Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi everyone,
I've been reading for a few days and now have worked up the courage to post.
My baby Bradley was diagnosed with OS on Tuesday. The surgeon who did the biopsy was of course very kind and thorough and went through all of our options with us.
One of those is a new procedure they are doing at the University of Florida called Stereotactic Radio Therapy. Basically, they use the gamma knife at the McKnight Brain Institute to deliver focused, high doses of radiation directly to the tumor (Broad beam radiation has the major drawback of damaging or killing all the tissue it encounters, this encounters virtually no tissue so very little soft tissue damage). Statistically, this procedure plus chemo would give him the same chance at extended life expectancy as amputation plus chemo. The only big drawback to me - other than treatment failure - is that the pain relief is not immediate. Bradley's pain levels aren't very high now, but they would be worse immediately following SRT and then level off and go down over three to four weeks. The big plus - other than Bradley getting to keep his leg - is that Bradley can start chemo the next day, and the chemo side effects on dogs who have undergone this procedure seem to be much milder.
Bradley's in Gainesville right now, and as long as his full body CT comes back clear, they really like him for this procedure. Since we left him up there last night, I haven't had to be as positive and I have completely fallen apart. I am completely second guessing myself as to what to do. I went from being resigned to amputation, to being really excited about SRT, to wondering if it is fair to him to even put him through all of this and maybe we should just manage his pain and then let him go (My family keeps advocating that one, but it was more of a dark moment for me...). My fiance is a people surgeon so his first instinct is to go with the SRT. I'm still unsure. Mostly, I just needed to get all of this out. Any words of support or encouragement would be most welcome.
Thank you,
Erin S.
Hi Erin
This is the most difficult place in the whole journey--deciding what to do. Your heart knows already, you're just too upset to hear right now. If you have a chance to get with Bradley and ask him, he may give you a sign. You can look on this site for a thread about regrets, and I can tell you that no one has any. I think we've all had people in our lives whose attitude is to just let this one go and get another one. They have no resepect for the bond we have with our pups, and very little understanding of the part they play in our lives. Some of my friends just roll their eyes at the idea of spending thousands of dollars for an unknown amount of time with a dog. Oh well. I think it's worth it. Every day is precious, with new lessons from the dog, and just amazing little things.
I suspect Bradley would be willing to endure some pain and trouble to be able to spend more time with you, but you won't know until you ask. I would also encourage you to let the other people fade into the background for a little while and focus on what your heart wants to tell you.
And, here, there are no wrong choices. We're about support and encouragement and sharing experience. Let us know how you're doing.
Mary
Cemil and mom Mary, Mujde and Radzi….appreciating and enjoying Today
Erin, thank you so much for joining us, we're very sorry about Bradley. You're in good company, with tons of pawrents who have been there and made the tough decisions that you are about to.
What a coincidence that you are taking him to UF, because there is another Tripawds member, RosiesMom, here who is going through the exact same therapy at UF. Read through her post about it, and then Private Message her (you'll see the "Send PM" in the toolbar next to her name) so you can share stories about the therapy. You both are very lucky to live near there, as only UF and Colorado State (as in, the entire world!) have those machines and people skilled enough to use them. Heck, Bradley and Rosie might even be there together, right now!
Whatever you decide, I agree with Mary. Have a heart to heart with Bradley. Only you know what kind of dog he is, and whether he has it in him to go with the SRT or amputation. The downside to SRT is like you said, you won't know if it worked for a while and you'll be managing his pain. With ampuation, the pain relief is immediate but there is the loss of a limb. Either way, the decision you make has to be the right one for your situation and Bradley's health.
We all second guess ourselves for these huge decisions for our little ones. Usually, I find that the best decision is the one that comes from the heart. And only you know the answer to that.
Good luck, please keep us posted OK?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Erin, let me first say how sorry I am about Bradley. I also agree deciding what to do is one of the hardest parts of the whole ordeal. I have not had any regrets about amputation but did not have the option of SRT. Had I, I don't know what I would have done. As soon as I heard about the cancer I wanted the leg off so that no more cancer cells could travel through Emily's body.
No matter what you decide it will be the right thing for you and Bradley. Please keep us posted.
Debra
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.
My decision was exactly the same as in Emily's case - I wanted the leg off asap so that the cancer had less of a chance to keep spreading. Even if we had done limb-sparing surgery, little webby cancer cells would still be there waiting to grow into another tumor. There are so many options when it comes to treatment it can get overwhelming sometimes! Good luck with whatever you decide 🙂
<3 Laura and Jackers
I am so excited that the short length of time I've been here we are seeing more and more treatment options. That gives me lots of hope not only for our tripawds, but for the ones to come.
