Life as a Tri-pawd

[Pea-n-Me]

Update #2 - Ciara had her biopsy procedure done yesterday. She did very well with the anesthesia and all her vitals were spot on according to the surgeon. She is definitely sore, but last night wasn't too bad. I slept on the couch and moved her bed next to me and she was able to sleep through the night with the cone on. I only got about 3 hours of sleep, but I think once we get past the initial 48 hours, she'll start coming around.

She's groggy and resting just like she should be, but eating and drinking normally.

The bad news is I got the indication that we may be looking at a cancer diagnosis. The surgeon mentioned the bone being a little "soft," which is more indicative of a tumor than arthritis. So we probably have a difficult decision ahead of us. I'm trying to think positive and logically weigh the options without letting my emotions get the best of me (something I often do). At the end of the day, I want to do what's best for her quality of life, and hopefully the vet will give us realistic timelines to mull over.

Don't bleed until you're shot! Wait until the results are in to know what you're dealing with (or not). I'm sure you'll do what's best if you get bad news, but hang tight until then. I know the wait is difficult.

 

[sara_s]

Don't bleed until you're shot! Wait until the results are in to know what you're dealing with (or not). I'm sure you'll do what's best if you get bad news, but hang tight until then. I know the wait is difficult.

I know, I am a world class worrier. Thanks for the hugs, really needed that!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I know, I am a world class worrier. Thanks for the hugs, really needed that!

I am too, believe me!

 

[sara_s]

Hi all - updating to say we received Ciara's diagnosis on Friday. Unfortunately it came back as osteosarcoma. We are waiting to hear back from the oncologist (referred by our vet) for an appointment. She will be reviewing all the tests and reports to help us determine realistic treatments and timelines.

We are very saddened by this news, and we want to know what the options are, but I'm still very much unsure of what path to take. It's agonizing. I wasn't shocked by the news, but still hated hearing the words.

She's doing very well, acting like her old self. The hardest part of this whole thing is she feels better and has been giving us major side eye that we won't let her jump on the couch or go outside to sniff. Other than that, she is on her pain meds and trying to pull us on walks!

 

[smokeyblue]

Hi all - updating to say we received Ciara's diagnosis on Friday. Unfortunately it came back as osteosarcoma. We are waiting to hear back from the oncologist (referred by our vet) for an appointment. She will be reviewing all the tests and reports to help us determine realistic treatments and timelines.

We are very saddened by this news, and we want to know what the options are, but I'm still very much unsure of what path to take. It's agonizing. I wasn't shocked by the news, but still hated hearing the words.

She's doing very well, acting like her old self. The hardest part of this whole thing is she feels better and has been giving us major side eye that we won't let her jump on the couch or go outside to sniff. Other than that, she is on her pain meds and trying to pull us on walks!

Sorry to hear your bad news. I hope the vet offers you some good options.

 

[monsterkitty]

Hi all - updating to say we received Ciara's diagnosis on Friday. Unfortunately it came back as osteosarcoma. We are waiting to hear back from the oncologist (referred by our vet) for an appointment. She will be reviewing all the tests and reports to help us determine realistic treatments and timelines.

We are very saddened by this news, and we want to know what the options are, but I'm still very much unsure of what path to take. It's agonizing. I wasn't shocked by the news, but still hated hearing the words.

She's doing very well, acting like her old self. The hardest part of this whole thing is she feels better and has been giving us major side eye that we won't let her jump on the couch or go outside to sniff. Other than that, she is on her pain meds and trying to pull us on walks!

So sorry. Osteosarcoma is horrible. Let me know if you have any questions as our dog was diagnosed almost a year ago. We did the amputation as that gets rid of the pain but not the cancer. We also did the chemo and continue to do a daily low-dose chemo. He has had no ill side affects of any of the treatments.

