Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Our lovely 6 year old girl Milly has Sort Tissue Sarcoma within the front right shoulder muscle. Its Grade 2 and though they have removed the initial tumor head there are still tentacle like strands going through the muscle that they are unable to track or cut out so we have been left with 2 options .1. leave her be see if it grows back and have been advised it is very unlikely to spread to her lungs or lymphs. 2. Amputate the whole front right leg remove the cancer completely.
We have decided to leave her for now as she is in no pain and the vets have said it should grow quite slowly so as soon as we notice anything we can readdress the amputation route.
We feel this is the right thing to do at the moment but our only concern is that if and when it grows back how much pain will she experience and ultimately we will have to amputate.
I just need to know what others experiences are with this and any advice anyone can offer will be greatly appreciated.
We love our girl so much she has been with us since she was 10 weeks old and has been our first baby. she is such a loving patient and loyal girl and our two boys love her with all their hearts and she loves them too. We are devastated this is happening but also want to be pragmatic and positive as we move forward.
xx
Hi Milly and Family, welcome! We're sorry you had to find us but we're here to help.
I didn't have soft tissue sarcoma, but I think your plan to wait and see sounds reasonable. Amputation is a radical approach and a lot more intimidating when you are dealing with a slow growing tumor.
From what I've read in the Dog Cancer Survival Guide, without a wide margin around the tumor there is a 30 percent chance of the tumor recurring. It sounds like Milly falls into this category. So as long as you're prepared to deal with this at some point in the future, waiting is probably a good idea if all of you agree on it. Cancer often doesn't play by the rules so hopefully it will act in your favor and not return at all!
Did the doctors do any further testing on the tumor? The Dog Cancer Survival Guide has an entire chapter dedicated to STS. Something interesting the authors mention is this:
"Certain cellular markers in the tumor sample, when measured, can help predeict your dog's prognosis when it comes to STS. . . .
Another helpful test to use when trying to predict the behavior of a STS is the intratumoral microvessel density (IMD). This measure how much angiogenesis, or new blood formation, characterizes the tumor. In a follow-up study, we found that the more angiogenesis is happening, the more aggressive the tumor is and the more likely it is to metastasize. The IMD is typically run as a panel with the proliferation markers, and is commercially available in only a few labs. If needed, your vet can contact a specialty lab.
Measuring these proliferation markers can help you to know whether your dog is in a high-risk category that might benefit from more aggressive treatments. These markers can be measured on a biopsy sample that is specially stained and exampined at a laboratory. Biopsy tissue is typically kept for a year or more at most labs, so these tests do not need to be run right away. If needed they can be run after the biopsy results are sent back and analyzed. I recommend you discuss these markers with your oncologist."
I hope this helps. Milly sure looks like a cutie! Thanks for being here and starting a blog, we are here to help however we can.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Just wanted to say hi and send good thoughts your way. Our golden was recently diagnosed with sts- his tumor is growing rapidly so we're slated for amputation tomorrow. It is a big step though and not necessarily the one for everyone. Did your doctor suggest any chemo or radiation? If they can't get good margins, they thought chemo or radiation would take care of whatever cancer is left. Could be an option? BEST,E
Hi All
Emmie2008 I am sorry to hear things are so serious for beautiful boy, I hope the surgery goes well and his recovery is smooth and as painless as possible. You all must be terribly worried about him I know with Mily our main concern has been for her comfort and happiness and amputation seems so very sever but they have a tendancy to exceed our expectations. All the very best to you and your boy. xx
We have decided to wait and keep an very close eye on there area and the Vet is going to show us how to check her Lymph Glands and what to look out for. We are also creating a Milly Fund as our insurance wont cover us for amputation in the future iF its related to an already claimed for illness. So to make sure we have the back up funds for future eventuality we are putting enough aside for her op, meds and a little extra just in case she needs anything else I have already got a bed ready for her recovery as there is a part of me that sees her having to have the amp in the future. Also as I have been a baby wearing mummy I have both jersey fabric and wool fabric slings ready to convert into harnesses for Milly as well as some Lambs wool pads to prevent damage when falling. So all in all I feel we are ready for most scenarios.
