Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Just curious what everyone else is doing. We are coming up on our one month diagnosis anniversary, and part of me wants to get him rechecked already! Our vet said it was up to us, but generally every 2 or 3 months, but we could do every month if we wanted (I'm not sure if he was joking!) Like I said, part of me wants to do it every month so we know, but then there's a lot of me that doesn't want to ever get it done!
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This one is a little hard and I am sure that you will get answers across the entire spectrum. Our oncologist wanted to recheck “2-3 months for the first year”. Actually, I just pulled the paperwork out and reread the statement for accuracy. It brought a smile because of the reference to the first year!!! My local vet and breeder support no more xrays until there is a real question regarding something going on within Cherry. I have adopted Jerry's attitude to live every day with Cherry to the fullest possible. We have a wonderful routine of being together almost constantly and includes such crazy things a singing to her first thing in the morning. There is nothing about that routine that I would change either with a good recheck or a bad recheck. If I would try to spend more quality time with her because of a bad recheck, then I am not really enjoying her to the level I want now.
I totally understand your mixed feelings. I know that for very long term, that light at the end of the tunnel is actually a freight train and I am not sure that I personally would like to know how close the coming freight train is to rolling over us. I know that I will not take Cherry's loss well and know that that includes the final fight. I find it much more satisfying for me, Cherry, and all the family to just continue to plan with no real end in sight. We have already booked our site for our month long Yellowstone trip next June where we plan to celebrate 19 months of recovery. For me, no news is good news and allows me to assume the very best. This is from someone who knows just by pure age, that I am already on borrowed time with Cherry even before this diagnosis.
I am not sure that I presented the uplifting response I intended. Only you can truly balance your apprehension regarding the unknown, but we all look forward to celebrating McGwire's one year ampuversary just like my oncologist suggested.
Bob & Cherry
Hi--
Our oncologist said every three months. After we were done with chemo, it was up to us. When we started on metronomic protocol we went to every 6 weeks.
Now....we are doing the IL2 therapy and we will have a recheck in 30 days to see if the therapy worked on Tika's mets. If it did, we do the therapy for another 15 days and then recheck. After all of that we'll probably go back to every other month or so. I'm afraid baby girl is going to start glowing if we don't!
It's pretty much, do you want to know? Or do you want to NOT know until you are suspecting a decline? I know in June when lung mets were confirmed it hurt as much as finding out about the initial diagnosis. Has knowing changed anything? Absolutely not, we let Tika be our guide on how much she wants/is able to do.
On the other hand? For my husband, knowing has made him more tenacious about finding treatments and trying to nip this thing in the bud early.
Like Bob said, I'm not sure if this is helping or not? I guess bottom line, you have to weigh what you think you would give you the most peace of mind.
In the meantime, live in the moment like your pup is!
--Kim and Tika
Kim and Spirit Tika http://www.tika.....ogspot.com
This is a question with wide ranging answers and to some degree depend on the status starting out. Trouble was met free prior to amputation, and her first film to check for mets was a couple weeks after chemo ended.
With her still being met free at that point, Dr F doesn't advocate doing any more films unless she begins to have a problem - indication of labored breating, or search for an infection. I was a little concerned at first, but he assured me we would keep a close watch on her and x-ray at the first indication there may be a reason to.
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
Emily is in a drug study so in order to track the effectiveness of the drug combo they are using we agreed to do chest x-rays every three months.
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.
I xray Tazzie every 3 months because there are some treatments for lung mets that I might pursue so I would like to know ASAP if they are there. If lung mets are solitary and take a while to show up there is some indication for doing surgery to remove them, although I don't know if I would go that route.
Also since I am a vet I have the ability to take rads more frequently since my cost is only about $10 per film and I can take Tazzie in on my day off so that she does not have to stay all day.
Pam and Tazzie
Cherry said:
There is nothing about that routine that I would change either with a good recheck or a bad recheck. If I would try to spend more quality time with her because of a bad recheck, then I am not really enjoying her to the level I want now.
I'm with Bob. I'm not rechecking until there's a reason to because I don't think there's anything I would do differently if it were bad news. I like living in the moment--even though sometimes I get anxious and forget the lesson.
There is certainly nothing easy about this road.
Cemil and mom Mary, Mujde and Radzi….appreciating and enjoying Today
Oh that question has so many different answers. As you can see, we all have our own ideas about what we want to know, how we want to cope with this disease, and what works with our individual families. There are upsides and downsides to x-raying versus not wanting to know until the last minute. If you do do it, ask yourself; What, if anything, will change if we find out the mets are there? What am I willing to do if they are there?
When I got sick, my pawents decided that they would only do x-rays if my health was obviously declining. Knowing our pack, and our lifestyle, we decided that living in the now is all that mattered. But then, sixteen months after my diagnosis, while visiting the vet for something completely unreleated, they decided to go ahead and x-ray. The vet convinced them that it was better to know, than not know. Information is power, he said. Sadly, they got the bad news that I had mets.
You can read about this visit, and the feedback pawrents gave, in my blog post, Time for a Reality Check.
If you do x-ray, prepare yourself for the worst, but hope for the best. My pawrents were devastated when they found out about my mets, even though they knew that it was coming. Finding out about mets brought back all sorts of sad feelings, just like the day I was diagnosed. Mom kicked herself for a bit, regretful and wishing they had caught the mets sooner. But then I calmed her down, and showed her that everything happens for a reason.
During that same week, that's when the PBS people called us, wanting to film our journey. At that point in time, we were on the road and headed towards New Mexico. We went to Santa Fe where, in front of cameras, I met a very cool oncologist, and she put me on the Metronomic Protocol. It was the least intrusive medical option that worked for our lifestyle, enabling us to go on having our road trip adventures together, and even getting it documented for television so that many people around the world can see how Tripawds rule!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Our oncologist has suggested every 6 - 8 weeks, and that's what we're doing. We're nervous everytime we go for the checkup, but for us, it's something we want to know. We don't think about Max's future, we just hang out day by day and try to make each day fun for him. I'm not sure that would change when we do find out he has lung mets; maybe it would just make each day that we have with him a little more special than it already is.
Di
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