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Emma's right front leg was amputated on May 6th. On May 20th, her stitches were removed.
We have no oncologist in our immediate area, but the emergency and specialty hospital where her amp was done has an internist who does chemo.
I spoke with her yesterday and her plan is: doxorubicin every two weeks for up to five treatments and cisplatin every three weeks for two treatments.
When I spoke with her, I couldn't remember the name of carboplatin, so didn't get to ask her if she uses this.
I have done some reading on this site regarding the two drugs she plans to use.
Does anyone have anything they can comment or any recommendations, questions I can ask her
The vet tec just called while I was typing this. The internist has used carboplatin but still prefers the treatment she gave above. Appointment has been made for Emma to start on the doxorubicin next Tuesday.
AM I DOING THE RIGHT THING???
Jill
Bless your heart.....scarey part is over....now. moving o to the "less scarey" part
There's a thread here...and the computer whizz people will guide you to it....but it gives you a list of guest ions to ask.
It seems that the majority of the dogs here get carboplatin for osteo. but the specifics of why can only be answered by professionals.
If I may make a suggestion that I would strongly recommend......okay.... I'll take that as a yes!!
Make a phone consulttion with an oncologist......Dr. Sue Ettinger does them...well respected...co-wrote Dog Cancer Book. and you can probably find phone number by plugging in her name here under search....she's in New York.
Dogs need to be watched the whole time chemo is given which your internist probably knows.. There are side effects with ALL chemo but it's my understanding carboplatin has the least. If there is a specific reason your pup needs the other maybe that's the basis of the plan. BUT PLEASE GET A SECOND OPINION from an o ecologist. Just my 2 cents worth:-) 
Sounds like Emma's recovery is going well and a big CONGRARULATIONS:-)
ANY decision made out of love is the RIGHT decision:-)
We can all do so much research we forget to be present with our pups!! Go give Emma a great big hug right now and watch her tail wag:-) She's not worried....she's enjoying the moment of being with you!!
Please keep us posted!!
Surrounding you with serenity, guidance and tons of support:-)
Sally and Happy Hannah
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!
wow, that seems like a heafty doses of chemo really close together. Sassy had Carboplatin and they were 3-4 weeks apart. Every 2 seems really close and not enough time for WBC (white blood cells) to come back up from the previous treatment. Of course I am not an Oncologist and we didn't have one in our town but our vet did consult with Kansas state Oncologists before administering any chemo to find out what a good protocol was for Sassy.
Just an FYI many dogs/cats do have to delay Chemo treatments because WBC counts drop too low. You need to check to see what the protocol is for testing blood in between. Also Doxy is very important that it doesn't get outside the vein. You need to make sure any blood draws are done in the neck or the leg they are not using for chemo. If your dog is a rear amputee they normally do chemo in front legs therefore they would draw out of the remaining rear. If they are a front amputee they do it in the rear so they would draw front leg or neck.
I know nothing about Cisplatin.
Check to see what kind of protocol that they have for any kind of accidents. Saftey for themselves & your baby.
I also agree with Sally call and get a consult. I know Colorado State University also does them.
Sassy is a proud member of the Winter Warriors. Live long, & strong Winter Warriors.
sassysugarbear.tripawds.com
07/26/2006 - Sassy earned her wings 08/20/2013
05/04/2006 - Bosch, Sassy's pal, earned his wings 03/29/19 fought cancer for 4 months.
"You aren't doing it TO her, you are doing it FOR her. Give her a chance at life."
Hi Jill,
I don't know anything about Cisplatin, but MY Jill got carbo and doxorubucin in rotation. She went every three weeks. Every animal is different (remember, Jill is a cat), she actually reacted harsher to the carbo, her white blood cells plummeted after the carbo, so we had to give her five weeks in between treatments. She had NO side effects from the doxy.
