Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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I'm so glad to see all the "no regrets" postings, but I do think it is a useful question. Does anyone who amputated NOT because of pain, but rather for the purpose of avoiding any risk of mets, have a different view? I'm still in the decision making process, but since pup feels no pain (and likely will not for some time, according to docs), it does feel a bit like I might be unnecessarily taking off his leg to calm my fear about cancer spreading ...
Hi Kazy55,
Welcome to Tripawds. I may have missed it somewhere but what type of cancer has your dog been diagnosed with?
Laura and Tai
Tai – 9 yr old lab. Diagnosed Osteosarcoma Dec 18/09. Front right leg amputated Dec 21/09. Started chemo Jan 7/10. Lung mets discovered Sept 16/10. Valiant to the end on Oct 26/10 when cancer reappeared in a leg and we made the decision to set her free. Forever in my heart where not even cancer can take her from me.
gayle had a grade III soft tissue sarcoma in her right front leg. she did not show any signs of pain, however the site of the tumor made it pretty much inoperable. radiation didn't seem a good option, so we went with ampawtation to give her the best chance for a continued good life. i'm thinking if we'd have let it go, it would have grown quickly and would have eventually caused pain based on its location. so maybe we fit your 'criteria'. cancer doesn't go away, and we decided this was the best way to hit it head-on. she also had five rounds of chemo to catch any remnants we could.
charon & gayle
Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included). She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.
Love Never Ends
Hi all, thanks for responding. I haven't gotten the hang of posting to the proper forum- my dog is an 8 year old black lab diagnosed with chondrosarcoma in right rear leg. He has had 2 CT scans a month apart and we are "sure" there are no mets, as much as possible. The diagnosis for the chondrosarcoma was grade 1 - so low risk of mets. As I understand it, if the tumor was removable, no one would recommend amputation - they would take the tumor out and, becuase of the low grade, do radiation to kill any remaining cells. However, tumor is near the knee so they can't get sufficient margins to make removal useful, unless the amputate. No pain, also no real data under the new, higher and probably more effective doses of radiation ...hence the difficulty in the decision ...
I COMPLETELY understand your dilemma. 
I have no experience with Chondrosarcoma as Tai was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, in which amputation is almost always the course of action. It sounds like a difficult decision and you're getting different opinions. Someone on here will undoubtedly be along to relate some of their experience with the same type of cancer which might help you with your choice. Remember that there are no "wrong decisions" when it comes to dealing with your Pup, all of your choices are based on love and we will support whatever route you take.
What is your Pup's name?
Laura and Tai
Tai – 9 yr old lab. Diagnosed Osteosarcoma Dec 18/09. Front right leg amputated Dec 21/09. Started chemo Jan 7/10. Lung mets discovered Sept 16/10. Valiant to the end on Oct 26/10 when cancer reappeared in a leg and we made the decision to set her free. Forever in my heart where not even cancer can take her from me.
Hello,
My Pug Maggie had mast cell cancer. She lost her leg due to an inoperable tumor in her knee. She was not in pain from it- no limping, but she was starting to some decreased use of the knee. Actually the only time I noticed was when she squatted to pee- she would put the left foot out a little farther.
I felt at the time that radiation treatment was not a good option for her, so we went with the amputation. We did a lot of tests pre-surgery and did not see evidence of mets anywhere. However after the surgery the lymph node from the amputated leg was dissected and many cancerous mast cells were seen. So Mag did a course of chemo. Although I have not updated it yet you can read her story in her blog.
There were two main things I would have to worry about if I delayed the amputation. One was that the tumor was still growing, and at some point would ulcerate the skin. That would cause a painful wound that would never heal. The second and more worrisome was the chance that the cancer would spread through the lymph system, and as it turned out, the cancer was already in the lymph system when we did the amp.
The danger with mets that we encountered is you can't always detect them- cancer cells can circulate at a microscopic level and needle biopsies don't always 'see' them because you are pulling such a small sample. That is what happened to us.
Maggie's prognosis after the amp was 6 to 9 months with chemo. Well, she made it 3 years and 9 months!! I recently lost her to a second, unrelated cancer.
Deciding to amputate is not easy, especially when there does not appear to be any outward signs that you should, and all the tests show no mets.
You know your pup best. You need to research and ask lots of questions and decide on the best course. As long as you have your pups best interest at heart you will make the right decision.
Karen and the pug girls
Thanks Laura and Karen - good to know that you don't think it's an easy choice. We bring pup (Ajax) home today from most recent CT during which they took out a benign tumor we likely wouldn't have found until it grew and pressed on something - we thought since he was under anesthesia anyway to check for mets we might as well do that, while I try to decide about the leg. All is good from the current, minimally invasive procedure, he just had to stay overnight as a regular protocol. Apparently he was none too pleased to be stuck there and let them know - oops!
