Short Burst Radiation

[Guest greytvolunteer]

A friend asked me to post to see if anyone has done any Short Burst Radiation in lieu of amputation for a grey with bone cancer. It is said to be a palliative care (pain relief) and they give longevity of 4-10 months. He is interested in results if anyone has done it.

Thanks for anything you can tell me.

 

Edited November 24, 2009 by greytvolunteer

[RobinM]

I lost my beautiful Polli 5 months after amputation and chemo.

 

These are the survival stats according to OSU:

 

The treatment of choice for dogs with OSA is amputation (View "Bosha's" video) with adjuvant single-agent or combination chemotherapy. The median survival time in dogs with appendicular OSA treated with amputation alone is approximately 4 months, whereas in dogs treated with amputation and carboplatin, or amputation and doxorubicin it is approximately 1 year. As of now, survival and remission times in Greyhounds do not appear to be any different from those in other breeds. Amputation in Greyhounds with OSA frequently results in severe postoperative bleeding (24-48h post-surgery) around the surgical site, leading to subcutaneous blood accumulation in the other limbs, ventral thorax, and ventral abdomen; these dogs typically have normal hemostasis profiles (APTT, OSPT), and the severity of bleeding decreases after administration of fresh frozen plasma. Aminocaproic acid (AA - Amicar®) is a commercially available inhibitor of fibrinolysis (procoagulant) commonly used in humans with postoperative bleeding that can be administered IV or by mouth. Administration of AA (500-1,000 mg PO q8h for 5 days starting the day of the surgery) prevented severe postoperative bleeding in Greyhounds undergoing surgery.

 

For further reading:

 

http://vet.osu.edu/2096.htm

Edited November 24, 2009 by RobinM

[Guest greytvolunteer]

I lost my beautiful Polli 5 months after amputation and chemo.

 

These are the survival stats according to OSU:

 

The treatment of choice for dogs with OSA is amputation (View "Bosha's" video) with adjuvant single-agent or combination chemotherapy. The median survival time in dogs with appendicular OSA treated with amputation alone is approximately 4 months, whereas in dogs treated with amputation and carboplatin, or amputation and doxorubicin it is approximately 1 year. As of now, survival and remission times in Greyhounds do not appear to be any different from those in other breeds. Amputation in Greyhounds with OSA frequently results in severe postoperative bleeding (24-48h post-surgery) around the surgical site, leading to subcutaneous blood accumulation in the other limbs, ventral thorax, and ventral abdomen; these dogs typically have normal hemostasis profiles (APTT, OSPT), and the severity of bleeding decreases after administration of fresh frozen plasma. Aminocaproic acid (AA - Amicar®) is a commercially available inhibitor of fibrinolysis (procoagulant) commonly used in humans with postoperative bleeding that can be administered IV or by mouth. Administration of AA (500-1,000 mg PO q8h for 5 days starting the day of the surgery) prevented severe postoperative bleeding in Greyhounds undergoing surgery.

 

For further reading:

 

http://vet.osu.edu/2096.htm

 

[Guest greytvolunteer]

I should explain further. He had amputation for his first osteo grey and because of this one's age-10-he is hesitant to put him through the amp. He has been in touch with Dr. Couto who he knows prefers amputation and chemo.

He has to make the decision fast, but wanted to know if anyone can give him some insight on the short burst radiation.

Thanks.

[RobinM]

What does Dr. C say about this? He would be able to tell you/your friend the stats.

 

Best of luck. It sux.

[sweetdogs]

I'm not sure if we did short burst radiation, but I did a series of 4 radiation treatments for my Liath who had osteo in her shoulder. (No amp or chemo.) It definitely shrunk the tumor & I think it gave her some relief. She was also on lots of pain meds & we did a treatment of fosamax as well. We got moving late on it so from diagnosis to when I let her go it was 4 months. She had what we believe was a clot that was causing her to lose her back end.

That only left her with one good leg so....She was normally very scared going to the vet but she did well with the radiation. They gave her a light sedative & she was able to walk out each time without too much trouble. Seh was 11 1/2 yo at the time.

 

Best wishes for your friend & his pup.

[Guest bigorangedog]

FWIW, we just did an amputation on our 11-yr-old and he is adjusting really well. If the dog is otherwise healthy, I would think that he/she could come through an amp just fine. Your friend can check out our blog (in my sig) for Whitey's story. We are 10 days post-amp now.

 

ETA - Probably someone on Circle of Grey has been through radiation; has your friend joined that yahoo group?

Edited November 24, 2009 by bigorangedog

[Guest greytvolunteer]

Dan is very much into working with Dr. Couto as he has another grey that has cancer and with his help, he is now one year past the few weeks they gave him when he was diagnosed.

 

Thank you for posting. I have since learned the correct term is palliative radiation. Have committed to Ohio State to begin treatments Monday, but still want input from others on what to expect.

 

Thanks.

[Burpdog]

If I remember right, NancyB did that with Marvin, then decided on amputation.

 

The radiation will get them out of pain. Trying to remember.....I think they have to be sedated for radiation. It's one of the reasons most do not do it (and the cost).

[Guest budsmom]

My best friend just went through this with her girl for lymphoma. They do sedate for the radiation, but it's usually a pretty light sedative. My friend's girl would be out from the sedative within an hour or so and the radiation did help at first. It seemed to have a diminishing effect, though, and she went to the bridge before finishing her 4 weekly treatments. Every dog is different just like people, though, and my friend's girl had lymphoma not osteo and was already at Stage 5 when she was diagnosed. I hope it helps your friend's hound, and he couldn't be at a better place than OSU.

[Guest houndhome]

Tigger had radiation for his lymphoma with no negative side affects. I talked with the doctor quite a bit about sedation, and she went with a very light dose. It didn't cause any problems at all, not like the sedation he had when he had to get a dental. I don't know where you live, but if by chance you live in No. VA, Dr. Nancy Gustafson at the Springfield Veterinary Referral Center is a radiation oncologist. Tigger's radiation, though, was just on his front half. Dr. G. decided not to do his back half with radiation as 90% of the dogs in her study got bad diarrhea after the treatment, and with a greyhound delicate system as well as Tigger has already lost too much weight, she decided against it. As others have said, you can't to better than OSU for the hound. Good luck!

[NancyB]

We had palliative radiation done to Marvin, he had fibroblastic osteosarcoma right above the wrist. He was good for about 6 weeks then he was really in pain and we dedided to do an amputation.