 

[low-key]

hey

 

[sara_s]

So sorry. Osteosarcoma is horrible. Let me know if you have any questions as our dog was diagnosed almost a year ago. We did the amputation as that gets rid of the pain but not the cancer. We also did the chemo and continue to do a daily low-dose chemo. He has had no ill side affects of any of the treatments.

Thanks @monsterkitty, I may take you up on that. We're meeting with the oncologist on Weds. Not sure what to expect from this appt but hopefully she can give us a realistic timeline and treatment options.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I'm sorry to hear this news. As I said upthread, one of my dogs had it, too. I'm glad you had time to ease into it, but it's never easy, regardless. Keep us updated. It's interesting to me to hear how it's handled today.

 

[mom2rtk]

I'm so sorry about your dog's diagnosis.

 

[design_mom]

I'm really sorry, my first dog got osteosarcoma in her rear leg. I undersatnd how upset and worried you are. We did the amputation and she recovered very well from the surgery. We had 6 really good months with her, but then it came back in her spine (not operable, obviously). Wishing you good news from your doctor and a lot of good times with your beloved pet.

 

[sara_s]

Thanks everyone, really appreciate it. We had to switch our appointment with the oncologist to the 20th since she doesn't her stitches out until the 13th, then the doctor's availability thinned out. I don't think it will make much of a difference to wait, but it is what it is. I think the doctor will have everything she needs to be straightforward with us, and we can make an informed decision. Will update again once we get some more insight.

 

[IMissEd]

I'm so sorry to hear about your dog and hope she gets to feeling better. My Australian Shepherd was 7 years old when she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. Apparently, shepherds tend to get osteosarcoma. Our story is very similar to this one:

I'm really sorry, my first dog got osteosarcoma in her rear leg. I undersatnd how upset and worried you are. We did the amputation and she recovered very well from the surgery. We had 6 really good months with her, but then it came back in her spine (not operable, obviously). Wishing you good news from your doctor and a lot of good times with your beloved pet.

I very rarely give advice about pets because every pet is so different. Anyway, we did the amputation, but she never truly felt herself after the surgery. Her cancer came back in one of the front legs after almost exactly six months. We did not do chemotherapy at any point because the doctors felt as that would not give her much longer anyway. The reason I am sharing is that I wish we would have forgone the surgery and kept her comfortable as long as possible (not criticizing design_mom at all because they obviously did what was right for them as their doggie did better than ours).

We were all so upset at the time that I think we made our decision too quickly. I hope everything turns out ok for your fur baby. It is so, so hard when they are sick.

 

[sara_s]

I'm so sorry to hear about your dog and hope she gets to feeling better. My Australian Shepherd was 7 years old when she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. Apparently, shepherds tend to get osteosarcoma. Our story is very similar to this one:



I very rarely give advice about pets because every pet is so different. Anyway, we did the amputation, but she never truly felt herself after the surgery. Her cancer came back in one of the front legs after almost exactly six months. We did not do chemotherapy at any point because the doctors felt as that would not give her much longer anyway. The reason I am sharing is that I wish we would have forgone the surgery and kept her comfortable as long as possible (not criticizing design_mom at all because they obviously did what was right for them as their doggie did better than ours).

We were all so upset at the time that I think we made our decision too quickly. I hope everything turns out ok for your fur baby. It is so, so hard when they are sick.

Thanks so much. You hit it dead on - it is absolute torture to have to decide. I definitely think that the course of care is dependent on the dog's personality. I tend to lean toward not amputating or doing chemo because of my dog's personality. But then again, that may not even be given to us as an option. Sorry to hear about your pups.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I'm so sorry to hear about your dog and hope she gets to feeling better. My Australian Shepherd was 7 years old when she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. Apparently, shepherds tend to get osteosarcoma. Our story is very similar to this one:



I very rarely give advice about pets because every pet is so different. Anyway, we did the amputation, but she never truly felt herself after the surgery. Her cancer came back in one of the front legs after almost exactly six months. We did not do chemotherapy at any point because the doctors felt as that would not give her much longer anyway. The reason I am sharing is that I wish we would have forgone the surgery and kept her comfortable as long as possible (not criticizing design_mom at all because they obviously did what was right for them as their doggie did better than ours).

