Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Tuesday was two weeks post amputation for our boy Zeus and he is doing great. Healing well, hopping all over, appetite is great, etc. We were originally told from a needle aspirate of his elbow that it was likely synovial cell sarcoma. This is very rare and generally amputation is curative. However, after amputation and waiting TWO weeks for pathology results, they diagnosed us with Osteosarcoma yesterday. My worst nightmare of course 🙁
Yesterday was our two week post op appointment and his staples were removed, he had 72ml of fluid drained from his seroma (sterile pocket of fluid at the base of his incision) and we met with a nutritionist who is going to work alongside us during his treatment. They wanted to start Carboplatin yesterday and I wasn't mentally ready to make that decision.
They said with no carboplatin, he should be dead in 4 months. With carboplatin, he should get 10-14 months. I know that every story is different and some pass much sooner and some out live those odds. I've just seen stories both ways and don't know if I should suppress his immune system with chemo. I'm not a big believer in medicine or doctors, which is why I generally take a more holisitic approach, however I know that I'm dealing with a larger demon here and he probably will need the chemo.
He has had forelimb x rays, needle aspirate of his elbow (primary cancer site), CT scan of torso and upper body, abdominal ultrasound, needle aspirates of spleen & liver, and amputation. All of his scans are clear and the aspirates of the spleen & liver did not show signs of cancer cells. The fluid drained from his seroma was also sent to cytology yesterday and he is negative for infection. He currently takes Tramadol and Rimadyl and will be starting on a boatload of natural supplements this weekend.
Did Carboplatin do wonders for anyone? Did anyone feel that it did more damage than good? I need to weigh out both options.
Thank you in advance!
Heather
Pit Bull Mama to Zeus (10 year old Tripawd :-) & Pennie (5 year old)
Zeus became a Tripawd on 07-28-2015 and surgery was done at the University of Florida. He had a sarcoma in his left elbow joint and amputation was done of the entire arm and shoulder blade. Diagnosed with Osteosarcoma 08-12-2015. Secondary cancer - Adenocarcinoma - in anal gland diagnosed and removed in October 2015. Finished 6 rounds of Carboplatin on 12-21-2015!!! Woohoo!!!!
First of all YAAAAAAAAAY FOR ZEUS for a stellar recovery!! And YAAAAAAAAAY FOR MOM for being such a great advocate for Zeus!!
You'll see on this site that statistics and timeframes don't mean that much around here! As you said, every dog is different...some blow the lid off timeframes and some do not. So e aplear to get extended time with chemo, so e do not. Some appear to get extew time goi g the hilkstic route,some do not. Some appear to get extended time doing nothing, and some do not.
It really is basically "crap shoot" in my opinion.
My Happy Hannah didn't mind car rides and didn't mind going to the vet, so that was important in my decision. I also tend to lean more towards holistic.
I did proceed with four rou ds of Carboplatin a d here were the deciding factors for me.
I could stop anytime if she had issues. She did not...she sailed through each one just fine!
Knowi g I would sexo d guess myself either way, it came down to which way would I second guess myself the LEAST. I would second guess myself the least if I tried....and the most if I did not.
I did add nutritional support and some holistic "stuff". I also gave her k9 Immunity and Apocaps .
Happy Hannah and I had THE .ost GLORIOUSLY JOYFUL TIME for an additional one year and two months!!! Was it because of the chemo? I have no idea. Others have done the sa e with less time. But it was the decision I could live with the best.
There are NO right or wrong decisions here! You will make a decision out of love and that will be the right decision!!
Sending you extra hugs and love!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle too!
PS...I didn't start her treatment u til the third week as I needed more time also. Plus, her recovery was a little slower than some and I wanted her feeling strong!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Darn, I'm really sorry to hear you got the osteo diagnosis, what a shock. And to decide chemo on the spot like that, when you aren't sure...well I think you did the right thing by taking time to think about it, even for a day or two.
