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Sutra's Limp = Probable Osteo


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Oh Kristin, I'm so sorry to hear the news.

 

I do want to let you know I have a 12 yr old tripod. She had arthritis in her good leg and lower back. But she is now 6 months post op and doing great. She tends to stay on her bed more, but so does my 14 yr old. And she is pain free. Pretty much her post surgical healing was 2 weeks. She was pretty much back to feeling normal at that 2 week mark. She had very little trouble learning how to do 3 legs. The doctors all said she would probably have a longer recovery, but she was discharged very early. She surprised them all.

I just wanted to let you know 12 yr olds are out there.

 

Whatever decision you make is the right one. Because you do it out of love.

 

:bighug

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I'm sorry. :cry1

Standard Poodle Daisy (12/13)
Missing Cora (RL Nevada 5/99-10/09), Piper (Cee Bar Easy 2/99-1/10), Tally (Thunder La La 9/99-3/10), Edie (Daring Reva 9/99-10/12), Dixie (Kiowa Secret Sue 11/01-1/13), Jessie (P's Real Time 11/98-3/13), token boy Graham (Zydeco Dancer 9/00-5/13), Cal (Back Already 12/99-11/13), Betsy (Back Kick Beth 11/98-12/13), Standard Poodles Minnie (1/99-1/14) + Perry (9/98-2/14), Annie (Do Marcia 9/03-10/14), Pink (Miss Pinky Baker 1/02-6/15), Poppy (Cmon Err Not 8/05-1/16), Kat (Jax Candy 5/05-5/17), Ivy (Jax Isis 10/07-7/21), Hildy (Braska Hildy 7/10-12/22), Opal (Jax Opal 7/08-4/23). Toodles (BL Toodles 7/09-4/24)

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:grouphug

Cynthia, & Cristiano, galgo
Always in my heart: Frostman
Newdawn Frost, Keno Jet Action & Chloe (NGA racing name unknown), Irys (galgo), Hannah (weim), Cruz (galgo), & Carly CW Your Charming

Princess http://www.greyhound-data.com/d?i=1018857

"It came to me that every time I lose a dog they take a piece of my heart with them. And every new dog who comes into my life, gifts me with a piece of their heart. If I live long enough, all the components of my heart will be dog, and I will become as generous and loving as they are." -- Unknown

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:grouphug I am so sorry...

Katy....Mom to Retired Racers Hinder, John Carter, Hobsen, and Kodama, Galgo Espanol Gichin, and the Village Idiot...Teko
Missing terribly my fawn dog with the pretty ears Chance (Ale Seeyoulater) 6/21/05-6/23/15 Gotcha day 4/6/08 and my fuzzy baby boy Snacker (Tyville Snacker) 7/4/04-10/23/15, and all three of my IG babies, Isen, Tien, and Java.

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Oh no Kristin.... :bighug

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Donna and...Lucy and Chubb
Rascal H 10/1/91-5/22/04 My best friend and Bounty Boon 1/23/99-6/25/07 My boy with the biggest heart
Cody 7/28/99-8/1/13 My boy that always made me laugh and Dylan 5/12/04-12/29/2017 The sweetest boy ever

Miss Mollie 1/1/99-1/30/15 and Pixie :heart:heart-10/10/2017 Lincoln :heart-2/14/2021

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Guest MnMDogs

I am so sorry :( it's a terrible diagnosis and seems to take the wind right out of you. If I were you (and this is what I did), I picked up a cd of the xrays and FedExed them to Dr Couto when Matty was diagnosed. He is so busy that he may not get to them right away, but at least I could track them. He's such a gracious and giving man, he got back to me pretty quickly. Take care of yourself and spoil him rotten (more rotten than usual!)

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Just catching up on this now. I am so sad and sorry to read of this diagnosis. Wishing you and Sutra all the best, whatever you decide.

Irene Ullmann w/Flying Odin and Mama Mia in Lower Delaware
Angels Brandy, John E, American Idol, Paul, Fuzzy and Shine
Handcrafted Greyhound and Custom Clocks http://www.houndtime.com
Zoom Doggies-Racing Coats for Racing Greyhounds

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He greeted me at the door tonight with Ace and Fritz, rooing and wagging his tail :) He is still limping of course but seems much less uncomfortable than he was earlier, which is a relief, both for him and for myself.

