Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
Tripawds is your home to learn how to care for a three legged dog or cat, with answers about dog leg amputation, and cat amputation recovery from many years of member experiences.
Join The Tripawds Community
Learn how to help three legged dogs and cats in the forums below. Browse and search as a guest or register for free and get full member benefits:
Instant post approval.
Private messages to members.
Subscribe to favorite topics.
Live Chat and much more!
Register
Log In
Members
Add Topic
Offline
I am really wondering why Stien did not receive a chest X-Ray before each Chemo. If that had been done, maybe the outcome would of been differernt, may be not. This again was failed by Dr. Philibert at Portland Veterinary Speicialist in Portland Maine. I am also going to go over and get Steins medical records along with the manufacture of the carboplatin, and batch number since I have heard stories of pets not receiving what the owner is charged for. Again, if you live in Maine or New Hampshire or surrounding states and has a pet in this condition, please, if you love them, do not take them here.
Take them to US Davis or Tufts
Sincerely
I am so sorry you have to deal with this. Chest x-rays are not always taken. My vet didn't, and his reasoning was 1) there was nothing (symptoms) to indicate it was necessary 2) if you know the mets are present will it change what you are doing (and for us the answer was 'no') and 3) he believed that even though lung mets are the most talked about metastasis, they are not the the most common. If I remember correctly, we did x-rays the day of Trouble's surgery, and once after the chemo.
Trouble got exceptional care and I trusted Dr F to help us find our way down the journey's path. It saddens me to think there are the ones like you who don't receive that kind of care and trust from their vet.
I hope you find the answers you seek and are able to find peace.
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
I am really sorry for your pain. Magnum only had chest xrays done before amp, before the 4th chemo treatment and again 6 months after amp. I've never heard of them being done before each chemo.
It is really difficult to accept when you realise that the medical professionals have let you down. We had that experience with a wrong initial diagnosis that delayed amputation. I spent months agonising over it. But there are no guarantees with cancer and you can never know whether the outcome would have been different if you had known.
It is good that you can share your experience in the hope that some good can come out of it for others. I hope this is of some comfort to you.
Karen and Spirit Magnum
Magnum: 30th May 2002 to 5th May 2012. Lost her back left leg to osteosarcoma on 5th Sep 2011. Lung mets found on 20th Mar 2012 but it was bone mets in the hip that ended her brave battle. Magnum's motto - "Dream as if you'll live for ever, live as if you'll die today" (James Dean). Loyal, loving, courageous and spirited to the end. My beloved heart dog, see her memoirs from Rainbow Bridge ...... http://princess.....pawds.com/
I, too, am so sorry for what you are going through. I have not heard of x-rays being done before every chemo. In our experience they did x-rays at the time of diagnosis, at the time of the first chemo (this may have been done b/c there was a month between diagnosis and beginning chemo) and then every two or three months thereafter to see if the chemo was 'working'. It sounds like that is the protocol that your vet was following was very similar to the one that our vet followed.
I know that it is human nature to second guess ourselves - and others - especially when we feel like we have been robbed of something precious by a crappy disease that does not play by the rules. It makes us feel so helpless. The sad fact is that cancer is unpredictable and it is very hard to know how each dog will react to different treatments (this site is a perfect example - some dogs live for years with nothing more than amputation and some die after a short time even though the owners try every treatment they can). This makes it very hard for vets to make recommendations, particularly when the treatment is not mainstream. The time between your first post saying that the mets were everywhere in the lungs and the time that you lost Stein was so short that it seems like the cancer was just too aggressive.
I guess my point is that you cannot begin to heal until you accept that you did everything that you could. And, I really do believe that you did everything possible with the terrible cards that cancer dealt you. I wish you all the peace in the world as you grieve.
Lisa
Zeus was a Husky mix diagnosed with Osteosarcoma at age 11. A visible lung met and suspicious spot on his liver meant a poor prognosis-six weeks was our vet's best guess. We decided to fight for our boy and his right front leg was amputated on 12/1/11. We did six rounds of chemo, changed his diet and spoiled him completely rotten. We were blessed with 10 great months after diagnosis. Against the odds, the lung met remained a single met and grew very little over those months. A wonderful furbaby with the most gentle spirit, he fought with a strength that we never imagined he possessed. We have no regrets...
http://zeuspod......pawds.com/
I don't remember ever hearing of a dog here that had an xray before each and every chemo treatment. We had one before, and one half way through Abby's 6 treatments. I don't think your vet did anything wrong there by not offering you that option. If I heard that someone's vet did that, I'd honestly think the vet was just trying to milk them for money.
Osteosarcoma is a very aggressive disease. I've only read that something like 10% of dogs make it. That's a lot of odds to be fighting against. I'm sorry that you are having to go through this, but I think Zeus's mom is right - I don't think you'll begin to heal until you accept that you did everything you could. Stein was dealt a terrible hand. It sucks. All our doggies who got OSA were dealt terrible hands. We all wish we could have done more. But there's really only so much you can do.
Hang in there.
Jackie
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
My heart goes out to you, losing the cancer battle is the most heartbreaking event in one's life. I have to agree with what everyone else has said here; cancer is so unpredictable, and it sometimes takes even the most brilliant minds by surprise. It's so hard to predict what will happen, or point to a certain event that caused a pup's death. Sometimes there is negligence, but because cancer will sometimes do what it wants to, it's hard to pinpoint.
I know it's so hard, but one of the best ways a person can heal, is to put the anger aside for just a minute, and focus on the relationship you had together with your pup. Do not allow the last few days of sadness to overshadow so many good memories. Practice this again and again. Gradually, the heartache will lessen. To me, that is one of the best ways to honor a dog's life, it's what they want for their humans.
I'm so sorry.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
1 Guest(s)
