Ok, so I spoke with the specialist place close to our home (where he has the appt Tues) and they are going to see if they can get him in for the CT scan required for stereotactic radiation on Monday.  Unfortunately, the way they do this is CT scan Monday and radiation starts the following week so, if I don’t do the scan Monday, then I’ve lost another entire week if we decide to do the radiation/chemo route. 🙁  As it is, this is going to land me into potentially doing radiation on the same week we were finally getting into UF but that appt is a Thursday so I’m sure they would then push us out a week (at least) to bring him back for their required testing and any actual treatment.    My thinking is the CT scan may show he is NOT an ideal candidate for this or at particularly high risk of fracture.  In that case, then I would probably have to hold out for the UF appt on the 27th, proceed with amputation if they feel he is a good candidate (hopefully asap) and take advantage of the vaccine.  I checked with the surgeon at the Cancer Care clinic he had his first consult at and their surgeon is scheduled 2 weeks out so I don’t think I could get him to a decent surgeon any sooner.  Ugh. I am now kicking myself for waiting on UF.  I could have had him actually doing radiation this week. Granted I am not confident in that decision but at least it’s A decision vs doing nothing.

benny55 said
Glad they can do the scan👍.  So hang tight for the results rather than  gping down the rabbit hole trying to figure out the next step.  You'll  at least have that answer Monday on some of the questions you have.

Try and relax thrpugh the week end and put your "research  computer"  down and send me some more pictures of that handsome Honor to ,post 💖

  

Thanks Sally.  Honestly, I have not been able to stop obsessively researching (as you can tell).  The 3rd radiation oncologist we consulted with said I must be in some sort of medical field based on the questions I was asking.  Ha!  

Now, I face another dilemma.  

The place we went to in Brandon (2 hours away from us), their radiation oncologist does things differently.  She does the planning CT scan on Monday then, assuming all looks good, the stereotactic radiation on Tues, Wed, Thurs. the same week.  She did say I needed to let her office know by the end of the day Friday (which has passed) if we wanted to proceed the following week.  And, honestly, if she had been more positive about it I would have done so but she made me think amputation/chemo and getting a vaccine was probably the better way to go and that, at this point, she didn’t think it would change much if I just waited until the UF consult on the 27th.   The radiation oncologist for the place closer to us (who oversees things remotely) seemed to have a little more positive view of the stereotactic option but said she wanted her clients to a contingency plan in case of fracture.  Between those 2 views then the UF clinical team responding to my questions in such a way that I felt the vaccine looked potentially promising, I became paralyzed on how best to proceed.  

The place closer to our home is only 20 min. away though so Honor wouldn’t have to stay in a hotel for 4 nights (he has never stayed in one) and it makes sense to maintain the relationship with the closer facility in case any problems come up.  The issue is they do the CT scan Monday (which the front desk person is trying hard to let me bring him in for but I won’t know until Monday morning) then don’t do the actual radiation until the following week!  Assuming they say all looks good for the radiation, he’d be starting that on the 24th or 25th and it’s all so frustrating because the UF consult is on the 27th.  I guess I’m hoping this CT scan might show us something we don’t know like do things look very promising for this working well for him or does he have micro fractures and iffy bone density putting him at higher risk of fracture with it (in which case I’d go to UF and just proceed with amputation if they made sure he was a good candidate).   I don’t know if the CT scan will add anything new though or if I’ll just be obsessing for an entire week again on whether or not I’m making the right decision.  

And, there is a chance the place close to us won’t even be able to get him in for the CT scan on Monday.  I won’t know until Monday morning.  In the case they can’t, then things are really delayed and I’d probably be stupid not to just go into UF at that point and pray they actually get him moving on whatever they advise asap and don’t give us appts. for 2 weeks out.  🙁

All my issues would be solved if UF would just call with an earlier appt time, but the odds of that happening at this point are slim to none. 

mischief said
I would be very hesitant to spend 4 nights in a hotel for treatment with a dog who has no hotel experience.  My shepherd mix cannot handle hotels. The shpherd in her makes her very alert and wary of noise in the environment. Every ding of the elevator, person stomping down the hall, door slammed and she barks. I've spent 2 nights in a hotel with her and I'm shocked we didn't get thrown out. If I remember correctly, Pyrs are traditionally livestock guardians, so I would expect them to be alert to all of the activity in a hotel. 

  

Yes, there is that concern as it’s an unknown.  If it was my other pyr then I would definitely not do it because we’d get thrown out of the hotel.  Honor is normally really good about limiting his barking.  When he does bark, you can hear it from 3 blocks away though.  He typically will respond to my telling him it’s okay and stop.  My other one thinks she knows better than me.  

It’s a tough call.  The place close to me (assuming they can do the CT scan and I won’t know until morning) doesn’t actually do the radiation until the week following the scan.  Their radiation oncologist is remote and this isn’t her only job so it takes time for to map everything out and get it back to the techs and vet supervising and running the actual procedure.  So, I would lose a week and I’m a little worried that, during that time, I’m going to start questioning my decision not to go to UF since the radiation would be Tues/Wed/Thurs and my UF consult would have been that Thursday.  

The place 2 hours away from me, if they can get him in for the CT scan there tomorrow morning, they do the radiation Tues, Wed and Thurs this week.  If the hotel thing doesn’t go well, I guess I could drive back and forth with him but he isn’t a huge fan of being in the car so not ideal either but at least possible as a backup. 

It comes down to do I choose convenience/less stress for him and sacrifice delaying treatment an additional week or go with less convenience/more stress but start actual treatment this week?  As far as expertise of the radiation oncologists, that’s hard to compare.  One seems more experienced (radiation done at place closer to us) but works remotely so would not be on site though she does all the CT mapping of settings.  The other seems younger (but knowledgable) and is on site the whole time.   I also wonder how it works with doing the mapping a week prior to the actual procedure.  It seems like measurements could change slightly over the period of time, but I have no idea how it all works.  

If, by some chance he’s not a good candidate, then my thoughts are hold out for UF consult on 27th because I’d hate to miss out on getting the vaccine if we are amputating anyway. 

Yesterday morning started off with their CT scanner being down after we dropped him off.  It was a stressful 2 hours until we got a call it was up and running! 

Results of scan have me very worried. The Dr saw something on the chest one that was “definitely not defined nodules” but she wasn’t sure what it was and wanted the main radiologist to weigh in.  Unfortunately, we won’t find out what she thinks until today.  I’m so nervous she may say it’s metasasis to the lungs.  In that case, we’re down to palliative radiation and probably very little time.  

He has been amazing in the hotel. He settled right in and hasn’t barked once.