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Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

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Golden, CO
Member Since:
16 August 2008
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15 November 2008 - 12:25 am
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It has been a while since I have checked the forum- thanks for all the informative posts everyone. My husband and I are at a bit of a crossroads with Molly, our 12-year-old Chesapeake who had her front leg amputated on August 15.  She was diagnosed with grade 3 Synovial Cell Sarcoma with Hystiocytic markers. Molly did amazingly well with the amputation and then started CCNU (Lomustine) chemo immediately after.  She did well for the first 3 of 5 doses, but then had a bad liver reaction causing some of her liver enzymes to rise to very high levels.  It was scary for a while because with CCNU, there can be such a delayed reaction.  We weren't sure when, or if, the high liver enzyme numbers would start to go down.  Molly got really sleepy and didn't want to eat for several weeks.  Fortunately, the enzymes are finally stabilizing and Molly is returning to her perky self, though she has yet to get her complete chowhound appetite back.  Because of the reaction, she cannot finish the last two doses of CCNU.

So, our oncologist now wants us to go back to square one and try another chemo treatment, Doxorubicin (Adriamycin) for 4-5 doses (2 weeks apart). The main side effect of this treatment is stomach upset with some risk of heart failure.

We don't know what to do.  Now that Molly has taken a break from the original chemo and had her liver stabilize, she is the most happy and energetic that I have seen since her amputation.  She is actually playing with her toys!  We took her to the park the other day and she was running around and retrieving Frisbees.  It is so good to have the old Molly back.  I don't know if I can bear to have her start from scratch on chemo again.

The prognosis for her type of cancer is not good.  The vet said the median, with chemo, was 7-12 months.  Because it is a rare cancer, they are not sure of the success of chemo, but have had some results with the CCNU (the one she already tried) and the Doxorubicin.  I keep asking—would Molly live just as long without the chemo as she would with it?  If only I had a crystal ball.

My gut feeling tells me she has had enough of the chemo and to see how her body handles things from here. I don't want her to spend the rest of her time feeling sick.  Quality over quantity right?  Of course, I also worry about the risk of heart failure with the Doxorubicin.  However, I know our vet has good hope for the treatments, and I will feel guilty if I decide not to pursue them. I keep going back and forth. Also, I don't want to think of money when it comes to my beloved best friend's health... I love her so much.  Still, the costs of these treatments are getting hard to handle. We were so close with finishing the CCNU, which was expensive (on top of the costs for the initial surgery).  Now to have to start over with another type of chemo and all the related costs for blood tests and ultrasounds?  I don't know if we can do it.

I would love to hear feedback from anyone else who has faced such a decision and how you handled it.

Thanks,
Heidi

Molly was diagnosed with Synovial Cell Sarcoma (grade 3 with hystiocytic markers) and had her front leg amputated on August 15th 2008.  We had a wonderful two years with her until she passed at age 13.5 on August 29th 2010.  As far as we could tell, her cancer never returned.

On The Road


Member Since:
24 September 2009
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15 November 2008 - 1:58 pm
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Mollydog said:

We don’t know what to do... My gut feeling tells me she has had enough...


You may find that your gut is right when it comes to these tough decisions. Just remember, it's all about quality of life, not necessarily quantity.

We understand you want to do everything possible for Molly, but truth be told, you'll never be able to do "enough" no matter what you do. You will always wonder, "what if we had tried that one more thing..." but fear, hope and regret are all such human emotions which Molly does not understand.

Only you and Molly can make this decision. Whatever you do decide will be the right one, just don't look back. Live every day to the fullest with a pleasure to be alive.

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

Member Since:
15 February 2008
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15 November 2008 - 7:23 pm
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Hello Heidi & Molly!

Like Jerry, we believe that you will come up with whatever decision is the right one for you and your Molly girl.  

When Barney's biopsy results came back, we considered CCNU chemo, as well as the Doxurubicin.  In the end, we went with the Doxurubicin even though, as you mentioned, there is some risk of damage to the heart.  Barney now has a much lower tolerance to the Houston heat and humidity than before chemo and I think the Doxurubicin is to blame for that.  During the treatments Barney didn't really suffer many side affects from his chemo  but your Molly has already had a bad reaction from the CCNU. Did you ask your oncologist if her reaction was something they often see, or was it a complete fluke?  Has Molly had a chest x-ray lately - that might help you in your decision as well.  You know, Jerry had some success with the Metronomic Protocol, and I believe Barney's successful remission is related to his being on Metronomic.  That might also be something to ask your doc about.  

In the long run, you will know what's best - I just find that those decisions are made easier if I arm myself with as much knowledge as possible.  Please keep us posted and if you think I might be able to help with some of your questions due to the similarities of Molly's and Barney's cancers, I'm happy to share what I know.

Love and hugs to you!

Linda and Barney

 

 

 

 

Manchester, UK
Member Since:
2 February 2008
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16 November 2008 - 5:25 am
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What a tough position to be in.  If only we had a way of knowing if Molly would do as well without the chemo as with the chemo.  Darcy only had two doses of Doxorubicin (along with 2 doses of Carboplatin) but she did get some mild heart damage just from those two doses.  She was going to have an extra dose of Carbopatin tagged onto the end of her treatment but she had such a bad time with that last dose of chemo (Doxorubucin) that we decided against giving her that extra dose of anything.

I think, in your position, I would probably do a repeat chest x ray and if all is clear, I'd probably not do more chemo.

I think.

Ughhhh - it's so hard, isn't it?  But I do beleive in going with your gut feeling.

Best wishes, whatever you decide.

Darcy – tripawd since 16th October 2007.

***Darcy would love to be your friend on Facebook - just search for Darcy Deerhound***

California
Member Since:
23 November 2008
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14 January 2009 - 4:07 pm
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Oh My Gosh!

This is the exact same condition as my dog, Murphy! Does anyone know the outcome of this posting?

Debbie & Murphy

On The Road


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24 September 2009
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14 January 2009 - 8:09 pm
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MurphysMom said:

Does anyone know the outcome of this posting?


We haven't heard from Molly Dog in quite a while ... hopefully she'll check in aand see these new posts. best wishes to you and Murphy.

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

Member Since:
26 November 2008
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18 January 2009 - 1:04 pm
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Cherry's dad here.

Above all, I cannot overstate the general consensus given here - Go with your own feelings and know that it is the RIGHT decision. No one is closer to your Mollydog than you, and no one is better equipped to make these decisions. Cherry has also faced many complications associated with the chemo treatment, and I have asked myself many times if we would not have been better off stopping with the amputation. However, the old spirit and sparkle in the eye have returned often lately. We have one more treatment scheduled next week. It is about providing the best quality of life. Sometimes that means a troubled journey for a longer and better quality later and sometimes that means taking what you have and holding it very tight.

What ever direction you take, trust that it is the best direction - keep a positive attitude (they do know what is going on in our minds) - and keep this time together very close.

Good Luck,

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