Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Lexie has been on her oral chemo for almost a week. Concurrently, her leg tumor has gotten very ugly and raw and ulcerated. We had a consult with an excellent radiation onco vet...Dr. Ira Gordon in Northern VA (Leesburg, Springfield, + DC area -- he splits his time among several locations/practices).
For her soft tissue sarcoma/leg tumor he recommended 5 consecutive short radiation treatments, and today was her first. We reviewed her chest scans and it looks like 5 to 8 or so mets, 5mm-8mm in size and maybe one slightly bigger one. He thinks that only about 10% of her lung capacity is compromised at this time, and fortunately she did very well under the anesthesia. We should get the biopsy results Tuesday, and her last round of radiation is Wednesday.
She's pretty mad about her leg being bandaged (since she can't lick at the tumor any more) and I'm sure it's bugging her. I'll up her Tramadol to try to help take the edge off.
Thanks for all the support and good thoughts!
Deb and Angel Lexie* Diagnosed at age 13. Tried radiation first; wish we had amputated upon diagnosis (even with lung mets). Joined Club Tripawd April 2014 & Lexie loved life on 3 legs! Advice: Start physical therapy as soon as your vet clears it, especially hydrotherapy if available :-) See Lexie pics here.
I have shared on my fb page a number of cases where STS gets good results with radiation. Good luck with Lexie.
http://www.cani.....cer.org.au - Dedicated to Canine Cancer Awareness
You've got a good solidplan going for Lexie...sweet, sweet Lexie...and that has to be somewhat reassuring under the circumstances. It doesn't sound like the radiation is "nvasive" or panful. I'm sire Lexie is displeased with the bandage, but that's just a mior inconvenience that I'm sure constant treats and tummy rubs will help!
Ang gain, under the circmstance, it's "good" news that only 10% of her lungs are compromised. That may ot bother her for a very long time, if at all.
Give that sweet girl a hug for us and save one foryou, okay? In fact, save two!!
Does she have to be put under for the treatment? It sounds like this vet is very pro-active and cuttng edge...that's good!
Take care! You are dong everything possible for Lexie. You are very brave and very strong and very committed toyour girl! Hang in there and remember we are by your side!
HUGS!
Sally and Happy Hannah
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!
Thanks for the update on Lexie.
It sounds like you have a great veterinary team working with you - that is great news.
Give her lots of hugs for us
Linda and Tucker
Thanks for the update! I hope that radiation helps her a lot. Sending HUGS!
~ Katy & Jackson
ACL tear in right hind leg 12/5/12 and scheduled ACL repair surgery 12/21/12. Pre-op xrays revealed osteosarcoma. Amputation 12/28/12. Chemo (carboplatin) started Jan 10, 2013 and ended on April 5, for a total of 5 doses. He handled carbo like a champ! No side effects. We started metronomic therapy at his third chemo and have been also doing some holistic treatments. He's a lively, playful 10 year old huskie-boarder collie and a very proud member of the Winter Warriors! Our love. Our funny little guy!
Good to hear there's an excellent plan in place with a terrific vet (feel free to give 'em a shout out in our Vet Referrals Topic).
We've all got our paws & fingers crossed that the metronomics will begin to stabilize the mets. 10 percent limited capacity isn't terrible, our Jerry was able to live a great quality of life with that amount of reduction for many many months before he showed any signs that the mets were interfering with his daily activity. I hope the oral chemo shrinks those buggers quickly and keeps them away!
Are you/the vet doing anything besides bandaging the wound to encourage healing, as far as a topical med or anything like that? Just curious, not sure it's that do-able.
Let us know how things are going.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thanks Frodo, Sally & Hannah, Katy & Jackson, Linda & Tucker, and Jerry for the good thoughts and support.
Jerry/Rene, I've been meaning to post referrals to all the great vets we've been using; thanks for the reminder. I posted one review for Helping Hands Affordable Surgery -- truly amazing folks -- and will do our other vets tomorrow. We're so lucky to have more than a few great options in the Northern VA/DC area.
We haven't done anything else topically since she's bandaged to the gills, but I'll update with what they recommend after the radiation is finished. Very curious about that myself.
Getting ready to start a new post with updates and pics. 
Deb and Angel Lexie* Diagnosed at age 13. Tried radiation first; wish we had amputated upon diagnosis (even with lung mets). Joined Club Tripawd April 2014 & Lexie loved life on 3 legs! Advice: Start physical therapy as soon as your vet clears it, especially hydrotherapy if available :-) See Lexie pics here.
OH awesome thanks for the reviews. Helping Hands is fantastic!
Yes, do keep us posted about the wound care instructions. I'll look for your update!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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