bony tumor

Question
My husband noticed a lump on the right hind leg of our male rat, Dusty. He is about a a year and a half old. We immediately took him to our small animal vet. He took an x ray and told us that Dusty has a bony tumor and that the only way he will survive is if we amputate his leg mid-femur. The price for this procedure will be almost $300 dollars. He said Dusty will have a 50/50 chance of surviving. My husband and I want Dusty to have the best and longest life possible, so we are willing to pay for the surgery although it will be a major strain on our budget. My question is do you think it is the right choice? What do you think the odds of recuperation are and what will be Dusty's quality of life after the amputation? Should we go ahead and do this, or just take care of him until he is in pain and then put him down? Right now he is showing no signs of being in pain, but seems to have a little less energy than normal. Help... :(

Answer
I am so sorry to hear that, Well, for starters... its good that he's not in any pain... I would go ahead with the procedure, but chances are he won't be a very happy rat afterwards. But... I personally would wait until he seems to start to show pain, but do not wait for the tumor to grow. Is it cancerous?
If you amputate, it depends on the rat, if he's a tough little guy he should be recovered in a few months, but if he's whimpy (like most of my boys) it may take a while longer, and I say what the vet's are saying may not be 100% true that its a 50/50 chance of survival.
I hope this helps your little Dusty!
-Molly