Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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My 9 y/o Boxer Mix, Henry, has recovered well from the amputation. I guess it has been a few months now. His 3rd Carboplatin chemo treatment will be on 1-7-12. I think my vet was planning on doing 4 treatments. I have read that some dogs have received 6. Henry has been responding well. If he continues to respond well, wouldn't 6 be more effective than 4? The vet has not mentioned anything about Palladia in conjuction with the chemo. I believe there are some trial studies with this drug for osteo. What is the most effective / recommended treatment protocol for Osteosarcoma? In addition, his back left (only rear) leg seems to be losing strength. Unfortunately he has to go up and down 12 steps to go outside. Any thoughts?
Very grateful for your time and advice,
Kami
henrysmom said
What is the most effective / recommended treatment protocol for Osteosarcoma?
You may find the information in our video interview with Dr. Rosenberg, a board certified oncologist in California, helpful in addressing the question about recommended number of Carboplatin treatments for canine osteosarcoma.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
HI Kami and Henry, I'm so glad to hear the recovery has gone well!
When it comes to strengthening that rear leg, be sure to check out this Gear Blog post:
Best of Tripawds Gear and Fitness Tips for Three Legged Dogs
As far as palladia, a quick search in the Forums will reveal a lot of others' experience with it. There are a ton of posts to sift though, so kick back and get ready to do some reading!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
There is no standard chemo protocol for OSA but current research does suggest that 6 doses of carboplatin is superior to 4. Many oncologists are now using a metronomic chemo protocol (starting 2 to 3 weeks after the final carboplatin dose) and there are many drugs to choose from. Palladia is a newer drug but it does have quite a few side effects. You might want to consider a plan that includes an NSAID such as meloxicam as well as an oral chemo drug such as Cytoxan and save the Palladia for later.
A physical therapy plan is an excellent way to preserve remaining leg strength as indicated in the link that Jerry posted.
Pam
We meet with our oncologist tomorrow for the first time to discuss treatment options for Jackson, our 8 year old huskie/boarder collie. He's a right rear amputee. I'll post what is recommended to us. 4 vs 6? Metronomics? Drug types? All that stuff!
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!
Here is a video interview with Dr. Mona Rosenberg about chemotherapy protocols. We recently learned that as of last October, the American Veterinary Cancer Society now believe that 4 doses of carboplatin are just as effective as six, so keep that in mind.
As for Metronomics, here is a discussion with Dr. Barbara Biller, one of the leading researchers on metronomics . I hope this helps.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
That was so helpful to listen to. Thank you for posting it.
I have a question. My dog (Suki) has just started metronomic therapy last week and is doing well. According to the Oncologist in this interview she said that daily therapy is most recommended. Yet the reason that most of us are on every other day therapy (like Suki is) is because of the problems with the correct pill dosage. This seems so ludicrous that we are kept away from the best treatment for our pets because of a drug companies dosage decisions. Has this changed since this interview? Are there correct dosages out there for most pets? Is it worth trying to get the community at large involved if not?
Margaret
Hi Margaret, thanks for commenting. I'm glad it helped.
Well, to answer your question, this information is still current from what I understand. Like Dr. Biller says, metronomics is still a big guessing game and many onco vets will error on the side of caution by doing the every-other-day treatment. Especially for girldogs, who are more prone to UTIs that result from the cytoxan being in their bladder too long.
So yes, things are still in research mode and nobody can say for sure which dosage is most effective. Even regular chemo treatments for osteosarcoma are constantly being redefined (we just learned last week that as of October, the most effective dose is now supposed to be 4 treatments, not 6, which it was just two years ago).
Research is constantly being done though, and the best way we can help find the answers all want is to support organizations like Morris Animal Foundation, which funded Dr. Biller's study and continues to lead the way in other cancer therapy research funding.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I'll add that in addition to carbo. every 3 weeks for at least 4 treatments, Jackson is on a 10d antibiotic (to keep bone marrow/WBC count solid) and 50mg rimadyl every morning, forever. 50mg for a 60lb dog. It's a low dose, but I think this is our onco's way of throwing in a 'metronomic therapy'-ish approach. It's an NSAID and cuts down on inflammation, which cancer loves and loves to make more of. Keeping him on rimadyl was an idea I half baked in my mind, so I was pleased she wanted to keep him on it anyway! Our onco didn't say there was lot of or good evidence 6 treatments of carbo were better than 4. I guess many of her other patients strike a comfy-medium and go with 5 treatments. This is Jackson's chemo plan as of Jan 10, 2013.
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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