Cancer is only staged to a 4, to my belief. There is a good pet cancer support yahoo group called endlesslove that I found helpful during Little Man's battle with cancer. Paula, 273 days and counting ----Original Message Follows---- From: wendygsd@xxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: information on cancer in dogs Date: Sun, 14 Jan 2007 17:59:00 +0000 Depending on when it is caught, and when treatment starts (if you do chemo) makes a difference in how long they will live. I found one enlarged lymph node in my dog's neck and caught it at an early stage, however, my vet misdiagnosed it for about 6 wks. When I finally took her to Tufts, she was a grade 5 (the worst) and it was in her bone marrow. I did chemo, which got her in total remission for 3 months, and it she lived a total of 6 months from the original diagnosis. I knew of another bitch with it, who wasn't treated, other than steroids, and she only lived a couple of months. Unless you catch it early and start treatment then, IMO, it's not worth doing chemo, The cost was a killer.....(for me) the 6 months cost me $6,000......but she was also an extremely special girl and most of the 6 months were quality time for her. I also feel that if chemo is done at your regular vets, it would be less costly, however their original quote was for around $2,000......unless she had pr oblems, which she did from an infection from a low white count. For me, it was really a horrible experience, but I couldn't bare to part with my favorite & and what seemed to be a happy, healthy dog. Wendy Luba Cheeryo GSD, Antrim, NH <Patty Szymczak wrote.... <Terry are you refering to lymposarcoma...where the first sign is the <swollen <glands in the neck? <If so, I have done chemo therapy for this on my dog and it gave her 13 <additional months of quality life before I had to put her down. ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2006. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - www.showgsd.org ============================================================================