Hi Stirling,

Welcome - you've found the right place.

I totally hear what you are saying about "living and breathing this for 2 weeks".  I was the exact same way after my kitties first diagnosis (it's a very long story, I will not bore you with).  It's a very personal decision to amputate AND to do chemo, but you've found a place where MANY people have done both, or neither or just one of the two.  We're all here to answer questions.

I can tell you from my experience, and take it for what its worth, I have a ten pound kitty, not a big dog!, I would NOT hesititate to amputate again.  And, I will tell you after being on this website for three months and seeing how wonderfully these dogs do on three legs, if I had a dog in the same situation, I would not hesitate either.

My Jill is halfway through chemo now and doing great.

Anyway, not sure I was of much help, but just wanted to say welcome, please feel free to come to the chat room if you want to talk things out, theres usually someone in there

Erica & Kitty Tripawd Jill

mytahoe said
  I feel like my days and nights are all-consuming thinking and researching, trying to make sure I have thought through everything and making the best decision for Tahoe.    

Oh boy, can I ever relate to that! I couldn't understand why the rest of the world was moving forward when my world stopped.

I'm sorry you have to be here but I'm so glad you found us.

Erica is right, the decisions are very personal and no one here will judge your decision either way.  

As for our Liberty (Libby) the simple answer is....she just gave us no indication she was ready to give up.  The day after we brought her home she stopped needing our sling assistance.  She now runs (we are 4 weeks post amp), plays and does just about everything she did prior to the amp but now she's doing it all pain free!

We chose not to do IV chemotherapy and have chosen oral chemo given at home.  You can read lots and lots of info on here regarding both.  Take a deep breath and know we are all here for you.

"analysis paralysis" lol. Good one.

Libby doesn't like going to the vet so we didn't want her to spend one day shaking and unhappy.  We would also have to travel a couple of hours for the treatment.  Again, that would be time away from home and doing the things she loves on a daily basis.  I didn't get a cost quote, but I know it is expensive.  For some, that is also a serious factor to consider.  

Although most dogs/cats I've read about on here that get the IV chemo do very well, I just didn't want to spend time worrying about the possible side effects and watching for them.  

If her pathology report is correct, her osteo is not overly aggressive at this point so I'm hoping that works in her favor, bypassing the IV and going straight to metronomic protocol (oral chemo+NSAID).  We have also changed her diet and she is getting grain free dog food along with home cooked, cancer fighting foods.  This all gets topped with supplements (calcium, "magic mushrooms", probiotics, fish oil).  All this  makes me feel like we're doing something to help her.

When you have a plan in place you will feel much relief.  Keep reading and asking questions.  Make a list of them for your vet so you will be prepared on Monday.  Once again, no matter what you decide, we're here for you.

It's not as much of a shock is you've already suspected it. Although I know we all hold out hope that it's something else.  

I can only tell you what we did prior to Libby's amp.  Our vet took xrays of her hips to see if she could support 3 legs.  He also xrayed her lungs.  Her lungs were clear but that didn't mean it wasn't in there....only that it may be too small to see in an xray. In 90% of the cases of OSA the cancer has already metastisized in other areas. Her right hip is perfect her left hip has arthritis but she doesn't show it on the outside. We felt these were all positive signs and we decided to go ahead with the amp.  We never looked back and I have not regretted it in the least.  That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.