Hemangiosarcoma Awareness

Treatment and Care Options

When a family first hears the word hemangiosarcoma, another question follows almost immediately. What can we do? This article is here to answer that question as honestly and as gently as we can.

We want to say something important at the very start. There is no single right answer here, and there is no path that a loving family is obliged to take. The best choice depends on the form of the disease, how far it has progressed, the individual dog, and a family's own circumstances. Every option described below, including the choice to focus entirely on comfort, is a legitimate and loving one. Our hope is simply that, by understanding what is possible, you can have a clear and confident conversation with your veterinarian and choose the path that is genuinely right for your dog.

Two Truths to Hold First

Before the specifics, two honest truths shape everything that follows.

The first is that the skin form of hemangiosarcoma and the internal forms are very different situations. A superficial skin tumor, found early and removed completely, can often be cured. The internal, or visceral, forms, affecting the spleen, heart, or liver, are rarely curable. For those, the realistic goal of treatment is not a cure, but more good, comfortable time.

The second truth is that comfort-focused care is a full and valid choice, not a failure and not a last resort. For many families and many dogs, it is the kindest path of all. Choosing it is not giving up. It is choosing to spend whatever time remains protecting a dog's peace.

Surgery

For most forms of hemangiosarcoma, surgery is the first and central treatment. Its purpose is to remove the primary tumor.

For the common splenic form, this means removing the spleen, an operation called a splenectomy. A dog can live a healthy, normal life without a spleen. Often this surgery happens as an emergency, because the tumor has ruptured and is bleeding, and in that situation the veterinary team will work first to stabilize the dog with fluids, and sometimes a blood transfusion, before or during the procedure. For tumors in the liver, surgery may involve removing the affected portion of the liver.

Tumors of the heart are more difficult. Only some cardiac tumors are in a location that can be operated on, and heart surgery carries significant risk, so for many dogs with cardiac hemangiosarcoma, surgery is not the right option, and care focuses on other approaches.

For the skin form, surgery to remove the tumor, along with a margin of healthy tissue around it, is the main treatment. When the tumor is truly superficial and fully removed, it can be all the treatment a dog needs.

Chemotherapy

Because the internal forms of hemangiosarcoma spread early and microscopically, surgery alone usually cannot reach every cancer cell. This is why chemotherapy is so often recommended afterward. Its job is to slow the microscopic disease that surgery leaves behind.

The standard chemotherapy is built around a drug called doxorubicin, usually given as an injection once every two to three weeks for a course of several treatments. Adding this chemotherapy after surgery has been shown to extend median survival times compared with surgery alone, typically from a range of one to three months up to roughly four to six months. It is a real benefit, and an honest one to describe as modest. Chemotherapy is not a cure for internal hemangiosarcoma.

One thing often brings families genuine relief to hear. Veterinary chemotherapy is approached very differently from chemotherapy in human medicine. Doses are chosen specifically to preserve a dog's quality of life, and most dogs tolerate treatment well, continuing to eat, play, and enjoy their days, with only mild side effects in most cases. There is also a gentler approach called metronomic chemotherapy, which uses low doses of medication given by mouth at home, and which may be offered in some situations.

Palliative and Comfort Care

When surgery is not possible, or when a family chooses not to pursue aggressive treatment, or when the disease is already widespread, the focus turns to palliative care. The goal of palliative care is simple and loving: to keep a dog feeling as well and as comfortable as possible, for as long as possible.

This kind of care can include a range of gentle measures. Pain relief and anti-inflammatory medications keep a dog comfortable. For some tumors, palliative radiation therapy can ease symptoms when surgery is not an option. For cardiac tumors, fluid that builds up around the heart can sometimes be drained to relieve pressure and help a dog breathe more easily. Chemotherapy itself is sometimes used in a purely palliative way, to slow the disease and maintain quality of life rather than with any expectation of a cure.

We want to be clear about something. Choosing comfort care is not the absence of treatment. It is a form of treatment, and a deeply compassionate one. Many families look back on time spent this way, focused entirely on their dog's ease and happiness, as time they are profoundly grateful for.

Emerging and Investigational Treatments

Hemangiosarcoma is the focus of more active research now than at any point in its history, and several promising new approaches are being studied.

Among the most hopeful is immunotherapy, which aims to enlist a dog's own immune system against the cancer. Recent clinical trials of tumor vaccines given alongside standard treatment have shown encouraging early results. Researchers are also studying a targeted drug known as eBAT, developed at the University of Minnesota and designed to attack tumor cells and their blood supply, though it is still in development and not yet available in general practice. Other existing medications, including losartan, are being investigated for their potential to slow the disease.

If you would like to explore these newer options, the best step is to ask your veterinarian, or a veterinary oncology center such as a university veterinary teaching hospital, whether your dog might be eligible for a current clinical trial. Taking part can offer access to new treatments, and it also contributes to the knowledge that will help future dogs.

Approaches Families Often Ask About

Many families exploring every option come across two complementary remedies in particular, and we want to address them honestly rather than leave you to sort through conflicting information alone.

The first is Yunnan Baiyao, a traditional Chinese herbal formula. Veterinarians sometimes use it to help manage the bleeding associated with hemangiosarcoma. The second is turkey tail mushroom, also known as Coriolus versicolor, and a compound derived from it called PSP. A small study at the University of Pennsylvania explored its use in dogs with hemangiosarcoma and reported encouraging survival times within a small group of dogs.

Here is the honest picture. The published research on both of these is still limited, and in places the results are mixed. As balanced veterinary coverage notes, herbal supplements can also interact with chemotherapy drugs, which matters a great deal if a dog is receiving both. None of this means these approaches are without value, and many families do use them. It does mean they are not a proven substitute for veterinary treatment, and that anything you give your dog, including any supplement, should be discussed with your veterinarian first, so that it can be made part of a safe and coordinated plan.

A Word on Cost and Circumstance

It would be incomplete, and less than honest, not to acknowledge that treatment decisions involve real practical and financial realities. Surgery, chemotherapy, and specialist care carry significant costs, and not every family is able to pursue every option. Please hear this clearly: the choices available to you do not measure the love you have for your dog. A family that chooses comfort care because it is what they can manage is loving their dog every bit as fully as a family that pursues surgery and chemotherapy. There is no shame in any honest, caring decision.

Making the Decision

There is no universally correct treatment for hemangiosarcoma. The right choice is the one that fits your individual dog, your circumstances, and what you believe will give your dog the best quality of life in the time they have.

The most valuable thing you can do is talk openly with your veterinarian, and, if you wish, with a board-certified veterinary oncologist, who can look at your dog's specific situation and help you weigh the options honestly. Ask your questions. Ask what each path would mean for how your dog feels day to day. Whatever you decide, if it is decided with your dog's comfort and dignity at the center, it is the right decision. That is the one thing that never changes, through every option on this page.

Sources and Further Reading

Return to Home