. I will try and get him to get a second opinion though.

[lankeela]

Why don't you phone and ask to speak to the vet? I am sure they will tell you when he is free to talk to you and I don't think they would use the 'patient confidentiality' clause like they do for humans. Explain that you are the dog's other owner and didn't understand what your boyfriend told you.

[Hollie]

It didn't occur to me to try phoning the vets myself, thank you for the suggestion :)

[Hollie]

Thank you to everyone who showed interest. The dog in question has now died. If anyone else has found this thread because there own pet has a similar affliction then please leave a response. My information is still limited but I can speak from personal experience and may be able to offer some form of advice/support.