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8 year old lab mix disagnosed with osteosarcoma
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Member Since:
17 January 2025
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17 January 2025 - 7:11 pm
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Our 7 year old lab mix, Millie, recently began limping. We took her to the vet who thought it was likely hip dysplasia and took an X-ray - we were shocked to receive a call that it was likely cancer. We followed up with an oncologist who confirmed that it was very likely to be osteosarcoma in her right femur. Millie also had a chest X-ray and an ultrasound done, and no other lesions were found. The oncologist recommended amputation followed by chemotherapy, and advised that Millie could possibly live for another year (or less).

Does anyone have some advice or words of encouragement they could share?  We're leaning towards getting the amputation + chemo, but we're so scared that it will degrade the quality of her remaining life.  Also considering going the immunology route through one of the available vaccine trials.

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Virginia



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18 January 2025 - 9:05 pm
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Hi Millie and her "owner".  

We know what a shock it is to hear this type of diagnosis out of the blue. Your post has been approved and now you will get all sorts of support and information from those of us who have been where you are.

  Millie also had a chest X-ray and an ultrasound done, and no other lesions were found.

Not some good news. It sounds like Millie is a good candidate for amputation? Have you had her evaluated by an orthopedic specialist or just your regular vet?

  The oncologist recommended amputation followed by chemotherapy, and advised that Millie could possibly live for another year (or less).

You have time to decide whether or not you want to go forward with chemo. For now just keep things chunk down, One Step At A time. You'll just want to get the amputation done and get through the recovery process. Some proceed with chemo and it appears to get extended time. Some do not proceed with chemo and it appears they get some extended time. Conversely, some proceed with chemo and get less time and same for some who do not proceed with chemo. So it really is a crap shoot and something you can think about a little bit later.

    Also considering going the immunology route through one of the available vaccine trials.

Others have pursued various vaccines trials, etc. You can search the forums for more information,  but your Onco is the best source.

One thing we've learned around here is that statistics don't mean much. Every dog is different and every dog has their own particular makeup, just for life, etc. One of the most important lessons of this journey is to Be More Dog . By that, we mean live in the moment, live in the now! Just like our dogs. They have no worries, no concerns about the tomorrows. They just cherish every moment they have with their humans and immerse themselves in the love and spoiling that I'm sure you surround Millie with every day.

Everyone will tell you that, once recovery is over, the resilience of dogs and how quickly they adapt to Three Legs is absolutely amazing. You and Millie will be able to do everything she did before with some slight moderations. Recovery lasts about 2 weeks. Not saying recovery is any picnic, but with proper pain management you will easily learn how to navigate through the process.

Actually, Millie's quality of life will be better than before because she will not have that painful leg causing her so much discomfort.

Just wanted to touch base quickly and let you know you are not alone.

Hugs

Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!

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!

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The Rainbow Bridge



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19 January 2025 - 4:51 pm
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Hi Millie and family. I'm sorry you got the bad cancer news. We are here to help and whatever you decide we will support you.

Sally gave you some spot-on insight, and to her wise words I'll add:

If you are concerned that Millie won't have quality of life, I encourage you to check out our Tripawd Tuesday bios, or maybe review our Tripawds Quality of Life Surveys to see what other people think about their choice to amputation. In all the surveys that we've done, it's been nearly unanimous that people say they would make the same choice. Even those whose dogs didn't live up to the prognosis, say they are glad they did it because it gave them pain-free quality time with their dog.

Our own story is very much like yours Our Jerry was a healthy, active 8 year old who got diagnosed with bone cancer. We opted out of chemo and he ended up living an additional two years! Would we make the same treatment decision again? I don't know because every dog is different, but for Jerry, yes. The additional bonus time was spent pain free and enjoying life. Tripawds wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the incredible experience we had watching him, and so many others, show us humans what living and thriving against adversity is all about.

Here is a link to stories about immunotherapy:

https://tripawd.....notherapy/

It sounds like Millie is otherwise healthy and a good candidate for surgery?

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19 January 2025 - 10:18 pm
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Thank you so much for the kind replies.  I think we will go through with the amputation and chemo, and possibly try to pursue the Yale vaccine if we're able to get into the clinic closest to us (still five hours away).  Replies to your questions below:

Not some good news. It sounds like Millie is a good candidate for amputation? Have you had her evaluated by an orthopedic specialist or just your regular vet?

It sounds like Millie is otherwise healthy and a good candidate for surgery?

She was evaluated by her oncologist, who said she would be a good candidate for surgery.  She thought that Millie was healthy and young enough to be able to recover quickly.  Is talking to an orthopedic specialist recommended?  We're really having a hard time balancing doing all the things we need to do vs. getting the tumor removed as quickly as possible.

Our own story is very much like yours Our Jerry was a healthy, active 8 year old who got diagnosed with bone cancer. We opted out of chemo and he ended up living an additional two years!

Thank you so much for sharing this - I'm so glad that you got an additional two years of extra time.

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The Rainbow Bridge



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20 January 2025 - 10:32 am
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You are doing a great job with your homework! I'm glad the onco vet said Millie is a good candidate. An orthopedic evaluation can help if a dog has existing mobility issues like severe arthritis, previous ortho surgeries, etc. But for a straightforward case with an otherwise healthy dog it's probably not necessary to do both. You can always see what your current vet team thinks.

Yes that bonus time we got with Jerry was unexpected and so treasured!

