Thanks. Much appreciated! Lots of pain meds. We go to our regular vet for bloodwork on Sat, so can give us some direction on increase. His office and ACIC work well in tandem. I took the day off today, just 'cuz. Lots of snuggle time, lots of treats, and a nice ride in the car for both of my boys today! 🐾🐾🐾

Thanks for the feedback.

She did talk about those as options. But somehow we landed on another carboplatin first. Throughout treatments, there was zero sign of any mets. I think she figured that the carboplatin kept it at bay pretty well. 

She said that metronomics were an option at any point along the way, and I think that's where we're headed next. The concern is the pain from the scapular tumor. I think that dealing with the pain when he's otherwise pretty healthy is the hardest aspect to remain more dog about the whole thing!

I'm just wondering *IF* the recent carboplatin was going to have a shrinking/relief effect on the scapula, how long might it take for me to notice an improvement in his symptoms? Does the drug work over the course of a few weeks or is it more immediate in knocking out cancer cells? 

Thanks, everyone. 

The oncologist is out of town for another week. 🙁 But I'm planning on calling tomorrow anyway. We go see our regular vet, Dr. Rog. on Saturday for the CBC. At least he'll be able to give us direction on increasing pain medication. If he feels there's need, he can even take an x-ray there to see if there's been a change. 

I've just been looking for a glimmer of hope that maybe the area might still show some improvement over time, but the pain is just getting worse. He hurts more now then he did before the amputation. Since he's a front amputee, all the weight just slams on that scapula area all the time. 

I'll call the cancer center too, just to see what they have to say. I missed their follow-up phone call today. 🙁 

I don't think there's anything we can do except the pain pills for another couple of weeks. Right now, I'm not sure if it's fair to make him hold out that long if this thing is going to continue to get in the meantime. 

Thanks for everything here. What a stressful day we've had. Right now, they're trying to get ahold of the Onco to see if she has any thoughts. Bottom line: we're on max pain pills. Can't leave him in this much pain for 6 more days until she returns. The Onco. Techs have advised. 

Mum coming to terms with the fact that nothing is going to shrink the scapula problem, so I'm not even sure it's worth moving forward at this point.

The tough thing is that last week, Dr. O was SO adamant that we had lots of options left to try. 

He's hurting just to lie down and get back up again, so even a doggy stroller won't help. 

This is where it's so hard - do I "buy" a couple months with radiation or other drugs. He's in too much pain to just do nothing. Depending on what Dr. O has to say, tomorrow might be the day. We had already set up an appointment with Dr Rogerson for CBC tomorrow for Tipper and heart worm test for Logan. 

Last night and this morning were rough with scapula pain. Cancer clinic insisted we get CBC TODAY rather than wait until our appointment tomorrow. The doctors at ACIC aren't in today, and our regular vet was booked, one of the doctors had called in sick, and our doctor had a surgery today. So, we went somewhere else for bloodwork. No problem with bloodwork. 

i dropped everything in the middle of first hour to get things arranged for a sub for the rest of the day. 

Exhausted!!

I'm pretty sure I just gave Tipper the wrong dose a little while ago. I think we will be napping for a little bit!