Bone Cancer (osteosarcoma) Amputation

[Bevd]

I'm glad she's home

[Guest SoulsMom]

I've been following this thread and haven't posted because a~I don't know how I would handle such a situation and hope I never have to find out, and b~ don't have any advice to offer . . . . . . but I'm so glad for the update that she is home and doing well. Hang in there

Edited June 21, 2008 by SoulsMom

[Guest Vinnie]

So glad that she is home and it sounds like you are all doing well. The swelling and bright red coloring will be gone before you know it - their system absorbs it back in fairly quickly. And to hear that she was ready to jump up into your SUV brought tears to my eyes and a giant smile to my face. Hugs to you all and extra scritches for your dear sweet baby girl. Good girl Design, you keep getting better. We look forward to continued posts and updates and if you get a chance, photos of your sweet girl.

[ozgirl2]

Glad Design is doing well so far! And please don't hesitate to email the people on here who've given you their addresses!! They're a great bunch of people!!

[Guest vahoundlover]

It's good to hear she's home and doing so well. I hope she continues to do so.

 

Please don't hesitate to take anyone up on emails. The support you will get is heartfelt.

[Guest trevdog]

Glad to hear she is home, I'm sure she will recover more quickly with you........

[Neighsayer]

How is she this morning? Did anyone get any sleep?

[Guest HeatherDemps]

Glad to hear she is home and doing well. Dogs are just so amazing....

[kickchick2000]

 

Glad to hear things are going ok.

[Guest KTsGreytPups]

She will amaze you every day. My Chablis blew me away. Her nick name was Bling Bling and everyone was so impressed with how she would just carry on with life.

 

About 4 weeks after her amputation I caught her digging a hole with her one good leg. I was so happy to see her doing so well I didn't even yell at her. When I told my friend about here digging that hole she said, "That's what we call The Power of the Bling." It sounds like your girl has The Power of the Bling. I wish you well on your adventures. You will not regret it!

[Guest greydogluvr]

How old was Winnie when she had her surgery? Did you do chemo? What is artemisinin? Thanks.

 

Artemisinin is an herb (sweet wormwood) that has been used for decades, primarily as a treatment for malaria but there is lots of ancedotal eveidence of it being effective against cancer and many use it for this purpose. It seeks out iron in cancer cells and destroys them, while leaving the "good cells" unharmed.

 

Here is a link to an Artemisinin board I am a member of, and I'm sure you can find a better description of how it works and post questions and get them answered by some really knowledgeable folks. You'll want to look up info on dosing and cycling the herb (a few days or weeks on and then off) I joined because I use this for my Hershey who has Lymphoma. He was doing chemo but we had to stop for several weeks while his bone marrow recovers so right now he's only on Artemisinin. There are many many dogs with Osteo on this board.

 

Artemisinin Group

 

I'm very glad Design is doing well. God Bless. I lost my first grey to Osteo and I can sympathize.

 

My holistic vet suggested this for my grey when we were treating osteo.

[JedsMom]

I just read this whole thread. I'm glad your girl is home. I hope she continues to do well. Aren't dogs amazing?

[queenwinniesmom]

Thank you, Thank you everyone for all of your good information. I read Winslow's diary daily so that I can somewhat know what to expect. We are picking her up today and my husband said that nothing can prepare me for the way she looks. It broke his heart when he went to see her on Thursday. Well, I am ready as I will ever be. If you all don't mind I will keep you posted because you all have been so kind to share your prayers with us. Thanks so very much. I am bringing my sweet girl home today.

 

I'm so glad you decided to move quickly, and REALLY glad the surgery went well. I have to say---this will be a stressful time. You may have doubts about why you put her through this, it may break your heart to look at her and be truly certain you did the right thing. For the many here who have made the same decision---we know how you feel! Don't second guess yourself. You did what you did because you love her. Like you, my biggest fear for Winnie was that her leg would shatter. At that point, you must make an immediate decision to amputate or put her to sleep, and I couldn't bear that thought. Even though it's such a drastic change, the surgery is really not complex. It's mostly soft tissue trauma, and a large incision. There will be swelling, bruising, some seepage---all that will pass, probably faster than you expect. The first few days are the hardest. She will be ridding her system of the anesthesia, as well as adjusting and reacting to the pain meds. That can cause reactions that may scare you, like panting, restlessness, but that's temporary. Just remember, This too will pass.

I always expected the worst, figuring that if it was better than I expected, that was a bonus. I was lucky. Winnie had few problems adjusting, and I was in awe every day of her calm determination. These Greys are often pretty darn stoic. There are some drama queens among them, but mostly, they do what they need to do. You can help her, of course, mostly by continuing to do what YOU need to do---making her feel safe and loved. I cried a lot, but I tried not to let Winnie see me. I wouldn't be honest if I didn't admit that I often looked at her and ached inside that my beautiful Queen was no longer whole, and that she struggled sometimes to do the things that had previously been effortless. But those were MY emotions, and she would have had no idea why I was so sad. There is no stigma in the animal world against dogs with 3 legs---like Dr. Couto says, they have 3 legs and a spare.

I probably sound like a broken record with this, but if you haven't already, look into starting her on artemisinin. You would have nothing to lose.

I know you can't PM because you don't have enough posts, but you can email me if you want, and I'm sure others here feel the same way. Please don't hesitate if we can help you in any way. You're not alone!

Get some sleep before you bring your precious girl home, and please let us know how she's doing.

Sending out prayers, and good thoughts, and white light for healing.

My email: catsburg@comcast.net

 

How old was Winnie when she had her surgery? Did you do chemo? What is artemisinin? Thanks.