We were all so upset at the time that I think we made our decision too quickly. I hope everything turns out ok for your fur baby. It is so, so hard when they are sick.

It is so easy to second guess ourselves.

I think it's good to gather all the information, look at everything involved (including what you think is best for both the dog and yourself), then make the best decision you can and try not to look back. (Inevitably, though, we do!)

With mine we did not do the amputation (but this was quite a while ago and it wasn't something they highly recommended), we just used pain medication and spoiled him rotten, had formal pictures taken with him on the beach, spent lots of time with him doing fun things, etc. We were pretty devastated at the end, though.

 

[sara_s]

Hi all, just an update on our appointment yesterday. The oncologist and surgeon think Ciara is a good candidate for amputation and chemotherapy. If we do nothing, her prognosis is 3-4 months. With the surgery and treatment, it could be 18 months. The surgery would keep her sidelined for 10-14 days, and then chemo would occur over 6 months. We are absorbing a lot of information and know we need to make a decision in the next few days.

I feel like no matter what we choose, I will second guess myself. We are in a fortunate position to afford it, and the idea of helping alleviate her pain is of course what we want to do. I just don't know how much of an adjustment it will be, or how she would handle it. It's a lot to process.

Anyone who has done this, what can we expect if we move forward? Is it a difficult recovery, around the clock care? Or will it be similar to the biopsy - she'll be down and out for the first couple of days but then back to old routine? The most difficult part for us with the biopsy was that she felt better before she was supposed to resume regular activity, so keeping her from going on her walks or jumping on the couch became the name of the game.

I appreciate everyone's input so far. Now that we're being faced with this decision, I feel like I need to look at the reality of what we should expect.

Thanks all - hope everyone enjoys their holiday.

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

So sorry that this is the diagnosis you've received. I was in your shoes last May. My 10.5-year-old golden retriever Katy was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in her shoulder blade. We took her to Kansas State Vet School because they are running a clinical trial for a vaccine for osteosarcoma. Katy had a CT scan done on her lungs and the cancer had not spread at all (usually lungs is where it goes). Due to some other issues she did not qualify for the study but we did opt to do the leg and shoulder blade amputation there at K State and then she followed up with chemo with our vet here in Omaha. Katy has had ACL/cruciate tears and surgeries in both her back knees and there is some arthritis there, but the ortho vet felt she was a candidate for the amp. The key thing for me is the amp would remove the pain. Osteosarcoma is extremely painful and the way it was described to me is she would die more from pain than cancer as one day the bone would just break and she'd be in excruciating pain. I just couldn't put her through that!

She had her surgery on a Wednesday, June 20. We took her to K State on the 19th and returned to Omaha. We picked her up on Saturday morning. She was in pain but was up and walking. She was on pain meds for a week or 2 and pretty much just slept. We were a little worried in the first 2 weeks that we'd made a mistake, but in the 2-3rd week, it was like a switch was flipped and she started acting like her normal self. She had her first chemo 3 weeks after surgery and other than a loss of appetite the next morning (vet gave anti-nausea pills) and being a little more tired she was fine. One month post amp she went to the lake with us for a week and swam and fished like she always did!

We did 5 rounds of chemo (carboplatin) every 3 weeks. Side effects were as described above. Katy tolerated it very well. She had her last chemo at the beginning of October. She's doing really, really well. She is more limited in taking the long walks she once loved but other than that her quality of life is pretty much the same. She has the same sunny disposition she's always had and she wrestles and plays with my other golden as she always did. They are like 2 bears wrestling.

I do watch her in going down stairs because it is more difficult for her to control her speed and is more prone to trip. She can go up the stairs with no problem. Carpeted steps give her more traction than the composite deck steps (which we avoid now) do.

