Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi Everyone!
I have a couple questions that I thought I'd roll into one. Dolly is more than a week out of surgery with a rear leg amputation. She has been seen by our vet and has a seroma where I guess her tailbone is. It's not red, but looks a little web-like under the skin or what I would say what it looks like when blood vessels pop under the skin. Anyhow our vet isn't concerned, but she gave me conflicting advice with the surgery team. She says ice and heat. The surgery team insists heat only. I trust them both for different reasons, and what I read is all about sprain and injuries - not surgeries. What did you do?
And, finally, we go for our first chemo treatment on Tuesday. They are using carboplatin. I don't know if the type of chemo matters, but is there anything I should prepare myself for? I'm not sure what to expect, and we are traveling from Indianapolis to the University of Illinois about two hours. I want things to go well and for her to be comfortable.
Thank you in advance!!
K
Carboplatin is the chemo generally used for osteosarcoma. The"good" thing about Carboplatin is that you can always stop it of Dolly has ad side effects. That doesn't halpen often, but it does happen.
Some dogs, like my Happy Hannah, sail through it with zero side effects. She had four Carboplatin treatments.
Some dogs have a bit of lethargy and a bit of nausea for a few days. Usually that happens arpundthe five day mark if it's going to happen. They may not feel like eating much at that time. HOWEVER, the Vet will give you Cerenia to give to Dolly shoukd she become nauseous. Some Vets go ahead and have the dogs take it anyway.
Dolly will have bloodwork drawn inbetween her chemo treatments at first ro make sure her white blood count doesn't drop to low. If it does, it merely means the next chemo treatment will be delayed u til it goes back to normal.
You are paying big bucks, so do not hesitate to get all your questions answered from the Onco, as well as a contact number. Go over every possible side effect, what to look for, how to "treat", etc. Make sure you have some Cerenia when you leave there!
Every dog is different. Again, most don't have any side effects or else they are fairly "mild" if they do. Some dogs though, get really knocked on their butt. Sometimes it's a matter of lowering the next dose. Sometimes it's compromising the dog's quality to continue on with the Carbo.
Keep in mind, there are NO guarantees with, or without chemo. It truly is a crap shoot.
It will always be about QUALITY AND LOVING AND SPOILING!! Days on a calendar mean nothe to calendar! Treats and tummy rubs and loving and spoiling mean everything!
Go through a drive thru on the way back and give her a great big cheeseburger!
Let us know how it goes!
Love and hugs!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Thanks Sally!! Cheeseburgers will definitely be on the menu for the trip back.
I keep telling everyone that I know we aren't out of the woods yet. Your advice will help keep me prepared.-especially knowing the things about the blood counts and the dosages of Carboplatin. We are scheduled for four rounds as well.
We are hopefully participating in a trial study for rapamycin. But, everything we do is about her quality of life. If she does get knocked on her butt and changing up things doesn't help, we will definitely talk to the oncologist.
Ill post again once we get past Tuesday!
I'm so glad to hear Dolly is doing well! Yay! You're moving right along as things should be right now, that's awesome.
Here are two blog posts that will answer your questions:
Heat and Ice Therapy Tips for Tripawd Cats and Dogs
- When an injury is no longer acute, switch back and forth between ice and heat as follows:
- Apply ice for five minutes, heat for 5 minutes, then ice for 5 minutes. Always end with ice.
- Keep a towel between the ice pack and fur.
Whenever you get conflicting advice, let your vet know right away. It's important they know what clients are hearing from staff.
And here's a post about what questions to ask the oncologist:
http://tripawds.....ncologist/
Carboplatin is the current gold standard for osteosarcoma and dogs get anywhere from 4-6 sessions. There's no hard evidence that 6 is better but some oncologists do it because the general thinking is that six is more beneficial. Since you're going to a university hospital, that's terrific. Dolly will get the latest protocols there and have great care! University vet hospitals are pretty awesome. You will get lots pf enthusiastic, young and open-minded vets and super sharp, extra knowledgeable professors who want to do their best for her.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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