 

First of all, I'm so glad your sweet girl is home! You see, she is not worried about that missing leg, she wants to be with the people she loves. Yes, these first few days (and maybe longer) will be rough. But they will pass. She will continue to adjust---and so will you.

Winnie was 8 1/2 when she had the surgery. After much consideration, we decided not to do chemo. I guess the reasons were mostly personal, and probably not what a vet would recommend, but it was what we felt in our hearts was the best way we could try to make her life as normal as possible. We had lost our Patsy to lymphoma 3 treatments into the chemo. The last months of her life revolved around the chemo---the vet trips, the bloodwork and delays if it was not right, our hopes up and down. It was probably August when she got sick, September when diagnosed, October when her spleen was removed, November when we started chemo, and December when we had to let her go.

But like I've said (probably too much), cancer is a crapshoot. I decided that with Winnie, I'd try a different route. And that was going with the natural supplements and diet change. And for whatever reason (crapshoot?), it worked. Though we didn't do chest X-rays, I believe she was truly in remission.

I see that you've gotten a link for the artemisinin group. That's good. There is another recent thread you can look for here about artemisinin. I posted that link there too, as well as a link to the website explaining about how it works. See if you can find that---or I'll post so it bumps up for you.

And of course, please, please come here to talk, question, vent, share not-so-good news, and hopefully, good news.

And give the girl a gentle hug.

 

[Guest Designsmom]

Well, my girl is doing much better today. Sat. night was horrible, last night was much better. Her swelling is down but I think she popped a stitch because she is dripping blood when she gets up. I wonder if I should call the vet. Our biggest problem is that she wants to lick her wound. In 10 minutes of licking, she had literally licked a whole in her skin. She went crazy when we put the satellite dish on her and just kept jumping around. Now we can't leave her alone for 10 minutes. I am home with her today and tomorrow so I pray she will be much much better by Wednesday. Thank you all for your support. I will keep you posted.

[Bevd]

Could you put a t shirt on her rather than the satellite dish?

[BootsyCollins]

So glad she's home and doing well. Those e-collars can really stress them out. Maybe a pair of greyhound jammies or a t-shirt would cover the wound so she wouldn't have to wear it. Good luck!

[patricia]

I agree...can you try a shirt instead of the e-collar? Sending more hugs and prayers.

[6greyhounds]

So glad your baby is home and you caught the osteo in time.

 

When they diagnosed my Phawn with osteo it was too late to do anything except to keep her comfortable and happy. After her diagnosis we only had two short weeks with her. Her postmorten x-ray of her pelvis looked like swiss cheese.

 

I would try the tee shirt or even try a rolled towel pinned around her neck we did that with Jams when she scraped under her arm by leaping over the arm of the sofa and had sutures

[carronstar]

So happy to hear that Design is home and doing well. Those horrible collars do upset them. There is a new one out there that I saw because my neighbors have it and loaned it to me. The best description I can think of is that it looks like a flat life preserver. It is soft and they can lay down with no problem.

[Burpdog]

Sending prayers. T shirt or legging. You must keep her from licking it, and yes, call the vet

[Guest ChancesMom]

I just read this thread for the first time and I am so glad your baby is home and doing ok. I don't know what I would do if I were in your position. My heart goes out to you and all of those who have been through this and to the ones whose babies have gone to the bridge. I am sending and prayers. Please continue to keep us posted.

[Guest Vinnie]

We put an xl tshirt over Vinnie and then used the sports wrap tape that sticks to itself and not your pups hair & skin - this helped with any seepage as well - the first few nights Vinnie had some seepage from the area - mostly because the gauze pads had re-positioned under his bandages, we re-dressed the area and then put the t-shirt over - helps to save on ooky stains on beds and couches too. That also allowed him to be without the collar that drove him nuts. And yes, I've seen some of the new re-designed ones that aren't too bad - but the t-shirt should take care of both issues. I would also call the vet and see if he can just double check her stitches and re-dress her - we had them do the re-dress the first two times and then we were comfortable to do it after that.

 

Hugs & Scritches - keep healing Design.

[MerlinsMum]

Just catching up. So glad your girl is home and recovering. Were you able to stop her from licking her stitches? What did the vet say? I am sure she is getting spoiled rotten....

 

Sending strength and hugs.

[Guest Designsmom]

 

That is a good idea! I will see how she deals with that. Oops, she decided to walk around, dripping blood. Better go. Thanks.

 

 

Could you put a t shirt on her rather than the satellite dish?

 

[Guest Designsmom]

This is a great idea. Other than dripping blood when she gets up she seems to be doing great. Her personality is coming back. She actually got up from the bedroom to see who was at the door today. When she hears the frig door open, she has to come in the kitchen to inspect. She makes me very nervous when she is up and around. Feet are still pretty swollen, she pivots 360 degrees on her back leg when she is trying to lay down. Greys are incredible.

 

 

 

 

We put an xl tshirt over Vinnie and then used the sports wrap tape that sticks to itself and not your pups hair & skin - this helped with any seepage as well - the first few nights Vinnie had some seepage from the area - mostly because the gauze pads had re-positioned under his bandages, we re-dressed the area and then put the t-shirt over - helps to save on ooky stains on beds and couches too. That also allowed him to be without the collar that drove him nuts. And yes, I've seen some of the new re-designed ones that aren't too bad - but the t-shirt should take care of both issues. I would also call the vet and see if he can just double check her stitches and re-dress her - we had them do the re-dress the first two times and then we were comfortable to do it after that.

 

Hugs & Scritches - keep healing Design.