The key phrase you used above is "Should get..." Those statistics are the same ones given to everyone with this diagnosis. They do not, however, take into account each dog's individual health profile, lifestyle, personality etc. Those statistics are relevant but they aren't guaranteed predictions.
We have seen dogs outlive the osa prognosis exponentially longer than anyone thought, with or without chemo. Our Jerry had no chemo and he lived two years! Other dogs have lived five with chemo. Some do not live up to the statistics of 1 year, and others don't make it even three months. It IS a crapshoot as Sally said. There are no guarantees, ever.
The chemo decision is a lot to take in and there are no right or wrong choices. Everyone has a different story, financial picture, needs and beliefs. You have to decide what is right for you and Zeus, and you alone. That is the only "right" decision really. And whatever path you choose, we will support you.
For an interesting convo about the chemo decision check out this topic, Why DIDN'T you do chemo?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Awesome for his recovery...yay!!
Jerry had a good point they all have this standard protocol..and yes it is developed based on direct clinic studies. But from many profiles on here it is different for each dog.
Let me give you my experience.
My girl OSA dec 2013 amputation. I chose to do carbo and doxi as it was explained to me that you dont want the cells to build up a resistance, which when you think about bit cancer cells grow and multiply because the they have build up a resistance to the body being able to stop its growth. So I chose to procede with chemo based on these things.. 1)... like 90% chance that even though we took the tumor.. the leg, that there are microscopic cells floating around in her body, and I felt kind of like I was playing russion roulet, 5 took the mass and dont address the potential microscopic cells, as with OSA it sucks because theres no blood markers to prove if it has started to spread or not. 2) her lungs and abdomen was clean so to me that said theres no gross mass that could impede her or cause another problem, so that brings me back to the silent microscopic cells. (potentially) My onco does hav a standard textbook protocol where he sends home anti nausea as anti diarrhea meds to give from the get go to avoid any potential issues. Basically unlimited scripts if I wanted. But I chose to see how she did and just watched her very, very closely with my meds ready to give. But in my girl, grateful to God, she never had ANY reaction. We did 5 carbo and 4 doxi, so a pretty aggressive regime, but in her case ONLY because she handled it and never missed a step, she had like maybe 1-2 days were her sleep was a bit increased but not an overall change in her routine.
I did want to do holistic, but some of the meds could interfere with certain drugs and it was hard for me to balance which was appropriate that wouldn't decrease the chemo effectiveness or reverse. So I held off for a while.
I hope this helps you.
Angel Neka
7/4/2003-4/5/2016
2.5yr 3x cancer warrior survivor
So sorry to hear that you got the diagnosis nobody wants to get. That was the same diagnosis we got here: OSA, front leg.
Mixed feelings about chemo are normal, especially because we put it in human perspective and not canine. They handle it much better than humans. Their fur doesn't fall off. They have less after-effects. And, as Sally already said, with canine treatments, if they aren't handling it well, we can just stop.
Johnnie's oncologist tends towards a more traditional approach, and she isn't particularly an optimist. Although I had mixed feelings, I decided to go for the chemo - Carboplatin - and Johnnie did six rounds. We started on the 4th week after the amputation, after he was fully recovered from the surgery.
Since the first round I was pretty certain that I wouldn't continue treament if it made him very sick. This wasn't the case. He handled it quite well.
During the chemo treatment he took a supplement - K-9 Immunity Plus - which he has been using nonstop since the amputation. Once the chemo was through I introduced Apocaps and have kept this protocol.
Can't say chemo is a walk in the park. The last two rounds took a toll on his energy level, but he recovered well.
This Tuesday August 20th will be our 16th month post-op, and up to now he is doing fine. He has a full check-up with the oncologist every 3 months. Our last check-up in July showed clear lung x-rays and his blood works are in the normal range. He is just a normal 7 year old Golden retriever enjoying life.
Don't know if these 16 months were due to the chemo, to the chemo and the supplements, or just plain good luck.