 

I put the window fans in the LR tonight, so we have nice cool air coming in from outside - his favorite thing to do is to stand by a window and raise his nose to smell the fresh air that's being sucked in :lol

 

He's resting on a dog bed here in the LR for now, but we'll be going to bed very soon. It's been a very long day.

 

I have already heard from Dr. Couto twice. He has told his people to keep their eyes peeled for the xrays :)

Kristin in Moline, IL USA with Ozzie (MRL Crusin Clem), Clarice (Clarice McBones), Latte and Sage the IGs, and the kitties: Violet and Rose
Lovingly Remembered: Sutra (Fliowa Sutra) 12/02/97-10/12/10, Pinky (Pick Me) 04/20/03-11/19/12, Fritz (Fritz Fire) 02/05/01 - 05/20/13, Ace (Fantastic Ace) 02/05/01 - 07/05/13, and Carrie (Takin the Crumbs) 05/08/99 - 09/04/13.

A cure for cancer can't come soon enough.--

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Guest bigorangedog

I'm so, so sorry to hear of the diagnosis. I hate that anyone has to deal with this disease. We have had 5 osteosarcoma dogs in the past year, and done leg amputations on the 2 who were candidates. One of those was Whitey (if you do a Greytalk search for Whitey, you can read past posts about his story) who was 11 yrs, 3 months old when he had his amp in late November 2009. He did AWESOME and we have had really good time since that point, including throughout the chemo. Unfortunately we learned last week that he has metastasis to his other front leg and his spine, so we know that our days with him are few now. But he has been happy and perky during the past few months, so I definitely would have chosen to amputate even knowing that we'd only get 4 months.

 

Our other boy, Apollo, is 10 years old and had his amp in mid-Feb of this year. We got through one chemo treatment and he got a giant infection in his incision site which is just now finally healed up, and we'll be starting chemo again next week. He had a harder time emotionally than Whitey did but now he is back to his old self, and I can barely keep up with him when we walk around.

 

I have a page on my blog (link in my signature) on What To Expect With A Leg Amputation, that you might find useful. You can always write me with any questions at all.

 

Wishing you and your boy the very best.

Jen

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Guest MorganKonaAlex

Hi Kristin,

 

I'm so sorry to hear about Sutra's osteo diagnosis. I've had 3 of my 5 greys diagnosed with it. Here is a link to Alex's xrays. I think they are the only ones I have in digital format. Alex's xrays If Sutra is not comfortable, you may be able to increase the tramadol. They usually start at a low dose and there's a lot of room to increase it.

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Kristin, :grouphug. This just s*cks, big time. You'll have the best vet team guiding you, and you'll have everyone from GT supporting you.

 

Trust in your love for Sutra, the instinctive bond you share with him, and your dedication to doing what you know is right for him. You are such a wonderful mom.

 

You're not alone.. we're all here for you.

 

Huge hugs to you and Sutra :bighug

Jordan

Edited by greyhndz

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Thanks everyone. As much as I don't wish this on anyone, it's nice to know that I'm not all alone :)

 

I just spoke to our vet here - Sutra's lung sxrays are clear (I know that doesn't mean that there aren't TINY mets thta we can't see on an xray, but, that's still encouraging news.

 

My mom stopped by my place to give him his tramadol and she called and said he's not limping at all! I told her not to let him run with the others - if he's walking comfortably, let's keep it at that for now! So, the meds are definitely helping him :)

Kristin in Moline, IL USA with Ozzie (MRL Crusin Clem), Clarice (Clarice McBones), Latte and Sage the IGs, and the kitties: Violet and Rose
Lovingly Remembered: Sutra (Fliowa Sutra) 12/02/97-10/12/10, Pinky (Pick Me) 04/20/03-11/19/12, Fritz (Fritz Fire) 02/05/01 - 05/20/13, Ace (Fantastic Ace) 02/05/01 - 07/05/13, and Carrie (Takin the Crumbs) 05/08/99 - 09/04/13.

A cure for cancer can't come soon enough.--

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Guest BleuDog

HUGS.....I'll ask my Spirit Hound Bleu Man to watch over your Sutra.