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Livermore, CA


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20 January 2025 - 1:51 pm
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Hello and welcome.

I'm sorry you are dealing with this diagnosis but I'm glad you found us.

It sounds like you've decided on a path forward- good job!

My first Tripawd was a Pug who lost a back leg to mast cell cancer. Maggie's prognosis was originally good but after the path report came back on her removed leg it was downgraded to poor. There were a lot of cancerous mast cells in the lymph node- a really bad sign in mast cell cancer since mets tended to go to the lymph system.  With chemo she was given 6 to 9 months. 

We did do chemo, which she tolerated pretty well, and she lived almost 4 more years and did not pass from mast cell cancer. We were very lucky, of course not every dog survives so far past diagnosis, but it does happen. 

Maggie took her time getting used to her new normal but then hopped happily through life as her old self.  Well, actually she was even more stubborn than she had been before smiley4.  Mag was 7.5 years old at the time of her surgery and I know her life quality was very good.  I did get a stroller for her so she could accompany us on longer walks, I had a younger Pug who needed lots of exercise.

As long as Millie is feeling good and living her best life there is hope.

 

Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls and Boy

Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.

1999 to 2010

 

              Maggie's Story                  Amputation and Chemo

 

Find me now on Tripawds Circle

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17 January 2025
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22 January 2025 - 12:34 am
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Thanks everyone.  We tentatively have Millie's amputation surgery scheduled for this Friday - super worried for her, but hoping it will go well.  For post care.  Post amputation, we're not sure yet.  We'll definitely be doing chemotherapy.  We're trying to decide if we want to do immunotherapy as well.  Our oncologist has suggested Elias immunotherapy - for some reason, I have a better feeling about the Yale vaccine, but I think I should trust the expert on this one.

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The Rainbow Bridge



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22 January 2025 - 1:07 pm
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Oh big decision! Well now that you have it scheduled, you can breathe a sigh of relief that the date is set. Of course you are worried, so ask any questions you have on your mind and we'll try to ease your concerns.

What is is about the Yale vaccine that makes you feel a little better? Have you seen our Elias info yet?

https://tripawd.....et-cancer/

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22 January 2025 - 5:14 pm
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What is is about the Yale vaccine that makes you feel a little better? Have you seen our Elias info yet?

There's not really a lot of data on either, but it seems that the Yale vaccine might be performing a little better.  My oncologist had a much stronger preference to Elias though - I think I'm going to have to trust her.  We are just riddled with a lot of worry that we're going to pick the wrong treatment, although I think realistically there's no great treatments for this.

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23 January 2025 - 5:40 am
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Hi from Austria, 
my little lab girl Polly has been diagnosed with ostesarcoma in Dec. 24, and had her left hind leg amputated on Dec 23rd.  Since Jan 9th she is on chemotherapy. What a hell of a ride. I felt the same sadness and concerns and grieve as you have experienced in the last days. And I'm so sorry that you have to walk the same road.

Polly was a good candidate for this surgery, because she is young (3,5 years), slim and fit. As far as I can see on your pictures that's the same with your little one, right?

If I had known before how quickly Polly would recover, I wouldn't have been so worried with the amputation. Dogs are gorgeous in living on three legs. Of course it's not nice, but we had only two options - let go of her leg or her life. So we let go of her leg.

Now she is a happy dog, living her life to the fullest. Even if we don't know how long this will last, we think, that every day, every cuddle, every chance to see her run over meadows and play with other dogs was and is worth it.
Wishing you all the bestsp_hearticon2 and fingers crossed
Susanne

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The Rainbow Bridge



Member Since:
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23 January 2025 - 10:19 am
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It's hard to say but I agree that it's times like this when putting the faith in your oncologist's skilled hands can take a lot of the weight off your mind. Sounds like a reasonable plan. All you can do is what feels is best, there are no right or wrong choices here.

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24 January 2025 - 4:48 pm
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Thanks to everyone for the kind words/advice.

Millie had her surgery this morning, and the surgeon just called and said it was a success!  We're so looking forward to being able to pick her up tomorrow and take her home.

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The Rainbow Bridge



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24 January 2025 - 7:09 pm
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Woohoo! Go Millie! I'm so happy she's on the mend and almost ready to go home. YAY!

Please let us know if we can help at all with any questions, and keep us posted. We will be thinking of you and your sweet girl.

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25 January 2025 - 12:27 pm
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Hi!

So great to hear Millie’s surgery went well.  Now on to the recovery process which can be a little bit of a roller coaster.  

However, I agree with Suzanne’s statement about the amputation of her dog Polly. It’s amazing once they recover and your stress starts to go away and you wonder why you were so stressed about the decision.  It does take a little bit to get to that spot but stay strong knowing you are doing the best you can for Millie.  I didn’t have to deal with chemo but my lab who had his back right leg amputated 7/1/24 is happier and having more fun than he did before.  It was a process though that was full of stress and I still stress when he coughs once and I go into disaster mode thinking he has lung cancer. My advice is to stay out of thinking about worst case scenarios focus on Millie being pain free after the amputation and just keep on loving on Millie while giving her the confidence, space and support to recover. 

Amy

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Virginia



Member Since:
22 February 2013
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25 January 2025 - 9:38 pm
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YAAAAAY FOR MILLIE!!!  Surgery is done!!!!

Let us know how the homecoming is going and if you have any questions regarding navigating through recovery.

Hugs

Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!

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!

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