Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Bandit's rear leg was amputated on Feb 18th. Our vet knows very little about chemo or other potential life extending therapies for Osteosarcoma dogs. We gave her the information about metronomics therapy. So far we have hit a brick wall. Regular chemo is out due to cost. From what I have read metronomics therapy seems to be very straight forward less expensive alternative to chemo. So far we have found only 1 oncologist in our area. They do not seem to have a very good reputation. Does this therapy need to be administered by an oncologist? Can our vet get these drugs for us to administer? We will be going to get Bandit's stitches out on Tuesday of this week. I would like to go there and try to get something going for my big buddy Bandit.
Thanks in advance for any input
Banditsgramps
banditsgramps said
Does this therapy need to be administered by an oncologist?
No, only prescribed by one. It is a low dose chemo pill that you can administer yourself at home. The drug is usually given along with an NSAID and antibiotics. Jerry posted more info and links about metronomics .
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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Thanks I read Jerry's info on the therapy. I'm wondering if my vet can prescribe the meds since oncologists are few & far between here.
My vet is not an oncologist but she prescribes cytoxan for my Libby's metronomic protocol. Libby is on cytoxan and Rimadyl. The usual combination of drugs in MP is chemo drug+NSAID+antibiotic. My vet didn't go with the antibiotic. She said you can't give enough to make a difference in the blood stream, so Libby is on the chemo drug (cytoxan) and an NSAID (Rimadyl).
I kind of took the initiative with my vet when asking about using MP. She has been very willing to go along with my desired plan of treatment, which also includes modifying her diet.
I'm now getting my cytoxan from another source that is about half the price of my vet's office.
Good luck to Bandit and yourself. I look forward to hearing great things from Bandit in the days to come! 
Liberty (Libby) was diagnosed with OSA on 1-22-13. Right front amputation on 1-31-13. No IV Chemo. Metronomic Therapy started 2-19-13 along with supplements and some home cooking. Lungs clear until 1-06-14. She's still her happy, hoppy, bossy self. Living the dog life to the fullest and a proud Winter Warrior. :) RIP my Libby 4-21-03 to 3-19-14
Hi- If you like what you read in the metronomics posts and from our posts here, I recommend you call your vet tomorrow and let them know you are SERIOUSLY interested and would appreciate they do their own reading and research and reaching-out. That way, when you go in on Tues, perhaps you can walk away with a prescription! They will no doubt have rimadyl (=carprofen, its generic) or other NSAIDs. You may have to go through another vet for the oral chemo med. That could be something that one oncology practice gets for you, or if you really want to steer clear of them entirely, use another pharmacy. Stay tuned for an upcoming Tripawds Blog about finding these pharmacies! It should be out soon...
~ Katy
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!
Thanks amya & fetchon3. I gave the vet information on the metronomics a couple of weeks ago. I am quite frustrated with them because they seem to be dragging their feet. BAndit is my son's dog and the vet is his choice. My so far hasn't a very good advocate for Bandit so my wife and I are trying fill the gap. We know its a loosing battle but we want to give Bandit as much quality time we can without breaking the bank. If push comes to shove I will contact the vet we use for our dogs. I'm not sure if results would be any different but it may be our only course of action.
thanks everyone
That sounds fair: see what your son's vet recommends or can do and if you're not happy, try your vet! Do you know if your vet is already familiar with metronomics ? Have you casually inquired if this a new relationship s/he'd be willing to do?
~ Katy
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!
My vet is administering mine for Polly. I'd call around your area and speak to some vets. The vet that handles my metro hasnt even met polly. She is in the same practice as the Vet polly sees, but her hours dont work with our availability so she just get all of the paperwork and looked it over and wrote the prescriptions for us which we filled some at the vets office and some at target and some online.
Maybe call around to other vets and see if there are any that would be willing to work on a plan with you. They dont have to be oncologists (from what i've been told).
Good luck! If you are located on the East coast, My vet might be willing to do this over the phone... I dunno for sure though. But this group of people on tripawds will definitely be able to help! They saved Pollys life!
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