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.
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First I have to say that I don't know how I would have made it through the last month without this website. While I haven't posted anything I have been reading everyones stories and just knowing that what she was going through was "normal" made all the difference.
On 12/8/10 our sweet Shelby was diagnosed with cancer. On 12/9/10 her right front leg was amputated. Over the last few weeks we have had our ups and downs. Happily she is now acting more like herself. It is amazing how quickly she recovered and she is now up running, playing and chasing the other dogs.
Today we received the patho report and learned that, thankfully, it was not osteosarcoma but a more rare Chondrosarcoma. Unfortunately this diagnosis leaves us with more questions than answers when it comes to treatment.
Her results show no cancer in the lymph nodes (YEA!) but there are cancer cells in the bone marrow. She had full body radiographs and ultrasounds and they see no metastasis anywhere.
Since it is a rare cancer they do not have statistics on treating it with chemo. Speaking with the oncology department we were told they will treat it with chemo ( the same chemo used for osteosarcoma); however, they can not tell us if it is effective in treating this type of cancer.
Has anyone treated Chondrosarcoma with chemo? Did it help?
Hi Shelby and Shelby's Family. I don't have any info on chondrosarcoma (our dog Max had osteosarcoma), but I just wanted to welcome you to Tripawds. You will most likely hear from others here that have some info on chondrosarcoma. Shelby is a cutie! Again, welcome to the best place you could find for great advice and information.
Shelby, welcome to Tripawds, and thank you for the kind words about the community. We're so glad that everypawdy here could be of help for you both.
I wish I knew more about Chondrosarcoma but I don't. In a quick Google search, I just found that it's more common in the nasal area and not so common in the leg. I hardly found anything at all about chemo/radiation therapy for it when it affects the leg. So I don't have any stats about how effective chemo is for it, but tomorrow we are meeting with some VCA oncologists for future Tripawds news articles. I will ask them about your situation and let you know what they say here.
It does appear that Tripawd Ajax has the same type of cancer. Here is his first post about when he was diagnosed, and what his Mom wanted to know about radiation treatment. There is some great advice from members in that post.
The good news about Ajax is that he just celebrated his 7 month ampuversary. You can see his update here. I'm sure his Mom would be happy to share her experience with you.
Always remember that even with chemo and/or radiation, there are no guarantees. Go with your gut and what feels right for you and Shelby, and don't look back.
Many hugs coming your way. Please keep us updated OK?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Welcome to you & Shelby. What a sweet face! Best of luck finding some answers. You'll find a way to do what's right for her.
Cynthia & Isabelle
Another welcome from us! Our Golden Retriever Catie lost her right foreleg too but due to osteosarcoma. Not familiar with chondrosarcoma but hope you can find some answers to make an informed decision about future treatment; however, the most important thing is, as Jerry's Pack said, do whatever feels right in your heart.
Best of luck! Look forward to more updates (and Shelby DOES have an awfully sweet face ... 🙂 )
Catie -
Birthday – November 4 2003
Amputation – January 13 2010
Crossed the Bridge – June 2 2011
Shelby's a cutie! St. Bernard & Golden Retriever mix, I don't think I've ever seen before (a really pretty mix). I have no idea how effective chemo is when the cancer cells are in the bone marrow (almost sounds like leukemia). Please keep us posted. Sounds like she's doing great!
Sadie is my 9yr old Rott/Shepherd mix. Diagnosed with osteosarcoma in her right scapula 1/28/10. Our brave girl had her amputation 2/13/10 and her last chemotherapy on 6/6/10. Unfortunately, a tumor appeared in her back right leg and on 10/7/2010 Sadie's earthly journey came to an end. On 10/24/2010 we adopted Ranger, a handsome Rott/Lab mix tripawd (got hit by a car) I think Sadie sent him to us.
http://ranger.t.....pawds.com/
Hi Cheri and Shelby,
Ajax had a chondrosarcoma which resulted in a right rear leg amputation. I'm running out to a meeting in 15 minutes but if you search "Ajax" you will find all of my lengthy posts. We are 7 months out and great! Our diagnosis was stage 1 chondrosarcoma. Ajax has had ultrasound of the chest, lung xrays and they did a full pathology on the amputated leg. They did not mention "cancer cells in the bone marrow" but I think I would have to go over it more specifically to see if maybe we were told the same thing in a different way. There is one post where we got our "final" post-amp pathology report where I went into it in detail - you might find that helpful.
We are doing awesome - I'm going to update my post (thanks to Jim or whoever just created it for me) and happy to talk to you privately.
Hang in there!
We just got back from touring the VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital and interviewing Dr Chretin, the oncologist there. (Stay tuned to the News blog for details.) They are doing some amazing work with bone marrow for Lymphoma patients. Might be worth looking into if you're anywhere near L.A. Or contact a VCA near you for potential referral. Good luck!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you all so much for your kind words, encouragement and information.
