gracegirl
-
Posts
2,248 -
Joined
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Gallery
Store
Articles
Posts posted by gracegirl
-
-
She’s eating today! Hurray. Still a big, dramatic event with lots of screaming to get her to stand up, despite the fact that she can actually do that on her own. She has been drinking plenty when it’s offered too. Seems like we are figuring this out, even if it’s not easy.
-
She slept like the dead last night from midnight to 5am. Tried to get up and screamed, so I helped her up and outside. Once she was up she was moving well on her on. She didn’t pee though. Morning meds and a few bites of turkey and cheese are in her belly. Will keep offering other food too.
I’ve been massaging her edema but this morning it’s seeping blood through the skin. Doc says that’s normal. Going to ice it as well.
“Only two weeks. Only two weeks.” -
It’s normal to feel terrible for putting her through an amp, right? She’s still so swollen, cried when I tried to get her up, still bleeding at the amp site, and doesn’t want anything but meat and cheese to eat. I feel awful for how bad she feels right now.
-
Yes! We are home now. I’ll post more later. (I don’t know why they’re always rotated on my iPhone)
-
Also for anyone going through an amp soon, call around to you local pharmacies in advance. It’s still hard to find. For a 5 day supply Walgreens wanted to charge me nearly $300 (the vet was over $1000) but I was able to use a GoodRx coupon to bring the price down to $87.
-
Got a call from the surgeon this morning. He came in on his day off to check on her. Still swelling, bruising and bleeding so we are going to re-wrap and spring her out of the slammer this afternoon.
-
I just got home from seeing sweet T. Her other back leg is quite swollen which is why they are keeping her longer. She also has significant bruising and a fluid pocket along her belly towards her chest. I picked up some arnica gel to have on hand. She’s still getting Amicar and I picked some up at Walgreens today too for when she comes home.
I was able to het her to eat an Arby’s roast beef slider, 1/4 pound of turkey, a half a can of cat food, and a few slices of cheese. She tried to bust out of the kennel when I get then, but then I climbed inside with her and she was dozing off when I left.
I was able to give her a break from the cone for a bit. She was able to get up and down on her own as well. All in all, as long as the swelling goes down or stays the same, I feel comfortable bringing her home tomorrow. -
She’s bleeding a bit more than they’d like. The tech got snippy with me when I asked her to pull the records and see when Amicar was given. I got initial push back on Amicar prior to surgery so I wanted to make sure it wasn’t overlooked during her amp (it wasn’t) so hopefully when I go see her in a bit she’s doing better. They’d like to discharge her today but depending how how she is when I get there, I might push for another night.
Small world. Her surgeon worked with Dr Couto over 20 years ago. He was surprised to see Dr C’s name on the paperwork.
-
3 hours ago, MP_the4pack said:
Even if she's not with you long, once she recovers from this surgery there's no more pain and no chance of a sudden break.
This is such a huge relief.
-
2 hours ago, greysmom said:
Great update!! They'll have her up and walking pretty soon, and she'll be home with you to recover!!
Go Tessie!!!!
{{{HUGS}}} for you!!
She was walking two hours after surgery! Go Tessie go!
-
Tessie is out of surgery and in recovery. Surgery lasted a little over an hour from 2-3pm ish. Lots of huge muscles to try to stitch together back there. I’ll get another call in a few hours once she’s recovered a bit.
We did another set of chest X-rays today and those were clear. It was shocking to see how much bigger the bone tumor had gotten in just 2.5 weeks since diagnosis. I sure hope the chemo, Torigen and Vidium combo works for her.
-
On 7/1/2022 at 9:59 AM, greysmom said:
Just remember to be kind to yourself too. Everything you're feeling is perfectly normal - it *is* a very serious surgery, with serious risks, and a tricky recovery - but you have a plan, you have some really good science behind it, and you have all of us to support you!!
The first two weeks are the hardest for both of you. Let her stay in the hospital for the first few days if she does OK there and you can afford it. That way the trained people can get her up and used to being a tripod, and when she comes home to you she can start the important healing work. Stock your pantry so you're able to stay home with her, and clear off a space on your counter for her meds and your med spread sheet!
Like Jan said - you got this!!
Thank you. I continue to be an anxious mess and I just want my sweet girl to be better.
My four year old niece is Tessie’s bestie. We told her yesterday that the next time she saw Tessie, Tessie would have three legs. That she is sick in one leg so we are going to make it better by taking that leg away. She asked which leg and I tapped on her left knee. She “oh, so now she’ll run like this” and put her hands on the floor, left leg in the air, and galloped around the room. Kids are so pure. 💞
-
4 hours ago, FiveRoooooers said:
You have an excellent, well thought out plan for Tessie with an incredible team going to bat for her. What an opportunity to have the Torigen vaccine available to try and I hope you have the possible results from participating
I personally know the second author of their published study and am friends with her family. It's great to hear that your girl is comfortable while you're getting ready to get started. You've got this Lauren, you do. 