I don't regret my decision at all. You need to go with what your gut is telling you is best. For me, I knew this was what we needed to try and I am glad we did. We go back in January for lung scans to check for any possible spread.

Please ask me any questions. I know that this is such a hard decision and you are scared you'll make the wrong one. I admit the first time I saw her post-amp I was floored and felt so guilty, but it was temporary and she really is living her life as she always has.

There is a private Facebook group called, "Osteosarcoma in dogs". If you search you should find it. Ask to join. It is reassuring to be able to talk to people who are going through it or have been through it so that you know you're not alone. There are people who have done the amp and people who have not so you'll find support no matter your decision. The website tripawds (dot ) com is also a great place to go for some information and read some success stories to help alleviate the burden. Good luck with whatever you decide and again I am sorry you and your pup have to go through this. Cancer really sucks. Hugs to you all!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Here is an article, I found similar ones, too:

http://www.pethealthnetwork.com/dog...h-decision-can-buy-your-pet-time-quality-life

As I mentioned, my dog with the diagnosis didn't have the amputation as he was older and arthritic, and we didn't feel he'd do well on three legs, plus back then it really wasn't as mainstream as it is now. We kept him comfortable with injectable medications and spoiled him rotten, had professional pictures done with him on the beach, took him lots of places with us, etc. It was really hard to let him go when the time came, but that's us, always. (And the bone in his leg never broke, but the tumor enlarged.)

I'm glad the financial part is something you can absorb. I imagine there will be a lot of appointments, too, if that works with your schedule. But dogs seem to do well with this treatment plan, from what I understand. There will be some activity restrictions, I'd imagine, for a while, but nothing too lengthy. I'm not sure how dogs do with chemotherapy. I believe I've read they do ok with that, too. But it's hard to know because they can be stoic and they can't tell us, really. I've had chemo myself and it was tough - despite lots of meds, I had a constant feeling of agita, I was very fatigued no matter how much I rested, and I couldn't sleep at night after steroids. But everyone is different, and at some point, it's over. (Chemo is designed to kill any cancer cells that start spreading elsewhere in the body from a tumor.)

I see that the poster above me has chimed in with her experiences. It sounds like it goes pretty well for most. Be confident with whatever decision you make. You're making it from your heart on behalf of your pet, and looking at the big picture, so it can never really be wrong.

 

[monsterkitty]

As I said early in the thread, one year ago this week our Golden was diagnosed with osteosarcoma on his left front wrist/ankle. He got the official diagnosis a few weeks later on his 7th birthday, after the biopsy.

Like, ShelsGoingToDisney, we did the amputation and the chemo. I think we did 6 rounds of the carboplatin. We went and visited him the night of his surgery and he was already walking around. He was still pretty out of it because of the drugs. He walked out of the vet hospital the next day. We actually moved the guest bed downstairs so he could still sleep next to us as he was not allowed to do stairs for a few weeks.

For the few weeks after his surgery, we took him to my mom's house. The first 10 minutes we were there, he jumped over the baby gait - this was about 4 days after his amputation! After about the first week, we really had a hard time from trying to play with his brother. Once he got the all clear, he was allowed to be Dug and chase his tennis balls.

The chemo really didn't affect him at all. He was a bit tired the day after but was fine. He ate, drank, and chased the cats as normal. Once again, though, we did take him to Grandma's the day after each chemo so she could keep an eye on him. He is still on a daily chemo pill and that has not given him any problems either.

It is now one year since his diagnosis and he is still in the clear. He continues to volunteer as a comfort dog at a hospital and the airport. He was asked to be a greeter for injured people flying into Denver who will be getting treatments at Craig Hospital. He starts that in two weeks.

Would we do this again? Absolutely!! It is expensive, but worth it to us and his brothers and sister (another Golden and two cats haha - they are all so dependent on each other its kinda scary).