We are still waiting for the fax of the final patho results so we can review them. We are making an appointment with oncology to discuss chemo or other treatments. We live in PA but take our dogs to Cornell University Companion Animal Hospital in Ithaca, NY for anything but routine checkups. It's a 3 hour drive but they are wonderful and very comprehensive.
Shelby's cancer is level 2 but the vets we spoke with feel that removing the leg removed the cancer. Ummm...not so sure if it was in the bone marrow?! They recommend full body x-rays and ultrasounds every 3 months.
It is very encouraging to hear that Ajax is doing well after 7 months. I will definately be checking out the posts and thank you for the info.
We just dragged Shelby out of bed (she has always been our "Bed Bug") and made her go outside with the rest of the gang to play in the snow. She runs through the deep snow better the some of the other mutts. All of the tripawds amaze me. They take everything in stride and are happy to be with their families. We can learn a lot from them.
Hi Cheri,
We are in NYC so we went to Animal Medical Center, but a number of people we have know have driven their dogs from the city up to Cornell and received very high quality treatment. I think the difference in level 1 and 2 might be the lymph node involvement, but I really do think your news is pretty encouraging. Please feel free to contact me if you want to talk. We are 7 mos out and could not be happier with the results. And although we, and multiple vets, could find no sign that Ajax was suffering pain, it has become very clear to us that once the initial recovery period was over, he is much happier than he was during the diagnosis period before his surgery. Everyone on this site said dogs have a high pain tolerance, it hurts long before you see it, etc. And I did not believe. I don't know if "hurt" is the right word, but he definitely feels better and happier now than he did pre-op. I have lived in the same apartment builidng since we got him at 9 weeks old (he is 8 now), and many of our neighbors have commented on how he seems happy and his "old self."
It takes a while, but it really gets better and better. And in our experience, we found that for the most part, Ajax himself was the best judge of what to do and when during the recovery period. We coddled him a little, and pushed him a little, but in the end I think he knew best, and just needed to feel secure with us to move forward on his own.
Happy to email you more videos if you need some encouragement, just let me know ...
Kathleen and Ajax
ps I should say that in terms of recovery time, Ajax was a rear leg amp, which was a little easier I think, so you'll want to talk to the front-leg amp folks about that.
Gosh, I just realized that I didn't answer any of the questions that I know you are most concerned with. Yes, we were told the same thing re: no real statistics re the use of chemo in this situation. For us, the choice was between different types of radiation (see prior posts) and amputation. Once they did the surgery, if they had found more involvement they indicated that they might have discussed chemo or some of the other newer treatments, but they felt confident they got everything and did not recommend it at this point. So we never seriously went down that path.
My advice when you go to talk to the vets is this: ask a lot of questions. Do a little bit of research (sounds like you have) before you go. In our case, we really didn't want to amputate, so we explored radiation in depth (amputation is the "gold standard" of care, as we finally conceded, and frankly I should have reached that conclusion sooner, but that's another part of the story). Anyway, it turns out that there is a new type of radiation being used that is much more effective, easier on the dog, etc. that we would not have found out about if I hadn't emailed someone doing research at Colorado. The specifics of this radiation discussion aren't relevant to your situation right now, I don't think, but the lesson was this: if we hadn't done independent research, even though we had REALLY GOOD vets, we would not have even known about this option, because it is not offered in NYC, only in CO and FL. So even though its miserable, I would suggest familiarizing yourself with the basic treatment options and preparing a list of questions. If nothing else, you will feel much better.
Good luck! Sorry it took me 4 posts to get to the point. Missed my coffee this morning and my brain is frozen here in NY.
Kathleen
The type of radiation therapy that Kathleen is talking about is called "Stereotactic Radiation Therapy." Here are some search results about it.
Stay warm all you tripawds out there in the East Coast, that weather looks brutal!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Welcome to tripawds. I don't know anything about chondrosarcomas but wanted to say hello and let you know that we have all been where you are now and have lived through it! Shelby sounds like a wondeful dog. Your oncologist will be able to answer your specific questions about treatment. Good luck and go enjoy Shelby.
Debra & Angel Emily
Debra & Emily, a five year old doberman mix, who was diagnosed with an osteosaecoma. She had a right rear leg amputation on May 19, 2009. On November 10, 2009 she earned her wings and regained her fourth leg.
Hi,
I don't know about chondrosarcoma either, but also wanted to chime in with a warm welcome. I'm glad that Shelby is recovering nicely, and is back to her old self. Please keep us posted on her progress and what you decide to do with treatments. As others have said, you know Shelby best and will make decisions out of love for her. Whatever path you take, we will all be here for you!
Hugs,
Holly, Zuzu and Susan
Holly joined the world of tripawds on 12/29/2009. She has a big little sister, Zuzu, who idolizes Holly and tries to make all of her toys into tripawds in Holly's honor. And she's enjoying life one hop at a time!
http://anyemery.....ipawds.com
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