So now at least we are only working on one decision, which helps a little ...
back to work so i can leave in time to pick up pooch. thanks again for responding. I haven't wanted to put up Ajax's pic until deciding what to do ... know that sounds weird.
I don't regret having Skyler's leg amputated at all. Although she only survived 3 months, at least we gave her a chance to live a little longer. Her last 3 months gave us the opportunity to spend quality time with her.
I have absolutely no regrets about amputation. I was afraid the quality of life Tasha would have on three legs and we did question if we were doing the right thing by her, we were. Today Tasha is so full of life, happy and very spoiled. She is a dog just loving life and we are loving life with her.
Jo Ann & Tasha
Tasha 8 years old, First cancer diagnosis 6/26/09, Last cancer diagnosis 9/26/09, Amputation 10/01/09, Loving our girl moment by moment.
Tasha lost her battle and became my Angel on May 4 2011. Forever in my heart….
Hi Kazy & Ajax,
Welcome to our community, thanks for signing up and investigating your options.
I can totally see what a hard decision it would be if there wasn't immediate pain and the vets weren't strongly recommending amputation either way. Have you gotten a second opinion? That's what I would do next.
What Karen said is true; unless you're doing an MRI, mets won't show up on radiographs until they're of a certain size, and by that time, it's pretty late in the game (although some dogs, like me, can live a very long time with them...I lived 7 months post-mets).
Also, keep in mind that by the time a dog shows pain, it's gotten realllllly bad. Most dogs will hide pain until it's severe. It's instinct, it's what they will do in the wild in order to survive.
I had osteosarcoma so I'm not too familiar with chondro, but with many cancers, we often see tumors grow back after multiple attempts to remove them. Ultimately the dog usually ends up with a amputated leg. Some pawrents regret not doing it sooner, others don't have a problem with it. It just depends on what you think Ajax can handle and how it will affect his life, not knowing his age, I can't give you any advice there.
Finally, remember that there are no "right" or "wrong" decisions when it comes to cancer. All that matters is you do what feels right in your heart for you and Ajax. Whatever you decide, we back you up one hundred pawcent!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I, too, would definitely get a second opinion. There is always the possibility you will get the same information, but from a different perspective. Having a second opinion saved Trouble's life. She would not be 19 months post amputation had we not gotten one.
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.
Thanks all - here is where the opinions have come out:
regular vet (non specialist, kept in the loop by the specialists) - would radiate
AMC surgeon would amputate; AMC radiation oncologist would radiation; AMC oncologist has no clear position
Second oncologist would radiate ....
Thanks for all the input; driving myself crazy.
oh boy, with those opinions I would be a basket case….can't even get a majority? then add all of us in…I too would not have changed my decision to amputate Magic's leg at 11 years old…He did remarkably well, unfortunately, his cancer was so aggressive we had lung mets five weeks out then to the kidneys and finally he said no more.
But I was told with osteosarcoma that even tho the lung xrays were clear, the cancer was there and it was a matter of time…the amputation was to prevent pain, further eating of the bone and ultimately a broken leg….
Cancer sucks and that is about the only absolute. Everything else is all over the board, from measly time to great wonderful celebrations of longevity.
Good luck with your decision and keep us posted. Come here often, this is the best place on the web. Even if the reason is not.
edited for reading comprehension: It does look like you have a majority opinion on the radiation part.....
Hi Kazy,
Since you are already driving yourself crazy let me toss another suggestion at you.
One of the things that really helped me when making decisions for Maggie was deciding what I would not do, things I knew she could not handle because I knew her so well. That is the factor you have to bring into the decision. The specialists are recommending treatments based on protocols and past experience, but they do not know Ajax very well.
You need to understand everything involved in the radiation treatments- how many times? how often? does Ajax have to be anestisized each time? how sore will the treatment area be? does he have to be a cone head all the time?
Once you understand all that then decide if is something that Ajax can handle. The radiation protocol they presented me as an option for Maggie's first cancer was quite rigorous- and I decided for several reasons that she would not handle it well.
I found when Mag was diagnosed with her second cancer, and I was again discussing options with the oncologist, that knowing what I would not consider made it easier for me to decide on a path forward.
Karen and the pug girls
Poor Kazy and Ajax!
Wow! I'll add my opinion..........you need a 6th opinion!
I wonder what Pam would do? She's a vet. Perhaps you can ask that question in the "Ask a Vet" section. She's a sweetheart and will answer! It would be interesting to hear what she says.
http://tripawds.....ask-a-vet/
Do you mind me asking how much the CT was? When I was quoted it was over $4,000 with some xrays. I'm just curious to see if they way overcharge here in Vegas.
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
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