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.
Hi everyone,
First of all thank you all so much for your replies, it really helps to be able to have a group of people who really understand the experience I'm having.
So a quick update on Bradley. First of all, he is a candidate for the SRT, and we've decided to do it. His CT came back completely clear except for the primary tumor site. We got home late last night and he's been snoozing all day. He doesn't react well to anesthesia, so he did throw up in the middle of the night. But this morning he drank a good amount of water and ate some rice and scrambled eggs. They put him on a cocktail of pain meds, gabapentin and tramadol, and its making him pretty loopy but hopefully that will only last a few weeks.
The good news about the SRT is that there are no risks in relation to the cancer outcome. The risks with this procedure are related to fracture due to the weakness of the bone at the tumor site. Unfortunately, while the radiation kills or sterilizes the tumor it also sterilizes healthy cells, so no new bone can grow. Also, the pain is not what I thought it would be. It will be more than he has now for a few days, but it will gradually abate over a few weeks. For some reason I thought he was going to be in agony for a month and that was scaring me to death.
My wonderful fiance David came up with me and had a 30 minute conversation with the surgeon the procedure. It was actually really funny because David is a surgeon as well, and it was all techincal terms and acronyms until they started talking about the radiation levels, at which point they turned into total guys, saying how nothing's going to be walking out of there (talking about how the radiation is so strong no life can survive, not even at bacterial levels), etc, etc. It was really funny to watch these two highly educated men talk like frat guys. 🙂
So, we've taken our first step on this journey. Bradley is scheduled for this Friday, and he'll get his first round of chemo that same day. We'll see how it goes, right now I'm just so happy to have him home where I can get my hands on him again. I have some hope that we'll get some real quality time, no matter how long it lasts.
Best,
Erin
P.S. We're having a really hard time getting Bradley to eat enough, and he's probably not drinking enough. And this is only after anesthesia. I'm worried about what we're going to have to deal with when the chemo starts. Any tips or tricks?
Bribe him.
I used raw ground beef or turkey, cottage cheese, regular cheese, salmon, tuna, cat food, bonita flakes (cat treats from Flint River), raw egg...can't think of anything else. One or two or three of those things with his regular food--whatever it takes, on top of his food, or mixed in; and you can add water to his food as well so he gets more liquid. You may have to mix it all up and let him eat it out of your hand. I had to do that a few times the first week. Of course, optimal nutrition is the goal, but at that point, something in his stomach is better than nothing. And it may be less than a full meal, but that's okay for a little while. His system might need to recover.
We'll be thinking of you on Friday. Let us know how it goes.
Mary
Cemil and mom Mary, Mujde and Radzi….appreciating and enjoying Today
Exciting news about your treatment plans. We wish you all the best.
Tazzie lost his appetite completely in response to Adriamycin, but not to carboplatin (he is on a combined chemo protocol), and this seems to vary dog by dog. He is normally a food hound that will chase down a carrot, so it was really odd for him to ignore EVERYTHING. But I could do completely honest taste tests.
The one thing he liked was straight meat: sausage, chicken, beef, stew meat. From what I have heard it is best if there is no growth hormones or antiobiotics used in meat for cancer patients. In this case, a hunter provided the meat. He spurned ALL dog food: kibble that had no grain and was very high quality (Evo and Orijen, made in Alberta and similar to Evo), including four varieties of canned dog food. He spurned kibble even when chicken broth was poured over it or when meat was mixed in, and so on.
When he started to get a taste for kibble back, he first accepted the Orijen (still ignoring the Evo). That clinched the kibble we now use (he now eats kibble freely and everything else, although that should change in 2 weeks when chemo happens again).
For now, just try to mix some canned dog food or broth into his water to get him to drink more. When I cook Tazzie's meat (I am a vegetarian, so it is bizarre to be saying these things!), I add water so there is broth that can be added to his water or used to get him to take liquid meds like Metacam.
Best of luck on Friday and the following week!
Susan & Tazzie 2
To get Emily to drink more water I sometimes add some vegetable oil to it. She loves it. The vet also said it will make her coat shiney so it has two desired outcomes. Even though Bradley isn't going to be a tripawd, I think this web site will still be a source of support to you. Most of us know the cloud of cancer and a lot of us have done chemo.
I am looking forward to hearing about Bradley's successes. Please keep us posted.
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.
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