She is well at the moment and the vet is very impressed that she is showing no signs of pain or limping after the removal of her tumor. Unfortunately we cant afford the Chemo or radiation and knowing Milly's personality I just don't think she would cope with it mentally.
Milly was a rescue Dog and had been isolated for 2 weeks from 8 weeks old to 10 weeks old when we found her and took her home.
She has a phobia of the vets or anything that resembles a kennel so sending her for treatment may do more damage psychologically than good physically.
So for now we will watch our little girl give her lots of extra cuddles as well as trying to maintain a level of normality. I appreciate all the advice we get from this site and all future support we will no doubt get.
X Marie
Totally understand. You are in great company here and if there's anything folks can do, just ask!
I am still quite new and don't know much, but I know how scared and out of control I felt, so just wanted to reach out. People here are great. Oh- and no pressure but just so you know, our doctor said there was an in-home chemo treatment- a cocktail of drugs- that we could give Tilghman to see if that helped. It was $100/month, so certainly not cheap, but not $5-7k like radiation. Since it was in-home, thought Milly might cope better with that.
Tilghman made it through surgery nicely, so we are hoping for a good recovery.
Hi Emmie
So pleased Tilghman got through the surgery well, poor pup must be feeling a bit worse for wear at the moment and you all must be feeling a bit emotionally drained. I hope you are all getting well deserved rest.
We are in the UK so I am not sure they do a home Chemo scheme but to be honest I am not sure we would go down that route anyway.
I change my mind daily about what it best for Milly some days I think just go ahead with the Amp get rid of all the cancer and move on with rehab and recovery. Then other days I think what if it doesnt cause her any problems and we Amp a pretty healthy leg? My heart tells me to go with the Amp but this is what I would do for me and I keep having to remind myself its Milly we are having to decide for. I just dont know what the best thing to do is. But as we are lucy to be in a position at the moment not to rush I guess I will just have to see how she gets on and make the decision to Amp when its right.
Sorry this all sounds very confusing.
Anyway sending lots of get well thoughts to you and Tilghman
My Spencer had a grade 3 fibrosarcoma (which is a soft tissue sarcoma). Amputation was really our only option. WE did also do chemo; but his tumor was just way too aggressive.
With our experience with Spencer, I'll be honest that if our new dog Teddy had the same situation that your Milly is dealing with I would go for the amputation now. My reason would be that I'd be afraid that the cancer would continue to grow and it would go inward, where it couldn't be as easily removed. When we met with the oncologist for Spencer he told me that we could have assumed that the amputation would have been a "curative surgery" if Spencer's tumor had been a grade 1 or 2.
That first day, when the vet first told me that he thought Spencer's leg would need to be amputated (same day that we first saw the tumor, so I had no time in between to come to grips with anything) I couldn't imagine it. The thought of having his leg amputated brought me to tears and seemed awful. But now that I have gone through that with a pet I know that it is NOT as bad as I had feared and most dogs never even miss the leg.
I would really talk to the vet and try to get a grip on what he thinks are the odds that the cancer will continue to grow. If he feels that you are just buying some time before an amputation that will eventually need to happen I'd lean towards going ahead and doing it now so that the cancer can hopefully just be removed.
On a side not, just in case you ever do face it, I really worried about chemo and Spencer. It wasn't bad at all. He would get nervous before going back; but they told me he was perfect during his treatments. He would come out all happy to see me and would maybe be a little more tired for the rest of the day; but then he would be fine.
Good luck!
Jac and Angel Spencer. Spencer was 5.25 years old. He fought a grade 3 fibrosarcoma, started on his shoulder. Left front leg amputated in August 2011. 15 weeks of chemo finished 12/22/11 (mytox and adria). Lung mets found on x-rays 12/28/11. Started carboplatin 1/6/12. Went to Heaven on 2/27/12. I miss him like crazy every day. See his blog here: http://spencer.tripawds.com/
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