pet advice?

[HomerMcvie]

So, here's the history, for anyone who doesn't remember:
This past Feb, my dog Cash developed a mass in his mouth. It turned out to be oral melanoma. We did radiation treatments, through the U of IL, then chemo, through my vet, which ran into July. We've done monthly checkups since then, and everything was fine, until a couple weeks ago.

The vet thought she saw some growth in the area where the mass had previously been(I couldn't see any difference though). She took some cells, put em on a slide, and sent them to Purdue (big vet school) for analysis. They came back negative!, although they said they'd like to see a full biopsy. Well, since then, the mass has grown substantially. She removed it, a couple hours ago, and said it's bad, that it had spread around a tooth, and was likely spreading rapidly through his jaw.

So, about the only HOPE is removing one side of his lower jaw. This is a decision that U of IL will have to make(if it's a viable option). She said it takes about a month to recover, and the pet usually goes through a period of depression. Obviously, they have to relearn how to eat, also.
My aunt tells me that I shouldn't put him through all this, that it's too much for him(he's not even 8yo yet, btw). A friend told me last night that I shouldn't, also. The vet says if they can get all the cancer, that I should do it. I'm leaning towards doing it. What would you do?


I'm so sad. My dog is my child.