Sherman’s Story

My Golden Retriever Sherman is a miracle cancer dog! Sherman’s personality is very happy, sweet, playful and loyal. His health problems have been occasional atopic dermatitis and two corneal ulcers that could have resulted in blindness. Miraculously, Sherman has been enjoying the gift of good eye sight to this day! He is a senior of 13, but he has the energy of a puppy. Looking at his weight, the vet did not recommend we should put him on the senior food since he is a very active dog. He is very enthusiastic about life, even though he was sadly diagnosed with lymphoma on December 13, 2011. It all started off with when a tumor was found on his spleen May 2011. We had no idea! It’s no wonder it is known as the silent killer. Sherman was moving around very slowly. The vet noticed he was becoming anemic since he had pale gums. He was weak and he would drag his feet when walking a couple days before surgery. After several signs, like vomiting, not retrieving or interested in eating dog treats, we knew he wasn’t well. We took him to the vet clinic where an x-ray revealed he had a tumor so big, that it covered several organs. The tumor had already ruptured! The vet did a great job of cleaning him up inside from the internal bleeding and removing the entire tumor along with Sherman’s spleen. Sherman recovered speedily and felt great! He has lived in excellent condition without his spleen. We were told to have him scheduled for a follow up appointment in 6 months. We took him in for his annual vaccination & wellness check up and found out he had hypothyroidism. The vet prescribed Soloxine. This only made him behave like more of a puppy. One morning, Sherman suffered a mild stroke, so we took him to the vet at about the time the follow up visit was due. After examining him, the vet said amazingly no neurological damage was evident. His vet took an x-ray which revealed a softball size mass. After a biopsy, it appeared removable so Sherman had surgery a second time. The vet was looking and he found that it was unfortunately not removable like he expected. He asked if we wanted him to euthanize Sherman before he woke up from his operation. It was a tough decision to make, but I knew my Sherman had shown no signs of illness. Without hesitation, I decided to bring Sherman home. The second tumor is the size of a softball and is attached to his pancreas and small intestine and was diagnosed as GIST (Gastro Intestinal Tumor). Even the vet could not recommend euthanasia since we told him Sherman was showing no signs of illness. With this said, the vet stated “he has defied medicine already” and we could take him home to nurse back to health after surgery that was deemed inoperable. We took him home and he is living a normal life! Since Sherman shows no signs of pain, his veterinarian reported he has not met the medical description at all of lymphoma. We are continuing to look forward to having him with us at this rate for more time than expected. He is doing extremely well. We did not choose chemo since it can destroy a dog’s good cells too and in some cases hasten their death. Our decision to not medicate came when the vet said that there was only a 20 % chance that it can shrink a tumor that size. We were discouraged to hear that slim possibility. We outweighed the benefits with the risks by saying if Sherman has a good quality of life right now, why ruin it by making him sick on chemo. On May 13, 2012, was his celebration of a one year survival from a spleenectomy! He runs around healthy and happy today! I grieve at the many dogs that are put to rest at the diagnosis of a tumor. I consider the many days Sherman has enjoyed life with us after recovering that we both would have missed out on if we had made the decision that day. Please consider the gift of life that your dog has for whatever time he has left and make it a joyous one! Don’t give up on your dog! His life is not over yet! I speak from my personal experience with Sherman. We’re very grateful to have Sherman with us still! We are enjoying every day with our pup! He is a good canine and shows such optimism with every step he takes with a bounce. I would highly recommend a Golden Retriever to anyone since they make everyone who lives with them a better person! As for my Goldie, he is a miracle who lives on! I am glad National Canine Cancer Foundation gave me the opportunity of sharing Sherman’s survival story! Wish you & your dog the best in his cancer survival story!