Is there a way to reply directly to a specific post?  I’m trying to use the site correctly and not the most technologically advanced! 

I did ask the vet for additional pain relief so now I have galliprant 100 mg, gabapentin 300 mg 3 times per day, tramadol to give as needed.  He suggested trying antacid to help with stomach upset from the galliprant.

Michael,

Thanks so much for your response.  The oncologist actually told me there is research that the cancer cells tend to focus  in on the area of the tumor until you remove it then they are more likely to get active elsewhere  (addressed by chemo).  Honestly what you are saying makes more sense to me though.  Yes, that must have been really tough going ahead with the amp when she wasn’t limping.  I read your posts and could feel the agony you were experiencing throughout your whole decision making process.  That’s where I am right now.  I can’t think of or focus on anything else.  Thankfully, I am not working because I would surely get fired.  just can’t function.

I have several more opinion consults set up before we move ahead with anything.  Still really hoping University of FL will get me in with him after seeing his records.    They also are enrolling for 2 clinical vaccine studies so I signed up for interest in those….might also get us in more quickly for a consult.

Michael,  I really appreciate your sharing the you tube video to explain but when I tried to access it, it said it was private.  The email I use for you tube is [personal information redacted by moderator].  I don’t know if that would help to be able to share it.  

Yesterday, I realized I was missing out on quality time I have with Honor right now while I’m so focused on trying to help him.  He loves long walks and we used to walk to the lake in our neighborhood most mornings.  Since he hasn’t been able to do that, I decided to start driving him over every morning and I let him walk around there for a bit.  We did that again this morning.  This will be our new routine for as long as he can do it to replace the old.  The zoledronate really seems to have helped him a lot and he was acting a lot like his old self.  If I didn’t already know what was going on with him, it hasn’t been visible the last 2 days. 

Since I got home from our outing this morning, I’ve been completely overwhelmed again.  The specialist that has stereotactic radiation was able to move our appt. up to this Thurs (from the 19th).  Then a holistic vet I had him scheduled at for next week moved me up sooner to Wed. morning.  Not expecting much from that but it’s where he would be doing physical therapy/rehab whenever we do go through with amputation.  One of my other appts. was moved to Friday morning.  This is a place that I originally scheduled because I thought they had radiation but found out they don’t any longer.  I’m not even sure if it’s worth going.  The problem is the poor guy is now scheduled for consultations Wed, Thurs and Fri!   And the one on Thursday is a 2 hour drive each way. So much for our new morning going to the lake routine.  

In the midst of all this, University of FL Oncology called me and offered an appt. on August 7.  So far out.     I kept it in the hopes a cancellation might come up, but can I really sit around and do nothing until August 7?  Due to the misdiagnoses from 2 vets and a specialist when he saw them in April, May and June, this issue has been symptomatic since the around end of March when I set up the first appointment.    I really don’t know what to do here.   Add to that, there are all those various vaccine options and, in order for him to get the Yale one, for example, the closest locations are 11 to 13 hours one way and having to do that twice within 3 weeks somehow with a dog that doesn’t like the car so much….not to mention also having children, 2 other dogs and 2 cats.  My husband said he could drive him but having a difficult time picturing Honor doing that kind of drive when the furthest car ride he’s ever been on has been about an hour and I definitely can’t picture him doing it without me.  On Thursday, we’ll be doing a 4 hour roundtrip drive for his appointment and that’s going to be pushing it.  The Elias vaccine could only be done after amputation and, if we do the radiation, he’s not a candidate for that anymore even if we do the amputation later.  Looking into the possibility of Immunocodin.  Any thoughts?     Another thing about UF is they probably could give me better educated opinions there about the immunotherapy vaccines and they are actually currently enrolling for 2 vaccine clinical studies there right now for this cancer.  

Apologies for the rambling post.  My mind is going in a thousand different directions.  I was going to attach a picture of Honor enjoying his outing this morning, but I feel very tech. challenged on this site! 

Michael,

First, thanks so much.  I really appreciate your trying to help me out with ideas/research/finding specialists when you just had to go through many weeks of all this stress yourself!  

Blue Pearl in Maitland is actually where I already have a consult scheduled this Fri.  It’s only about 30 min from me.  I had originally set it up thinking they had stereotactic radiation but that’s the one where I found out the Dr. doing the radiation recently left so they aren’t offering it right now.  I had been considering canceling it but it may be worth seeing what they have to say about the Elias vaccine.  I am a little reluctant to do anything at Blue Pearl, however, because I brought Honor to a specialist there at the end of June after 2 vets failed to figure out the cause of his limping  (later realized it’s because they both inexplicably failed to xray the wrist of his affected leg).   The Dr. at Blue Pearl also completely missed the diagnosis and did not look at his wrist.  Considering she’s a specialist and between all these vets they did multiple images and an ultrasound, it’s concerning she didn’t discover something that I found myself about a week and a half later!  Ugh.  I need to let that part go because it gets me so frustrated/angry and is just a waste of mental energy I don’t have right now.    

The Animal Cancer Care Clinic is where we were last week that talked about the stereotactic radiation.  Unfortunately, they no longer offer the Elias vaccine there. I actually think she said they’ve never done it there….that there are very strict requirements for shipping the sample and that, due to cost of @$15,000 I don’t think it’s been requested there.  

The other place is about 4 hours away.  Since I think I’d need to do the amputation at the same place that offers the vaccine (?) it’d probably need to be somewhere closer to home. 

Ok, I’m going to go back and check out the information you sent previously that I didn’t know how to access.  Thanks!  Hope Orphelia is having a good day and looking forward to seeing more videos of her progress. 

Yes, I think my concern is more how uncomfortable he might be traveling home 4 hours after all that.  Plus, if there were complications he could end up having to stay there several days and it just seems tricky logistically.  Yes, the oncologist at Blue Pearl is a different Dr.  The Dr who saw him was an orthopedic specialist and she actually did a great job on one of my other dogs TPLO surgeries for ruptured ACL but I guess she is a better surgeon than she is at diagnostics.  I think she saw the prior to vets had pinpointed possible issues in his shoulder and elbow causing the problem.  She ruled those things out by doing an ultrasound in those areas but neglected to search for where the problem actually was coming from.