We encountered a major setback with Blue. While the generalized swelling around his neck had subsided significantly, the swelling beneath his 7-8” incision had worsened, resembling a hotdog just beneath his skin. Things escalated when unexpected visitors arrived at the front door. Blue, resting on the couch, sprang into action the moment he heard the screen door click.
In a split second, he performed a 180-degree turn, growling to protect his home and family as he always does. Unfortunately, this sudden movement caused his incision to reopen, oozing blood and fluid.
We encountered a major setback with Blue. While the generalized swelling around his neck had subsided significantly, the swelling beneath his 7-8” incision had worsened, resembling a hotdog just beneath his skin. Things escalated when unexpected visitors arrived at the front door. Blue, resting on the couch, sprang into action the moment he heard the screen door click. In a split second, he performed a 180-degree turn, growling to protect his home and family as he always does. Unfortunately, this sudden movement caused his incision to reopen, oozing blood and fluid.
My wife quickly grabbed gauze and applied direct pressure, holding it firmly for two and a half hours. While this helped, it didn’t completely stop the oozing. Recently, we had received blood work results from Cornell University, ruling out any underlying bleeding disorder.
Transporting Blue to the hospital presented another challenge. The 40-minute drive would be dangerous for his incision due to his tendency to become uncontrollable in the car—barking, running back and forth, and whipping his head at passing sights. This kind of movement could exacerbate his injury a thousandfold compared to the front door incident.
We contacted our vet and continued applying pressure throughout the evening, night, and into the next morning. Anytime Blue moved, the oozing worsened. Yet, as the fluid leaked, we noticed the swelling gradually subsiding. We managed to secure an appointment with his surgeon the next afternoon, where they planned to examine his incision and remove the drain.
Finding a suitable vehicle for the journey was another hurdle. After countless calls across metro Detroit, we couldn’t locate a minivan. Thankfully, one of my best friends stepped up and offered his. We prepared Blue with a regimen of medications, including 400mg of Trazodone and pain relief, ensuring he remained calm during the ride.
At the surgeon’s office, they removed the drain and evaluated the incision. Ironically, by the time we arrived, the oozing had nearly stopped entirely—the very issue that prompted the visit. Then came the devastating news. The biopsy results of the 5-lb mass removed during surgery had come in: Blue has cancer. Specifically, Soft Tissue Sarcoma, Grade 2. The surgeon explained that the cancer is likely to recur in the same area, growing back faster than it did the first time.
This nightmare took another drop. From initial fine-needle aspirations to CT scans and surgery, everything had pointed away from cancer. Even Blue’s young age and lack of family history made it seem unlikely—yet here we are.
To compound our heartbreak, the surgeon was correct in her original diagnosis: the mass was indeed a giant hematoma caused by Blue’s brick-wall impact injury three months ago. However, hidden in that same area was cancer, silently waiting to capitalize on the situation. The cruel twist of fate is almost unbearable for all who love him.
But we’re not giving up. Our next plan is to fight this with everything we’ve got.
The Path Forward
- Ketogenic Diet: We began Blue on a strict ketogenic diet a few weeks ago, focusing on fatty red meats, chicken, and fish. Cancer thrives on glycogen (carbs), so eliminating carbs starves it. This species-appropriate diet aligns with what dogs—and humans—once thrived on before the rise of carbohydrate-heavy diets and their associated diseases.
- Ivermectin Therapy: We’ll also pursue aggressive Ivermectin therapy, which has shown promise in killing cancer cells in both humans and dogs.
We’re committed to fighting for Blue and will share updates as we continue this journey. Thank you for standing with us.
Here is the biopsy report from the Michigan State Laboratory:
History This dog presented with a large growing and painful mass on the dorsal neck. Two months prior, the dog was noted to have run into a brick wall. A CT scan revealed a venous bleed and a large hematoma.
Microscopic Description One representative section from each of the eight pieces of submitted tissue was examined. The majority of the tissue sections are almost completely necrotic with fibrin, hemorrhage and some fibrous connective tissue with interspersed vessels. Regionally, there are a few areas containing a highly cellular, nonencapsulated, and poorly demarcated proliferation of neoplastic mesenchymal cells that are somewhat hypoxic. The neoplastic cells are arranged in loose streams supported by a small amount of fibrovascular stroma. The neoplastic cells are spindloid to stellate, with a small amount of eosinophilic cytoplasm and variably distinct cell borders. Nuclei are round to oval to fusiform, finely stippled, and lack prominent nucleoli. Anisokaryosis is mild, and no mitotic figures were observed in 10 high-power fields (400x).
Diagnosis(es) Submitted specimens: Soft Tissue Sarcoma, Grade 2 (please see comments) Comments: The submitted specimens consist primarily of large areas of necrosis and nonviable cells, which limited diagnostic interpretation. However, multiple areas of atypical mesenchymal cells were observed, beyond the scope of fibrosis and granulation tissue, warranting a diagnosis of a soft tissue sarcoma. Given the clinical history, a pre-existing soft tissue sarcoma may have been traumatized, leading to hemorrhage and subsequent necrosis. As multiple pieces of tissue were submitted, complete surgical excision cannot be confirmed in this case. This case was reviewed by multiple pathologists. Soft Tissue Sarcomas: A recent review of soft tissue sarcomas in the literature recommends the use of a standardized grading system for cutaneous and subcutaneous soft tissue sarcomas in the dog. This system evaluates differentiation to tumor type, mitotic count, and amount of tumor necrosis to provide a histologic grade, on a scale of 1 to 3. Grade 1 soft tissue sarcomas are the most common type reported in dogs. Notably, complete surgical excision predicts non recurrence and recurrence appears to increase with grade in incompletely-resected masses, with one study reporting recurrence of Grade 1 tumors in 7% of cases, recurrence of Grade 2 tumors in 35% of cases, and recurrence of Grade 3 tumors in 75% of cases, all with close margins. Metastasis is uncommon for grade 1 and 2 tumors. Grade 3 tumors have a higher rate of metastasis; metastasis is reported to the lungs and local lymph nodes. High mitotic count (> 9 mitotic figures per ten high-power fields) is correlated with reduced survival time.