MP_the4pack

Three of my four babies had cancer. One OS, One Fibrosarcome of the spleen and liver One hemangio of the spleen and liver. I believe Dr. Couto said that OS will hit about 25% of our NGA greys.

It seems every time I open up the H&W forum, there's another diagnosis of OS.

I'm so sorry to hear the news. It's devastating. No matter how old our babies are, what the course of treatment, it's always the worst news imaginable. My heart goes out to you. While I only had 6 months with Diamond post amp, her lungs were always clear. OS hit another leg. But, I can't complain, she was 12 and also started kidney failure. If the OS didn't get her the kidney disease would have.

I'm so sorry to hear the diagnosis. Working all day away from home was one of the biggest reasons I went the amp route. Dima was 12. She did excellent on 3 legs and had a very good 6 months before OS was found in another leg. That's when I let her go. But there was no coming home from work with a surprise broken leg. She did the dog door and since she had always had trouble doing stairs, even with 4 legs, I made a ramp for her. She tooled up and down that ramp as if she'd done it all her life. (I did practice with her a few weeks before she lost her leg though) That's how I dealt with it. If you choose pain management, I don't have any advice except the best of luck. It's a tough call no matter what.

I'll keep all the paws crossed here, with some white light and prayers. I've had the big C three out of my four Bridge babies. One OS, one hemangio, one fibro. My OS girl was 12 and she did very well for 6 months. The OS came back in another leg, her lungs were still clear. I sent her to the bridge then. But they were a terrific 6 months. She had no problem being a tripod. Recovered from the surgery quickly. And those 6 months were pain free and fun. She still tried to chase deer. I wish you the best of luck no matter what.

My 12 yr olds (who both just passed this year) were extremely active and young. Dr. Couto said they had bodies like 7 yr olds. (cancer took them both just 2 months apart from each other). Any ways....before the cancer, before I knew what was ahead of me, last summer I came across someone with a greyhound. A little old man (dog) who teetered with every step. His little old lady human looked just as frail. I was expecting the owner to say he was 15. I bit my tongue when she said he had just turned 12. My sisters were going to be 12 in another month. This little old man had 3 paws in the grave. She told me he's just old, he didn't have any life threatening diseases. Of course I didn't tell her about my almost 12 yr olds running around the yard at full sprint after critters, playing with stuffies, and a 14 yr old (who was also way healthier) So, to sum up a long story......just like people, you can have an old 60 yr old and a young 80 yr old. Just depends on the makeup. My 14 yr old will turn 15 in 2 months. She's still in better shape than the 12 yr old from last year. By the way, Happy Birthday girls.

I'm so sorry Greg. I lost two this year alone (within 2 months of each other) to different cancers. I can say I know what you're going thru.

Oh Adrianne, boy do I understand.

Aw crap. Praying for good news. But I never like it when vets are pessimistic. They never want to warn people it could be bad if there's a good chance it's good.

Any raisins? I think it's more important to watch for blockage than diarhea.

But don't let the prices scare you. It's not a greyhound thing.......it's a greyhound owner thing!

Oh poor baby. I hate when mine are in the hospital. Lots of white light, prayers and crossed paws coming your way.

Well........if it doesn't improve in a week, (with rest and quiet) I think xrays are in order. (if you're anything like me......I don't wait. I'm neurotic like that) You can also try a chiropractor.

There's a big gap here. I have old/young and I live in NJ (very expensive) Diamond had OS and we opted for amp surgery. So for her last 6 months of life I spent $5000. Pearl had a lot of problems. Heart disease, hypertension but she died of cancer. I also did the surgery route with her but she was covered under insurance. So, I saved from insurance but I paid $749 for insurance. She cost me about $5000 a year (in meds, and un covered vet bills) Onyx is almost 15. She hardly cost me anything, but I'm a little gun shy right now having just lost two. So she's gone in frequently to have her kidney issues checked. I probably spent close to $1200 (including insurance) Opal Had a few xrays due to limps that luckily turned out to be nothing. So...she's probably running around $800. Jade's cost me about $1200 since I got her in March. Hopefully her insurance will pay for the surgery and I can drop it to about $500.(she went to see a specialist for her thunderphobia and had surgery to remove a hemangioma.) Vet costs is one reason I'm not jumping back to four dogs. I need a break from vet visits (Jade, please read this!)

I'm so sorry he just had a month with you. I lost two this year as well. It sucks.

Dana, I'm sorry you had to join the OS club. It's not one I would want anyone to join. I wish I could give you more advise other than support. But I chose to amputate. (it was the front leg of a 12 yr old girl and she had a wonderful 6 months before OS reared it's ugly head in another leg. Her lungs were clear the whole time)

Oh goodness!

Happy Gotcha day Hobbes. You have a lot of company to help celebrate with you.

Pearl 10/24/97-02/05/10 Diamond 10/24/97-04/19/10

I wish I would have known about it with Pearl. If we caught the fibro sooner, it wouldn't have gone to her liver. And I'd still have her. (probably)

Interesting. But I sure hope they didn't purposefully perform unnecessary amputation!!

I'm so sorry about Perry. He sounds like such a terrific boy. OS has robbed so many of us of our precious babies.

I'm not a doctor, but none of these symptoms sound like hemangio. There are three types that I'm aware of, skin, which obviously you see on the skin, cardio which would cause shortness of breath and tiredness, and splenic which you usually don't find out until it's too late. My Brindle had splenic. There are many others on this board that have had the other two as well. While it could still be cancer, it just doesn't sound like hemangio. An ultrasound will be able to rule out a lot.

I'm in NJ. You have a some choices a few hours east of you..... I have used Veterinary Specialist and Emergency Center for cardiology, oncology, radiology and surgery. They are in Langhorne, Pa. I've used C.A.R.E.S for emergency ultrasound. They are also in Langhorne. I've gone to U of Penn for behavioral and emergency care In Philly. (the only negative is that you have to deal with students. And if a student messes up a simple test like xraying the wrong side, you may not get to see the specialist) I made the trip out to OSU (Ohio State University...home of Dr. Couto, world renown greyhound oncologist) when my babies had cancer. Being in Lancaster, you're only 4-5 hrs from OSU. (I'm 9 hrs)They see a TON of greyhounds. If anyone can help, they can. And they know greyhounds. So If you are thinking about making the trip to OSU........go for it. It's definitely worth it and there are people willing to put you up in their homes for free or much less than motels. It's an awesome place. Otherwise, I've listed the hospitals in order of what I think might work best regarding my personal experiences. I wish I knew of something in Central Pa. and could help you more with that. Good Luck!! PS. OSU is also reasonably priced as far as specialty clinics are concerned. And they will tell you up front the costs of what they want/plan to do.