One huge piece of advice is for post amputation. Purchase this shirt on Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/POPforPETS-O...sr=8-2&keywords=post+surgical+shirts+for+dogs It was so easy to use and clean. We also did human shirts, but the didn't stay in place as well.

I have a few video I could share with you, but I'm not sure how. They show Dug two days post op and then the day he got the all-clear to be Dug again.

 

[sara_s]

Katy has had ACL/cruciate tears and surgeries in both her back knees and there is some arthritis there, but the ortho vet felt she was a candidate for the amp. The key thing for me is the amp would remove the pain. Osteosarcoma is extremely painful and the way it was described to me is she would die more from pain than cancer as one day the bone would just break and she'd be in excruciating pain. I just couldn't put her through that!

This 100%. Ciara's original injury in this leg was ACL-related, so the surgeon wanted to make sure her other limbs were strong. Both he and the oncologist remarked that she is a very strong dog - strong upper body and the back left leg is very muscular, which they think is a good thing. If removing the back right leg takes off weight and pain, that is important to us. We hosted Thanksgiving yesterday and like always, she goes nuts when people come in the house so she was definitely in pain last night. It almost validates the decision for me. Now of course we have to be careful to make sure her other leg doesn't get injured, but she isn't an incredibly over-active dog. No dog park and she won't go up our stairs anyway (scaredy cat), but that's good since it will limit the risk. She likes her walks, so I'm thinking a few 5-10 min walks a day will make her happy.

She had her surgery on a Wednesday, June 20. We took her to K State on the 19th and returned to Omaha. We picked her up on Saturday morning. She was in pain but was up and walking. She was on pain meds for a week or 2 and pretty much just slept. We were a little worried in the first 2 weeks that we'd made a mistake, but in the 2-3rd week, it was like a switch was flipped and she started acting like her normal self. She had her first chemo 3 weeks after surgery and other than a loss of appetite the next morning (vet gave anti-nausea pills) and being a little more tired she was fine. One month post amp she went to the lake with us for a week and swam and fished like she always did!

This is good to hear - this surgeon team keeps the dogs for 2 nights and apparently keeps a port in the leg with local anesthetic every 6 hours so they don't feel anything at all. They gave us a TON of literature and they did mention they would give us anti nausea and diarrhea meds just in case.

We did 5 rounds of chemo (carboplatin) every 3 weeks. Side effects were as described above. Katy tolerated it very well. She had her last chemo at the beginning of October. She's doing really, really well. She is more limited in taking the long walks she once loved but other than that her quality of life is pretty much the same. She has the same sunny disposition she's always had and she wrestles and plays with my other golden as she always did. They are like 2 bears wrestling.

I am so glad to hear this about Katy! My understanding is they are sleepy, but the oncologist pointed out that it could easily be exhaustion from all the activity that makes them tired as well.

I don't regret my decision at all. You need to go with what your gut is telling you is best. For me, I knew this was what we needed to try and I am glad we did. We go back in January for lung scans to check for any possible spread.

Please ask me any questions. I know that this is such a hard decision and you are scared you'll make the wrong one. I admit the first time I saw her post-amp I was floored and felt so guilty, but it was temporary and she really is living her life as she always has.

There is a private Facebook group called, "Osteosarcoma in dogs". If you search you should find it. Ask to join. It is reassuring to be able to talk to people who are going through it or have been through it so that you know you're not alone. There are people who have done the amp and people who have not so you'll find support no matter your decision. The website tripawds (dot ) com is also a great place to go for some information and read some success stories to help alleviate the burden. Good luck with whatever you decide and again I am sorry you and your pup have to go through this. Cancer really sucks. Hugs to you all!

Thank you so much @ShelsGoingToDisney - this feedback is really making me feel hopeful that we will make the right decision. I am keeping my fingers crossed that Katy's scans all go well. Please let us know.