Oh wow. Small world. I was over sharing about Tessie on a work zoom and one of my colleagues said “hey…I’m friends with the founder and CEO of Torigen!” He was kind enough to put me in touch with her.
-
The surgeon’s office has Amicar, and they’ll be able to send me home with it too. I’ve also decided that I’m going to have a vaccine made through Torigen. The cost from my expensive vet is $2800.
https://www.torigen.comWe might also pursue FidoCure for an additional $2200. Healthy Paws should cover the cost of FidoCure, but not Torigen. A colleague of mine knows the CEC/Founder of FidoCure so he’s put us in touch, which is so nice of both of them.
Now I just have to get through an entire long weekend of anxiety. I’m anxious about whether this is the right decision, about the surgery itself, and about her recovery. I just want my girl to be happy again. She’s been so docile since we started the carprofen/Gabapentin meds with her.
-
Thank you for the details, Ducky. I’ll call the surgeon’s office again tomorrow to confirm they have Amicar on hand. Her surgery is scheduled for a week from tomorrow.
-
45 minutes ago, greysmom said:
When Dude was going back to the oncology department weekly for check ups and bloodwork and chemo, the techs wouldn't put him in one of the holding kennels. They just set up a bed in the middle of their offices and treated him there. Even techs from other departments would come in and hang out with him for his chemo, giving him treats and attention the whole four hours he was there. He LOVED going in for treatments!!!
And when it was his time to pass, just about every tech on duty came in to say goodbye and give him a kiss, and to tell us what a sweet and loving boy he was. Even the doctor cried as she was giving him the IV. The card we got with his ashes was 4 pages long. I'm bawling just remembering it!
I'm saying this because it's important to take Tessie's personality into account. We made the right decision with Dude - he was so outgoing and loved being around people who were paying attention to him. And he was never nervous or afraid or anxious when we had to go in. A dog with a quieter personality, or who was particularly nervous at the vet I would seriously consider what I was asking them to handle.
And definitely get it in writing from Healthy Paws if they'll cover this. I would expect they consider it "experimental" and will not cover much, if anything. It took me several years to pay off Dude's bill of @$20K, so that's unfortunately something to think about as well.
Awe Dude. That’s wonderful he was so loved. My first hound would have hated going in for treatment, she was terrified at the vet. Not sweet T though. She does whine a bit because I think she’s trying to ask what the heck is going to happen next, but she doesn’t act fearful at all. Goes off with whoever takes the leash. Leans right up against everyone for pets. (This is reminding me of the time I was at the e-vet with Grace and they had to drag her in the back…next think I know she comes running back through the swinging doors after having chewed her nylon leash in half to escape 🤣🤣🤣 -RIP)
-
Just got home from our oncology appointment. Oncologist basically just confirmed an “aggressive, painful bone lesions that is osteosarcoma” in her back left femur. Amputation is the best “curative” course of action. Curative is in quotes because it’s typically buying time until the cancer metastasizes in the lungs, as you all know. We also did an ultrasound of her abdomen today just to make sure there were no tumors and we are in the clear.
The only new information I got today was in regards to an experimental immunotherapy that sends her tumor off to a company in Kansas, they use the cancerous cells in the tumor to make a vaccine followed by t-cell therapy. This would be in place of chemo. The first thing I need to do is see if Healthy Paws will cover it (it’s approx $8k in addition to the cost of the amp) and then get more information from a vet in Boulder who has been doing this with her patients.
https://eliasanimalhealth.com/treatment/
I asked about any trials at Comorado StTe University and she said there was nothing currently for osteosarcoma, the only reason to be treated there would be for a PET-scan of the lungs ($4k) or for limb sparing treatment (3D printing bone where the tumor is removed), but she’s not a candidate for limb sparing treatment because of the location of the tumor.
I’ll be calling two clinics on Monday to see how quickly I can get surgery scheduled. Typically you need a surgical consultation followed by the surgery appointment. No one is open until Monday. So more waiting and poor quality sleep. Boo. Though this does make her med schedule easy since I’m pretty much awake all the time
The oncologist and the tech both loved Tessie, they commented separately how outgoing she was. While she was awaiting the ultrasound, Tessie laid on the floor with the tech and the tech shared her burrito with her. 💞
-
On 4/16/2022 at 9:00 AM, ramonaghan said:
If you think you would say goodbye right away if a post-amp biopsy confirms cancer, I agree that it makes more sense to do the CT scan now to see if it gives you answers. Then you could either proceed with the surgery or let her go. How soon could they do the scan? How about the FNA? (For what it's worth, Dr. Couto also recommended it for us, but Sweep's didn't turn up anything.)
I wanted to ask you a question about the FNA. You did the FNA before amputation, then sent the bone out for biopsy after any which revealed cancer, is that correct? And this was after seeing OS on the x-ray? I’m trying to get a feel for what the FNA might reveal and if it’s even worth doing, vs going straight to amputation surgery.