 

The Bleu Man made it 3 1/2 months after DX in his back leg...but well established....We chose to control pain, and a couple of weeks later started Holistic meds on him......the original diagnosing vet was guessing he would make it less than a month..Bleu had just turned 10 years...

 

More Hugs....

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I hope this information is helpful, I don't say it with any ill will intended and hope it makes you feel better - not worse. I was under the impression that you can't diagnose osteosarcoma from radiographs alone since things like fungal infections of bone look exactly the same. Have you gotten a good biopsy done? Does Dr. C frequently diagnose osteosarcoma from radiographs alone?

 

I've read here that most people opt not to do a biopsy unless it's really really necessary - they're painful and weaken the bone.

 

MorganKonaAlex, thanks for posting Alex's xrays...but now I'm more confused than before. Alex's tumor was just above the knee, in the femur, correct? On his xray it shows really bright white, with that white aura around it.

 

On Sutra's xrays - the area of concern is more "see through" than the rest of the bone...and it was the same in Riley's xrays that Lucy sent to me.

 

Does it show up in different ways on radiographs? I know a lot about medical things in dogs, but I have to confess that how anomalies look on xrays is not something I've had much experience with. :dunno

Kristin in Moline, IL USA with Ozzie (MRL Crusin Clem), Clarice (Clarice McBones), Latte and Sage the IGs, and the kitties: Violet and Rose
Lovingly Remembered: Sutra (Fliowa Sutra) 12/02/97-10/12/10, Pinky (Pick Me) 04/20/03-11/19/12, Fritz (Fritz Fire) 02/05/01 - 05/20/13, Ace (Fantastic Ace) 02/05/01 - 07/05/13, and Carrie (Takin the Crumbs) 05/08/99 - 09/04/13.

A cure for cancer can't come soon enough.--

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Guest BooBooMama

I hope this information is helpful, I don't say it with any ill will intended and hope it makes you feel better - not worse. I was under the impression that you can't diagnose osteosarcoma from radiographs alone since things like fungal infections of bone look exactly the same. Have you gotten a good biopsy done? Does Dr. C frequently diagnose osteosarcoma from radiographs alone?

 

I've read here that most people opt not to do a biopsy unless it's really really necessary - they're painful and weaken the bone.

 

MorganKonaAlex, thanks for posting Alex's xrays...but now I'm more confused than before. Alex's tumor was just above the knee, in the femur, correct? On his xray it shows really bright white, with that white aura around it.

 

On Sutra's xrays - the area of concern is more "see through" than the rest of the bone...and it was the same in Riley's xrays that Lucy sent to me.

 

Does it show up in different ways on radiographs? I know a lot about medical things in dogs, but I have to confess that how anomalies look on xrays is not something I've had much experience with. :dunno

 

Looks like we both received some devastating news yesterday. My BooBoo was just diagnosed with hip and spine cancer. On her x-ray the upper thigh bone was almost transparent. The vet said there was no doubt that it is cancer but if I wanted to they could do a biopsy. I opted to not put her through all that. It seems that there are many ways to see bone cancer in an x-ray- some look 'see through' and others have a halo effect, other show misshapen tumors.

I feel your grief for I am experiencing it too.

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Guest MorganKonaAlex

MorganKonaAlex, thanks for posting Alex's xrays...but now I'm more confused than before. Alex's tumor was just above the knee, in the femur, correct? On his xray it shows really bright white, with that white aura around it.

I can't see it on Alex's xrays either. His was his femur above the knee. Demon's was in his upper shoulder. His xrays were analog so I can't post them. I could faintly see the moth eaten area on his. The doctors thought his was caught early. I don't want to scare you but the pain on Demon's osteo seemed to escalate very quickly.

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Guest BooBooMama

MorganKonaAlex, thanks for posting Alex's xrays...but now I'm more confused than before. Alex's tumor was just above the knee, in the femur, correct? On his xray it shows really bright white, with that white aura around it.

I can't see it on Alex's xrays either. His was his femur above the knee. Demon's was in his upper shoulder. His xrays were analog so I can't post them. I could faintly see the moth eaten area on his. The doctors thought his was caught early. I don't want to scare you but the pain on Demon's osteo seemed to escalate very quickly.

 

I know- this nefarious disease moves fast. I am thinking we have a few days left together, but the vet says it could be longer.

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