Take your time. There is no right and no wrong. There is what we feel at that moment in time is the best thing to do.
hugs,
Daniela & Johnnie
Our awesome Golden Boy was diagnosed for OSA in April 2014 in the proximal humerus, front-leg amp on 05/20/2014. Finished chemo (Carbo6) on 07/10/2014. Ongoing treatment: acupuncture + K-9 Immunity Plus ( 3chews) and home-cooked no-grain diet. Stopped Apocaps because of liver issues. Liver issues: controlling altered enzymes with SAM-e and Milk Thistle. October 17: started having seizures. Taking fenobarbital for seizures. April 18: started prednisone.
Daniela! You KNOW we nave of have video for his SIXTEEN MONTH AMPUVERSARY CELEBRATION! You know we do!!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Hi! 🙂 Good for Zeus for recovering well! Always love to hear that in our dog pack.
Eva is a hind leg amputee who was three when she was diagnosed. The diagnosis came after the amputation, as did yours, and ours was also OSA. We started chemo two weeks later, and I've been really lucky. Now, there were a few things that I definitely considered before doing carbo.
- It's expensive. Blood tests every week for the first month or so and then we had to do every other week basically after that. Not to mention the cost of the carbo, and the x rays, and the gas to get to and from the oncologist! I'm not saying money was ever the most important factor, because clearly I chose to do the chemo. But it definitely has been hard on us financially (though I wouldn't change a thing, but I'm trying not to sway you here!!!!)
- Eva hates the car. The vet is an hour long drive. Eva also hates going to her normal vet as she gets horrible anxiety and has to take xanax which doesn't sedate her, just makes her calmer.
- She is 3. I didn't wanna put her down and I didn't wanna go through with surgery just to "hope" she made it past the three months they said she had left... and we couldn't leave the leg because it was SO painful so I woulda had to put her down... couldn't do that.
- How much more time could I get? How much time would I have anyway? Who knows.
Anyway, I did the chemo. Eva got over her fear of the car because she loves her oncologist so much. Eva never got sick, she ate some anti nausea pills to keep her appetite up and anti diarrhea meds just in case. they weren't very expensive, and they helped a lot. She seems so much better. Now, would she still be just as good if she never got the chemo? Possibly. But I don't know, I was too afraid to risk it and I thought if I had cut off my own leg, I would want to continue pursuing every option that was viable. If it had made eva sick or if she didn't like the car and if things didn't work as well as they did, I would've stopped in a heart beat. This is all to make Eva have the best life possible for me, and I'm sure you feel the same for Zeus. If you think in your heart that it can help him, there's no harm in trying a treatment and seeing how it goes. If it makes him sick to where you don't feel like it's worth it, nobody is forcing you to continue! Or if you don't feel it's right to try, that's okay too. It's all up to you and Zeus. I just thought I would include my own story 🙂 As of now we are almost three months post op, no mets, no pain meds or pain.
Hi Everyone!
Thank you so much for all of your replies! I really appreciate them. Everyone on this site helps so much and really puts you at ease or helps point you in the right direction.
We're doing chemo this Thursday and I'll let you know how he does.
He loves the car and doesn't mind the vet, except for the part where they take him back without me 🙁 He locks all of his legs and they have to drag him back, with him staring back at me the whole time. It's awful! But before that part, he's very friendly to everyone and happy to be there.
Thank you for the advice! 🙂
Heather
Pit Bull Mama to Zeus (10 year old Tripawd :-) & Pennie (5 year old)
Zeus became a Tripawd on 07-28-2015 and surgery was done at the University of Florida. He had a sarcoma in his left elbow joint and amputation was done of the entire arm and shoulder blade. Diagnosed with Osteosarcoma 08-12-2015. Secondary cancer - Adenocarcinoma - in anal gland diagnosed and removed in October 2015. Finished 6 rounds of Carboplatin on 12-21-2015!!! Woohoo!!!!
OK we'll be thinking of you both on Thursday. Do you think they will allow you to be with him during chemo? A lot of vets will, it can't hurt to ask if you are able to stay. That should really help him relax.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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