We're trying to think of it as - we are doing whatever we have control over to make her comfortable and pain-free. I will check out the Facebook group and Tripawds website. Hugs to you as well.

As I mentioned, my dog with the diagnosis didn't have the amputation as he was older and arthritic, and we didn't feel he'd do well on three legs, plus back then it really wasn't as mainstream as it is now.

That makes sense to me, if Ciara were older we may not have gone down this road. But she's only 7, and the doctors thought that meant she was in the younger end of the spectrum which lends itself to why she's a good candidate.

I'm glad the financial part is something you can absorb. I imagine there will be a lot of appointments, too, if that works with your schedule. But dogs seem to do well with this treatment plan, from what I understand. There will be some activity restrictions, I'd imagine, for a while, but nothing too lengthy. I'm not sure how dogs do with chemotherapy. I believe I've read they do ok with that, too. But it's hard to know because they can be stoic and they can't tell us, really. I've had chemo myself and it was tough - despite lots of meds, I had a constant feeling of agita, I was very fatigued no matter how much I rested, and I couldn't sleep at night after steroids. But everyone is different, and at some point, it's over. (Chemo is designed to kill any cancer cells that start spreading elsewhere in the body from a tumor.)

This is what the doctors indicated - that while chemo has a bad reputation in humans (rightfully so), the way they treat the dogs means that they don't have the same symptoms in most cases. However they give the anti nausea meds as a precaution. And if the dog has an adverse reaction, they make adjustments to the drugs, etc.

Like, ShelsGoingToDisney, we did the amputation and the chemo. I think we did 6 rounds of the carboplatin.

This is what we'll be doing too. The office is about 30 mins away, but going once a month isn't too bad.

For the few weeks after his surgery, we took him to my mom's house. The first 10 minutes we were there, he jumped over the baby gait - this was about 4 days after his amputation! After about the first week, we really had a hard time from trying to play with his brother. Once he got the all clear, he was allowed to be Dug and chase his tennis balls.

This is what I'm afraid of! Ciara loves being on the couch. The hardest part of the biopsy was keeping her off the couch and restricting her walks. She also loves to do zoomies when she comes in from walks. I hope she's able to jump on the couch after the incision heals.

The chemo really didn't affect him at all. He was a bit tired the day after but was fine. He ate, drank, and chased the cats as normal. Once again, though, we did take him to Grandma's the day after each chemo so she could keep an eye on him. He is still on a daily chemo pill and that has not given him any problems either.

I believe we will have this option as well. Luckily I work from home and my husband and I can switch off keeping an eye on her.

It is now one year since his diagnosis and he is still in the clear. He continues to volunteer as a comfort dog at a hospital and the airport. He was asked to be a greeter for injured people flying into Denver who will be getting treatments at Craig Hospital. He starts that in two weeks.

Would we do this again? Absolutely!! It is expensive, but worth it to us and his brothers and sister (another Golden and two cats haha - they are all so dependent on each other its kinda scary).

This is wonderful news! I'm so glad Dug did so well and he's going back to work! And hearing you all talk about not regretting the decision gives me hope that she will recover well and we can feel like we did everything we could.

One huge piece of advice is for post amputation. Purchase this shirt on Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/POPforPETS-O...sr=8-2&keywords=post+surgical+shirts+for+dogs It was so easy to use and clean. We also did human shirts, but the didn't stay in place as well.

I have a few video I could share with you, but I'm not sure how. They show Dug two days post op and then the day he got the all-clear to be Dug again.

I will definitely check out the post-op shirt. If you find a way to share video, I'd love to see it.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to share your experiences. I do tend to go back and forth and get really emotional about it, but I know it's for the best and that she is more than likely going to do well with this treatment plan. I think a big part of it is that it goes very fast and having to make the decision is overwhelming, but once we make this decision, we have to move forward and see it through until the end. I will share our experience and ask questions here in the coming weeks. Will keep you updated. Big hugs to you all!