Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi all
So Bentley had his front leg amputated on 5/29/18. He came thru surgery like a champ and has adjusted to life as a tripawd incredibly well.
Our vet sent the tumor off for pathology and when the results came in they were inconclusive. They said it could be a poorly performing osteosarcoma or a soft tissue sarcoma which actually developed inside the bone. They were leaning towards a STS even though it was uncommon that it would develop in the bone.
About 7 weeks post-amp, we noticed a lump growing not far from the incision site. Vet suspected the cancer had spread to the lymph node. He did a needle biopsy and the cytology results confirmed it was a sarcoma. Bentley had surgery to remove the lymph node and we got the results this evening.
Again the report was inconclusive. The report indicated the lymph node was not cancerous but again stated it could be a poorly performing osteosarcoma or a soft tissue sarcoma. Again they were leaning towards STS.
Has anyone else experienced this? I guess I'm not understanding how the results can still be inconclusive after multiple samples were sent in.
Thanks
Lisa & Bentley
Lisa, first of all it's great to know that Bentley is doing well! As frustrating as the path reports are, don't lose sight of his victory. That's wonderful news!
I can tell you that you aren't the first that has come here with an inconclusive pathology report. I know your frustration must be so difficult. We want our vets to have all the answers and when they do not, it's like "What the heck?!" So let me ask you this, how does the inconclusive report affect the treatment plan? Is there one yet? I'm assuming that you want to treat the cancer with chemo, correct?
From what I understand there are many reasons why a pathology report can be inconclusive. Poor sample quality is usually the biggest culprit. Did you ask your vet if there is any way they can have another lab look at it? Oftentimes university teaching hospitals can give a fresh set of eyes to a report that nobody else can figure out. Texas A&M and Colorado State University both have excellent diagnostic labs that may be able to do a consultation on your case.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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Hello...I completely understand this frustration. Our pup Wendel started limping in January 2017 and had several inconclusive biopsies prior to his amputation last August. Even after the amputation the pathology report was vague. Basically the report read that the sample contained many features consistent with osteosarcoma, however due factors such as Wendel's young age and long history of illness without metastasis the pathologist left room for doubt regarding the diagnosis.
For us the lack of a definitive diagnosis did not affect our treatment plan. We live in a small rural community and the closest oncologist is a 10 hour drive away from us. It was not feasible for us to make this trip every few weeks for treatment. We made the personal choice not to pursue any additional treatments, and to give Wendel the best life possible for as long as possible. Wendel's one year ampuversary is only a few weeks away...so we were fortunate that this plan seemed to work out for us!
I wish I could offer some better insight. I echo Jerry's suggestion about asking for a second opinion. The University of Saskatchewan offered fresh eyes for our pathology report and echoed that the diagnosis was likely an unusual presentation of osteosarcoma, and assured us that they would be able to develop a treatment plan that would help delay metastasis.
I can say that time has alleviated many of our worries about having an accurate diagnosis, and at almost a year later we just focus on the success of the amputation and Wendel's improved quality of life.
Cancer sucks....
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