-
She got pizza bones the other night. 😋
-
Has anyone changed their dogs diet upon an OS diagnosis? I read one of the links from page 1 that suggested sugar and carbs feed cancer, so a low carb diet might be good. Would be willing to do pre-made raw or kibble for her. Or even those expensive diets that mimic home cooked.
-
22 hours ago, ramonaghan said:
I also wanted to add that I would be happy to mail you the harness Lucy (@LBass) sent us when Sweep had her amp. It was so helpful in those early days and is way more comfortable for the dog to wear 24/7 than the other harnesses out there. I also have a fleece-lined sling with handles I can send you.
This would be amazing, thank you. Once she has her appointment with the oncologist and we have the amp scheduled, I’ll let you know. I’ll pay you for shipping, of course. And I’ll send it along to the next GTer when the time comes as well.
-
Thank you both. I’m making a notes file on my phone with all of this info to go over when I meet with the oncologist.
It’s her back left with the OS. She has slight arthritis in her front left from all the turns on the track (she raced just over 100 times). It only really bothers her if she runs/plays hard in the yard, which she rarely does, or if we walk her for more than 1.5 miles, which we obviously don’t do any more. She’s happy with her .5 to 1.25 routes. Sometimes I’ll drop her off at home and then go on another loop with the other two. She also stays home when we take the other two hiking.
She does okay at the vet. Not amazing but not terrible. My biggest concern would be if she can’t/won’t lay down to rest. She might be so loopy that she doesn’t care though. I think she’d do okay staying at the vet longer. She might just be really whiney. Her high pitched whine is ear piercing. Lol
-
3 hours ago, tbhounds said:
Sorry jumping in here late and I haven’t read the thread but noticed you are located in Colorado. There is not another clinic in this country that I would recommend over this one for top notch, cutting edge osteo treatment. Have you considered…….
I thought about taking her to CSU but it’s easily an hour and a half from home and I’ll be juggling her cancer treatments alongside my full time job. Luckily I work from home, but driving to and from appointments in Fort Collins just isn’t feasible. Many of the vets in the Denver area are CSU grads (the one who diagnosed her is).
-
My head is reeling and I need some advice please. Here is what I know so far.
Tessie started limping last Monday.
Got her to the vet on Thursday and had them do x-rays.
OS seen on the x-ray. Started Carprofen and Gabapentin that night. Can addI emailed Dr C with the rads and initial diagnosis and this was his response:
the lesion in the left distal (lower) femur (thigh bone) is highly suggestive of a primary bone cancer (more likely, osteosarcoma - OSA). However, this lesion could also be a chondrosarcoma (CSA), a fibrosarcoma (FSA), a histiocytic sarcoma (HS), or a less common primary or metastatic bone tumor. Although similar changes can occur in dogs with fungal bone infections (osteomyelitis), they are extremely uncommon. A fine needle aspirate (FNA) of the area for cytology usually yields a definitive answer. Her thoracic radiographs do not show any evidence of metastases (tumor dissemination)
He also encouraged bloodwork so I have an appointment to get that next week.
I made an appointment with an oncologist for June 25th. They’re part of a larger group who has surgical experts, so assuming amputation is recommended, her oncologist wilL coordinate with the surgeon. We’d still need a surgical consult before any amputation though, and depending on schedules and severity they sometimes take dogs into surgery same day.
So I now for the questions. Will they use the same rads taken at her vet when I go to the oncologist? I sent those to Dr C and he’s requesting a different format. I’ve asked for that from my vet. I’ve got a tech appointment scheduled for bloodwork so we will know if her white cell count is elevated soon. I saw Dr C’s recommendation for an FNA but I seem to recall that it’s painful and unnecessary. I imaging they’ll biopsy after amp and determine radiation or chemo protocol from there, right?
Should I send the treatment protocol from the oncologist to Dr C for his confirmation once I have it?
Is there anything else I should know about? What’s the medication that helps with bruising, is that Amacar? Does she need a clotting test before surgery? Anything else that stands out as different for greyhounds? The vet pointed out the enlarged heart and Dr C basically said “yep that’s because she’s a GH”.
I personally know the second author of their published study and am friends with her family. It's great to hear that your girl is comfortable while you're getting ready to get started. You've got this Lauren, you do. 
And when it was his time to pass, just about every tech on duty came in to say goodbye and give him a kiss, and to tell us what a sweet and loving boy he was. Even the doctor cried as she was giving him the IV. The card we got with his ashes was 4 pages long. I'm bawling just remembering it!
Osteo Thread Part 9
in Health and Medical discussion
Posted
I’ve never been so excited for a big, stinky poo before. Lol. She’s doing well getting around when I make her get up, but is still very dramatic about getting up. Eating, drinking, and eliminating are all happening regularly. Back to the vet tomorrow to check on the edema. I think we are past the worst of it.