Tripawds Three Legged Dog & Cat Forum Archives

Hi Stacy,

I'm about to go through what you just went through. I'm taking my baby tomorrow, she will have her front leg removed on Wednesday.  It is also an atypical mast cell tumor that is under the skin.  They say there is no way to just remove the tumor, they can't even tell where it stops and starts from all the swelling. I see most people on here are dealing with osteosarcoma.  Please keep us updated on Lulu's condition.  It sounds like she's a fighter!

Hi All,

Zoes4life - I've been thinking of you and I am there with you & Zoe in spirit today.  They did take Lulu's shoulder and I believe her lymph nodes.  I spoke with the surgeon the other day about the biopsy reports  & what was removed, but I was a bit stressed when I spoke with her, so I didn't absorb everything she said.  I am waiting for a call back from Lulu's oncologist to discuss the biopsy results a bit further and I have my list of questions ready this time.  I know that the mast cell cancer had spread to her lymph node, but they tried for clean margins, I just not sure if they got them.  A week before the surgery they did needle aspirations on her liver and spleen with and ultrasound (or maybe it was the kidney), with no signs of mast cell.  They also did x-rays the day of the surgery that were good (I imagine to check both her lungs and her heart).

You are going through a very similar experience to Lulu and me.  I found the additional tumor on Lulu's chest just a couple days before the scheduled needle aspirations.  As I mentioned previously (I think) they took a needle aspiration of that too, which came back a some type of carcinoma (of course with the needle aspirations they are never sure).  I wanted to wait for a the oncologist to put in her 2 cents before the surgery & Lulu's surgery was nearly (but not) postponed.  That must have been a very difficult day for you, making the decision to go ahead with the surgery, hoping its the right thing to do and then having is postponed for more tests and possibly scary results.

With Lulu, we sort of got a 2for1 with the surgery as they removed her leg and the new tumor.  I will post again when I understand all the results a bit better, but the additional tumor is a high grade mammary carcinoma or in human terms, breast cancer.  I think when the surgeon told me that my brain functions gave up & weren't able to hear anything else.  Lulu was a late in life rescue, found on the streets at the age of approx. 8, not spayed and most likely had several litters (I always wonder way those puppies are now).  I was told & read that dogs that aren't spayed early in life have a much higher risk of this cancer, but really, we already have the one cancer and heart disease.  

Since Zoe is undergoing major surgery, will they also be trying to get a biopsy for the rectal mass?

As far as chemo goes we started with Viblastin, which Lulu didn't handle well, lots of stomach issues, she didn't want to eat & had diarrhea.  They gave me pills for the diarrhea & nausea, but Lulu didn't want to take them (along with not wanting to take her heart meds) and there is no forcing Lulu to take pills (I brought her to the vet to try and ultimately they gave her injections).   After that we tried Lomustine (there was also a protocol to do both at the same time but it was cost prohibitive for me at the time & two types of chemo side effects were very scary).  Lulu got very sick a few days after that was administered the first time, shaking & unable to stand or walk.  I brought her in to the vet and they gave her an antibiotic shot & a course of antibiotics.  She was fine after that.  For the second dose of Lomustine, the doctor gave her antibiotics to start a few days after the treatment as a prophylactic measure.  She seemed fine, but with the Lomustine there is the risk of a severe drop in white blood cells (they do a CBC a week after the drug is given to check) .  Lulu's white blood cell count was extremely low, lower than the first dose which made the vets very concerned.  They gave her some sort of white blood cell booster shot and that brought things back to normal.  During this time she seemed to feel good, you would have never known that she had any issues.   Her oncologist was unhappy with the Lulu's side effects for the Viblastin & the lack of any visible results & side effects from the Lomustine.  She phrased it as Lulu is a little dog (about 8lbs) with big disease.  The drugs couldn't be increased because of the side effect risks and there was one more drug to try (I don't remember the name, but it was the one just approved for use in cancer treatment for dogs by the FDA), but the amount she would need a large amount to be effective and the side effects sounded too extreme.  Prednisone was never an option for Lulu as it doesn't mix well wit heart disease.

There was no plan for chemo after the amputation, but things have changed with the new cancer, so I'll talk to the doctor and see what she recommends.  

Romeo2 - I understand about the keys, I lost my wallet a couple of days after the surgery, I was so distracted.  And I also nearly lost my mind trying to find it.  I went into a funk for a while, but the next day someone had found the wallet and called to return it.  I think sometimes we need someone holding our hand, while we hold are dogs paws through this process (this website has done a lot of that for me).  Also, thanks for stating:

 I really hate the ”all this money on a dog, you can't afford it” lectures.

I have been going through that with my family a bit and its so hard,  I've spent so much money on Lulu's heart care & the surgery cost a lot more than the average it seems as I wanted it to be done at the same hospital that her cardiologist is at so that she was there to watch over the surgery and especially anesthetic and they are on the more expensive (but also very good) side of things.

I look forward to hearing more about Zoe & Romeo, so please keep us updated if you have a moment (I know it helps me to share with you all who share in these experiences, which I hope explains the extra long post).  

Go Zoe!  Lulu and I are here for you & sending are good thoughts your way.  

Sorry for the long post . . .

(p.s. Lulu is still doing extremely well & I'll post again with the biopsy results).