HOWEVER, this is VERY important as Michelle mentioned. Doxy is HIGHLY HIGHLY toxic if it gets outside the vein. When doing blood work they should NOT NOT NOT take any blood from ANY of Emma's legs, patients on Doxy should always have their blood drawn from their necks. It is called a "jug stick" (jugular vein). We learned this the hard way when we almost had to delay Jill's treatment because, we luckily were working with great vet techs who could not be 100% positive the needle was in the vein and wouldn't risk it. Jill's veins were so scarred from all the blood work she'd been having that they were having trouble with getting a leg/arm vein. So just be sure whoever is doing her blood work to always tell them to draw the blood from her jugular.
Hope this helps!!!
Jill is a 9-year-old tuxedo kitty. She was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma in June 2012 on her toe in her right hind leg. Her leg was amputated on 12/12/12 and she completed four rounds of chemo (2 of Carbo, 2 of Doxy) in April 2013. "Like" Jill's facebook page: https://www.fac.....tty?ref=hl Proud member of the WINTER WARRIORS!!!! Her blog can be read at http://jillsjou.....ipawds.com. xoxo
I don't think it is necessarily a lesser option to get your chemo from a non-oncologist vet. My regular vet (and I) did some research and he also consulted with a local oncologist before deciding on just carboplatin for Diesel. Cisplatin is an older more potent version of carboplatin, but it has more side effects (nausea/vomiting, etc) and is more toxic to the kidneys - so then I think they end up having to keep them longer to give IV fluids to flush out the kidneys. Of course, I'm not a vet, I just ask a lot of questions. I didn't opt for the doxy b/c at the time I didn't think it added much of a survival advantage. My dog got the carboplatin every 3 weeks for 6 weeks (another controversial point -- 4 weeks or 6), only side effects were fatigue and loss of appetite after some of the treatments. They always checked his blood counts before giving the chemo, someone sat with him the whole time the chemo was infusing, and we got a chest X-ray after the 3rd treatment.
The amputation was much harder than the chemo... Good luck with Emma.
I agree with what's been said: this seems like a lot of chemo in a very narrow time span. Cisplatin is cheaper than carboplatin, but cisplatin's got some gnarly side effects (again, not all experience this, but this was 1 reason why Jackson's onco doesn't use cisplatin). Get a phone consult! I used (and many here have, too): http://www.csua.....service. I filled out their form online and within a day, I had a nice phone call. Do it. It'll put your mind at ease. Once you're comfortable with your pup's plan, I see no reason why a regular vet can't administer the drugs. Maybe get your vet in touch with these folks at CSU?
Good luck!
~ Katy
ACL tear in right hind leg 12/5/12 and scheduled ACL repair surgery 12/21/12. Pre-op xrays revealed osteosarcoma. Amputation 12/28/12. Chemo (carboplatin) started Jan 10, 2013 and ended on April 5, for a total of 5 doses. He handled carbo like a champ! No side effects. We started metronomic therapy at his third chemo and have been also doing some holistic treatments. He's a lively, playful 10 year old huskie-boarder collie and a very proud member of the Winter Warriors! Our love. Our funny little guy!
Thanks to all of you for the great info and support!
I definitely do plan to go with a phone consult. I couldn't get an answer from the vet tech as to why the internist prefers the regimen she told me of instead of the carboplatin.
Maybe a phone consult will give a little more insight into this.
Jill
Jill, this post may help you have the conversation with the internist (ask her, not the tech):
"Meet with Oncologist Tomorrow, What Questions Should I Ask?"
In last Sunday's conversation with Dr. Hohenhaus, I asked about the pros and cons of having an oncologist do chemo, versus a family vet. She had some great feedback, you may want to listen to the show (it's in the first 15 minutes) here.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
CSU's program is so cool. We wrote about it here:
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Awesome! You'll feel better getting more info. They were super helpful to us. Enjoy - then, report back.
~ Katy
ACL tear in right hind leg 12/5/12 and scheduled ACL repair surgery 12/21/12. Pre-op xrays revealed osteosarcoma. Amputation 12/28/12. Chemo (carboplatin) started Jan 10, 2013 and ended on April 5, for a total of 5 doses. He handled carbo like a champ! No side effects. We started metronomic therapy at his third chemo and have been also doing some holistic treatments. He's a lively, playful 10 year old huskie-boarder collie and a very proud member of the Winter Warriors! Our love. Our funny little guy!
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