Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi all,
My dog Andre was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in January of this year and underwent amputation and chemo. We also did the listeria vaccine x 3 rounds in Columbus, Ohio. He's been doing great and had a wonderful summer - full of walks and swimming and toys. We took him for a follow up x-ray today and his oncologist identified a nodule that he believes is metastatic disease. Right now it's small (9mm) and we don't know how quickly it may grow.
We've decided against a lobectomy, since more mets are likely to appear and it would be difficult for him to recover. Our vet suggested doing 2 more rounds of carboplatin (this was his original chemotherapy) and rechecking the size/growth of the nodule. I read the article here on Tripawds about treatment options with mets but didn't see this mentioned. Did anyone else go this route? He tolerated the chemo pretty well, except for some neutropenia and diarrhea.
His vet discussed adding a drug called Apoquel to his chemo regimen, however I'm hesitant since it can also cause neutropenia.
It's a very sad day for us here and I'm hoping the chemo can help stabilize the disease. The best thing is that he is blissfully unaware that anything is wrong!
I cant offer much insight into your specific question, but others who have some additional treatment of some sorts once mets were found can give you more input. I know some pursued Metronomics, some did Palladia, etc. I think EURYDICE did more chemo, but I can't recall for certain. Yoi xan alson ask about Lukeran (sp).
Apoquel was mentioned?? Woild ve interested in hearing how that is beneficial. Hadn't heard that used in meta as it's more for skin issues...I think anyway.
Sure, this is a kick in the gut when you first hear it, but like you said, Andre didn't hear a word and could care less what the xray showed. AND, most importantly, Andre is feeling great and not showing any symptons! Dogs can live full happy lives while holding mets at bay. And, based on what the Vet said, it may not even be a met, just believes it "may" be.
Another thing to check into would be adding holistic/alternative therapies too.
Hang jn thete snd, most import continue to love in the NOW. Do not let that piece of crap disease interfere with your time together....Andre sjre isn't! He continues to make every day the best day ever!!
We all look forward to celebrating more victories with you and Andre. He's not done yet, not by a long shot!
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
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!
I'm so sorry, getting the mets news is like getting the diagnosis all over again. Try to stay strong and know that Andre doesn't care what the scans said, he's just enjoying life on his terms and all the good times that he's had and are certainly to come! Nobody knows how quickly a nodule will or will not grow. We know of one dog, Reno, who survived an additional three-plus years with lung mets!
Did you see our Discussion Topic about Treating Lung Metastasis? You'll see many tips and ways to deal with the metastasis that you may want to discuss with your vet. Yes I know others have done chemo a second time, but for the life of me at this hour I can't think of who right now. I hope it will come to me in the morning when I'm fresh. I will try to remember.
Meanwhile I also just learned about a new clinical trial happening at UC Davis, specifically for dogs with lung mets. We interviewed the trial leader, Dr. Rebhun a couple of weeks ago, this is exciting stuff! Your oncologist may be familiar with this type of treatment:
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thanks for your responses! This community is such a comfort.
Apparently, the Apoquel is thought to sort of help the chemo. There isn't much evidence behind it, but we figured we'd give it a try. Here is a very small study discussing the theory: https://bmcvetr.....019-2032-4
And man I wish we lived near UC Davis! I'd be interested to try the immunotherapy. We will give this chemo + apoquel a shot and recheck x-rays in about 7 weeks. It doesn't seem like much can slow down a determined lung met...but we will try.
So sorry you are in the met boat. When we found out our dog Grover had a met (his is a rib met) I realized that there wasn't much established as far as what to do next and outcomes. So, I started looking at clinical trials at other universities - even if we couldn't officially be part of the clinical trial, maybe there was a drug or protocol that we could do at our university. Somethings that I found that you may consider discussing with your oncologist.
1. Losartan. CSU and Tufts are looking at it, in combination with palladia and and NSAID for dogs with lung mets. Our oncologist consulted with them and we started Grover on losartan while he is still on carboolatin and have seen 0 side effects so far and it's very cheap - it's a $4 Rx at Walmart (it's such a big dose that our cost is $20 but still!) per month.
2. Low dose frequent radiation protocol at NCstate. They are looking at this to prevent lung mets ... but may be something to consider. Typically, protocols are first tested to prevent and then tested to treat if positive prevention results.
Thinking of you <3
Oh I was going to ask about the Apoquel, thanks for clarifying.
Yes, the Losartan is also another promising treatment. We talked to CSU's Dr. Seguin about his clinical trial.
Try to stay pawsitive. You just never know what cancer will do and we have our paws crossed that it behaves itself for you and Andre.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thanks everyone. At our checkup in a few weeks I'll discuss these options. Right now I'm giving him Ciprofloxacin per the vet's orders because we expect him to get neutropenic (he almost always does) and be at risk for an infection.
He wasn't that interested in his breakfast today and I now remember that Cipro made him feel a bit sick. I feel guilty having him take all of this again, I think I'd like to switch to Palladia and losartan after this. Hopefully Palladia doesn't have any significant side effects.
Oh yeah Cipro can cause some nausea in people too, speaking from experience. You probably already are, but be sure to give it with some hearty amounts of food, and you may want to throw in a canine probiotic also, since the drug can strip away healthy bacteria in the gut.
We'll be waiting for the update after your next vet visit. We do have some info on Palladia here if you want to check it out.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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