My 8 yo German Sheppard Samson was diagnosed with a type of lymphoma. His lumps apeared on his neck behind his jaw almost over night.
Fortunately we live right next to Colorado State University and their vet hospital. We worked very closely with the Oncology Department and did a combination of surgury and chemo. Since he was the first pure bred GS they had seen with this specific type of cancer, we elected to allow him to be used for a few new types of treatments. We were fortunate to have Pet Insurance and had very little out of pocket expenses.
Samson lived a little over a year after the initial diagnosis, and was very active right up until the lumps returned and we decided to put him to sleep. It was a very difficult and stressfull time, but not long after the diagnosis we adopted a young female GS and named her Delilah in his honor. It made the transition a little smoother for my young children and for us. Del and her little buddy Casey Jones (11 yo black pug) are with me primarily now, but are both wonderful parts of the family.
Good luck with whatever you choose.
Samson and Casey Jones
Bill