Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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sorry for the sucky report. hope you can continue to enjoy each and every moment you have with stella. she doesn't understand all of this cancer crap, she's just living in the moment watching birds. take plenty of pictures and videos, and know that we are all here if you need to vent/shout out.
charon & spirit gayle
Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included). She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.
Love Never Ends
Definitely not the news you wanted.
More often than not there are micro mets in the lungs with OSA, but that does not mean the end is near. As long as she is feeling good there is hope! And even after mets are visible on xray many pups have had months and some even years of quality life.
Stella does not know that she has cancer. As long as there is food to eat, birds to watch and naps she is probably a pretty happy girl. When we get these bad path reports our perspective has to change a little. Days are more important than weeks, weeks more important than months, months more important than years. But we stay optimistic- until Stella tells you there is a reason not to be.
Remember to 'Be More Dog !' If today is good then life is good.
Karen and the pugapalooza
I understand that, more likely than not, there are lung mets that we can't see yet. The way I'm looking at it though--if we can't see them yet, then they're not big and raging, and maybe we can stop them before they get that way. That being said, I'm not sure at this point if we can or will do chemo. I'm researching alternatives online, and if any of you have any suggestions as to diet and/or supplements, I'd appreciate them. I'm so scared of starting her on chemo and then having her get really sick from it or causing something else to go wrong and ruining the fact that she seems to feel fine right now. I don't want the "cure" to make her worse. Cost will also be a factor, which I hate, but it's a sad fact. But again, even if money were no option, I'm not sure I'd want to put her through it.
I thought having the pathology report would answer my questions, but now I have a million more! Hopefully the appointment with the specialist on Tuesday will resolve them.
Its really good to look at all your options, and find a path that you are comfortable with for Stella.
For what it is worth- most dogs I have seen here, including my Maggie, did fine with chemo. Some don't- and it is not the right thing for everyone. In fact I am dealing with cancer in Mag's little sis Tani and for a variety of reasons I have chosen to go a holistic route this time. And if you do decide to do chemo, and you don't like the side effects you can stop.
There are also low dose chemo regimens out there like the Metronomic Protocol. I think it is usually used after standard chemo, but it might be something to consider.
Don't feel bad about cost being a limiting factor. We all wish we had unlimited funds, but the fact is we don't and sometimes we have to make choices base on that.
Have you checked out the Nutrition Blog Here? Lots of info on diets and supplements. And I know at least a few people here have used Dr. Loops a holistic vet. He is in North Carolina but does phone consults.
It is funny how an answer seems to multiply the questions!
Karen and the pugapalooza
shelleycj said
I'm researching alternatives online, and if any of you have any suggestions as to diet and/or supplements, I'd appreciate them. I'm so scared of starting her on chemo and then having her get really sick from it or causing something else to go wrong and ruining the fact that she seems to feel fine right now. I don't want the "cure" to make her worse. Cost will also be a factor, which I hate, but it's a sad fact. But again, even if money were no option, I'm not sure I'd want to put her through it.I thought having the pathology report would answer my questions, but now I have a million more! Hopefully the appointment with the specialist on Tuesday will resolve them.
It really is an overwhelming task to try and absorb all of the information that is out there, analyze if it applies to your situation and figure out a plan. And yes, the questions just continue to multiply. There really is no 'right' answer. You make the best decision you can based on your abilities financially and emotionally and you find peace in doing everything that you were able to do. Stella wouldn't want anything more from you. We did choose chemo for Zeus because we were able to and we decided to throw every punch we could at this terrible disease. We did change his diet based on Dr. Dressler's dog cancer diet and I really do believe it has made a huge difference. We modified the diet some to remove the fresh ingredients like cottage cheese and replace them with equivalent supplements so that we didn't have worry about keeping easy to spoil ingredients on-hand. We do 1/2 the recommended cooked diet and 1/2 Halo kibble which Dr. D recommends in his book if you are unable to do all home-cooked. PM me if you ever want the exact recipe and I'll send it. Good luck!
Zeus was a Husky mix diagnosed with Osteosarcoma at age 11. A visible lung met and suspicious spot on his liver meant a poor prognosis-six weeks was our vet's best guess. We decided to fight for our boy and his right front leg was amputated on 12/1/11. We did six rounds of chemo, changed his diet and spoiled him completely rotten. We were blessed with 10 great months after diagnosis. Against the odds, the lung met remained a single met and grew very little over those months. A wonderful furbaby with the most gentle spirit, he fought with a strength that we never imagined he possessed. We have no regrets...
http://zeuspod......pawds.com/
Sorry the report was not good, but I'm certain that our Abby had micromets when her amp was done as well. (The xray was clear, but about 6 weeks later there was a single tiny visible spot.) Abby lived over a year w/ the mets. And it was an amazing, great year. Until near the very end she did all the things she normally did.
For supplements, I would highly recommend Dr. Dressler's Dog Cancer Survival Guide . He discusses all the conventional as well as holistic treatments and does a great job of organizing all the supplement info. It makes all that overwhelming info out there on the 'net digestible.
I would also recommend looking into artemisinin . THere is a Yahoo Group you can join - I think ti's "cancer_and_artemisinin" and is specifically for dogs w/ cancer. The folks on there are very knowledgeable. The protocol is a little confusing at first, but it's not that bad. (It's just a little tricky, cuz you have to give the pills 4 hrs away from any thing w/ iron in it.) If you have questions, send me a PM. I can tell you what we did w/ Abby.
Don't worry about not doing chemo. I've seen dogs here do well with it and without it. I know the stastics are supposed to be that dogs do better w/ it - but do those stats really keep count of folks that treat their dogs holistically w/ supplements at home? Maybe not... It seems kinda like a crap shoot to me. But then, I'm no vet...
Enjoy every minute with your girl!
Jackie, Angel Abby's mom
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
I think that sick leg was making her stinky! 
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