[alexisefabian]

I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this, it is the most horrible part of loving a golden. My boy had a recurring lump on his arm that eventually became cancerous. We got it removed a few times. It started as a fatty deposit when he was fairly young but it was diagnosed as cancer when he was 6 or 7. We were offered the option of chemo, but it was so expensive and we were worried about how it would make him feel. The surgeon was fairly confident that he had gotten most of the cancer removed during the last surgery, so we left it be. My boy died from cancer when he was 11. We'll never have all of the answers, but he suddenly lost mobility and we had to put him down two weeks later. He had chest X-rays to help the vet try and diagnose why he had lost mobility, and they discovered his lungs were full of cancer. We think that the cancer on his arm spread over the years without us knowing and it eventually caused him to be paralyzed.

If you think your boy can handle debulking, it might give you more time. I don't remember exactly what cancer they told us my boy had, but it was categorized as aggressive. A few removals gave us 5 more years, even though it was a horrible ending. If you do decide on debulking, try to get an awesome surgeon if you can spare the time to research a bit. I don't think multiple removals would have been needed for my boy if we had found a highly recommended surgeon the first time around.

Much love and support to you and Wally