Hi Jerry - it's Darcy Deerhounds Mum here *waving*

Darcy's reply was included in your blog link and when she typed that, she'd just had her 2nd dose of chemo. I thought it only fair to fill you in on what happened next.

Darcy sailed through her 1st, 2nd and 3rd chemo with no problems at all. We went into the 4th and final session expecting it to be the same but she had a really bad reaction to it. Nobody can say why this happened but it certainly took us all by surprise! She had an upset tum in both directions and a lack of appetite which got worse over a few days after the session. By the Monday (so, 4 days after the chemo) she was hospitalised and on a drip. She stayed in the hospital until the Friday afternoon.

She then went on to develop a systemic infection so we had another week or two of really rough times, with her totally refusing to eat and being very weak etc.

I'm happy to report that her fighting spirit brought her through and its now 3 weeks since she saw the vet. She has an appointment booked for next week, for a check up.

The other thing that happened as a result of this final chemo was that she's lost a LOT of her hair.

So - back to the question of to chemo or not to chemo. I can tell you that in Darcy's case, I'm certainly glad that the bad reaction (which, in all fairness, was quite severe and not the 'norm' for most dogs) happened at the very end of her planned treatment. If it had happened after chemo 1 or 2, we'd have been in a very difficult situation.

If (perish the thought) we ever had to make a decision re chemo for another of our dogs - I think we'd do it all again. Yes, it was awful to see Darcy so poorly but statistically, without the chemo, we *may* not still be blessed with her company, 4 and a bit months after amputation.

Our dog Bella had her right rear leg amputated today.  That was a big step to take.  Although I had decided on this route several weeks ago, it took my wife a bit more time to come to the same conclusion.  We are both agreed at this point to not start chemo.  Bella is 10 going on 11, and like others mentioned, we are going for quality not quantity.  She has already lived a full and happy life, so we are not trying to stretch out her final times with powerful drugs.  Wish us luck recovering from the amputation!

When Huey was diagnosed, we were leaning towards not doing chemo.  We were basically told that there was no cure for osteosarcoma, and that chemo wouldn't prolong his life.  I am glad that we got a second opinion.  We went to a second vet who did Huey's amputation, and she referred us to a vet that specializes in internal medicine for a consultation.  I was still skeptical, and just wasn't sure that I wanted to put Huey through chemo.  But, I went in and met with the new vet.  He talked to me for an hour and explained the process of chemo, the usual results, and the possible side effects.  At the end of our consultation, he looked me in the eye and said "If it was my dog, I'd definitely do it."  This doctor gave me hope, which is something that seems to be in short supply when you read about canine osteosarcoma.  He told me that 20% of dogs who undergo chemo for their osteosarcoma beat the disease.  Not fantastic odds, but a 20% chance is a heck of a lot better than no chance at all.  It was still a tough choice, but we decided to go for it.  Huey is only 6 years old, after all.  He still has half of his life ahead of him.

Thus far, I am happy with our decision.  Huey has had three rounds of chemo, and is doing well.  He had no side effects at all from the first two rounds, but was nauseous and had some vomiting the last time.  It only lasted for a day, and occurred two days after his chemo treatment.  He is responding well to the treatment, all of his bloodwork is excellent, and he has no signs of metastasis.  He's a tough kid!!

Huey's Mom- 

I did some looking and I found Carboplatin, but no Chondroplatin.  Is that it?  I've got a call in to the oncologist to ask her questions about it.  Thanks for the feedback.

Barney B & Linda