The Next Step...

Our vet, Dr. R, told me that he was fairly certain that the growth was a fibrosarcoma and that we should go the the Auburn University Vet School as soon as possible to have it looked at.  I could tell from his demeanor and from the tears in the eyes of the vet tech with him that this was very bad news.  I immediately called Auburn and arranged to take Strider in a couple of days later.  Once there, I was informed that he did have an oral fibrosarcoma and we immediately began to discuss treatment options.  

One thing that I do not remember is when I first heard the explanation as to the benign biopsy results.  I believe it was our vet, Dr. R, but it could have been at Auburn.  The explanation, as best I can relay it, is that the material that looks like the tumor are actually collagen fibers that are created by the cancer cells, but are not cancerous themselves.  So that material can test benign if a large enough sample is not tested that includes the actual cancer cells.  I am sure I am not stating this correctly, but the phrase on some of the paperwork I have is "low grade histologic, high grade biological."

Initial Misdiagnosis

In August 2010, I took Strider to our vet for a swelling in his upper gum, above his left canine tooth.  I first noticed a swelling on the outside beside his nose and thought it was a bee sting or snake bite and that it was the skin that was affected.  I looked inside his mouth and saw what looked like extra gum material on that side.  It was hard and looked exactly like gum, but there was more on that side than on the other side.  The extra material was pushing out his lip, causing it to look slightly swollen.  You can see in the pictures below that the swelling is fairly subtle.  At this point, he exhibited no other symptoms at all.

Our usual vet was not in on that day, and the vet that we saw suggested that we get a biopsy performed, just to be on the safe side.  We did that and a few days later, he called to say that the biopsy had come back as benign and showed the material to be scar tissue.  That seemed strange, but we also have a year old Golden puppy and the two dogs play fight very hard.  I speculated that Strider had gotten hit hard on the mouth while playing and that was the cause of the scar tissue.  To me, benign meant benign, and I gave it no further thought.

Over the next few months, I noticed the swelling seemed to get slightly larger, but I wasn't concerned.  We had done due diligence, gotten a biopsy done, and I felt there was no need for further concern.

In November, we returned to the vet office for the removal of a benign tumor on his eyelid that we had been monitoring, and this time we saw our usual vet, who has been in practice for over 35 years.  He took one look at Strider and knew there was a problem.

His summer cut is just growing out.

Later Summer 2010

Strider and Fibrosarcoma

Strider is my beautiful 8 1/2 year old Golden Retriever who is currently undergoing treatment for an oral fibrosarcoma in his upper jaw.  I decided to post about his diagnosis, treatment, and progress, after finding very little on the internet about fibrosarcoma.   There is tons of information about many of the other multitudes of cancers that Goldens face, but fortunately, fibrosarcoma is relatively rare.  Unfortunately, that also means that there is little information about the cancer and effective treatments.  Since we are spending a large amount of money on treatment that we have been assured will only buy time, not a cure, I hope that our experience can help others who are facing the same situation.   We are almost 6 weeks into treatment, so I will back up and try to remember as much as possible about where we have come in that time.  I am not a medical professional, so I ask your forgiveness for any errors I make.


Here he is in healthier days.