Osteo Diagnosis

[Sirocco_Nikki]

I am so glad to read the good reports on Flash & Charlie. I hope Miss Abby feels better in the morning. I also hope Neyla continues to do well.

[Guest azlorenz]

Greta news about Flash!!

 

Abby was more mobile today. My granddaughters came home from NC around midnight last night

& Abby was so excited to see them, her butt was wagging as fast as her tail, bless her heart.

 

She ate a late breakfast & had some treats.

 

Hug your babies.

 

 

I hope company was just what Abby needed.

[Guest azlorenz]

I had another funny I wanted to share with you all. The speciality clinic where Flash gets his chemo is so cool. There is a main emergency hospital in the center and then off each of the sides are different pods for each speciality with their own entrance from the outside. So when you go for chemo, you go into the oncology door and the only people in your little lobby are people there for chemo. Everyone sitting in the lobby feels the same pain and their heart sinks when they see another come through the door. The receptionist knows us all by name and knows who belongs to who, etc. When you come in she always announces on the phone back to Oncology that Flash's mom is here, etc. Anyway, today when I was sitting waiting for Flash, this gentlemen comes in and speaks to the receptionist. I hear her get on the phone back to Oncology and she announces, "Sparky's driver is here for him." I about fell off my chair. I want to get to know Sparky's parent(s)! It just struck me funny.

Edited August 25, 2010 by azlorenz

[NeylasMom]

Shannon, that's hysterical! Glad Flash's chemo went well!

 

And glad Abby seemns to be feeling better.

 

Neyla seems really slow today and I'm pretty sure she was limping a bit when she last got up. Chiro adjustment may have made her feel good overall so she overdid it on her cancer leg this wkd? Or things are just continuing to progress? Gah, I know there will be ups and downs, I need to somehow not assume the worst each time we have an off day.

Edited August 25, 2010 by NeylasMom

[Guest azlorenz]

Shannon, that's hysterical! Glad Flash's chemo went well!

 

And glad Abby seemns to be feeling better.

 

Neyla seems really slow today and I'm pretty sure she was limping a bit when she last got up. Chiro adjustment may have made her feel good overall so she overdid it on her cancer leg this wkd? Or things are just continuing to progress? Gah, I know there will be ups and downs, I need to somehow not assume the worst each time we have an off day.

 

It is hard not to assume the worst. Each time I try and talk myself through it to upright the ship but it is hard. Hang in there.

[Guest ktarantino]

Cried on Freddys shoulder tonight. he seems to be limping more and didn't want to go outside to potty... I cried with him for a while then he licked my arm a few times and then got up and went to his bed..almost like he was saying..ok mom..you got it out..not quit your crying:) Just feel so bad for him and us. His life is being cut too short. Anyway, sorry to be a downer...I just needed to get that out. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

[Guest azlorenz]

Cried on Freddys shoulder tonight. he seems to be limping more and didn't want to go outside to potty... I cried with him for a while then he licked my arm a few times and then got up and went to his bed..almost like he was saying..ok mom..you got it out..not quit your crying:) Just feel so bad for him and us. His life is being cut too short. Anyway, sorry to be a downer...I just needed to get that out. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

 

Hope tomorrow is a better day.

[teri_d]

i'm so glad to read all of your updates -- just wanted you all to know that i am still checking in on you and am cheering for all of you!!! hugs to you all dear friends --

[Guest kiki_13]

Hi all - Sorry I haven't been able to post. Bing can and can't do the stairs some days (most of the past week or so)and the PC is upstairs.

 

I am so surprised at the progression of Bing's cancer. 7 days ago there were so many things he could and now can't - or MAY be able to do on a 'good' day. Now we have 'bad' days and 'good' days and 'meh' days and we have 'bad' nights, and 'good' nights, and 'meh' nights. Whew. It is tiring - I never know when he will need meds, hence the time here right now is 1:30 am which isn't bad - just lonely and not a great time of the day for positivity. There have even been some times where I don't know if he's going to be OK and I begin to sorta pretty much panic - like should I sleep? Yet lately he's doing really well, like maybe it's an adjustment for him to even deal with the lump?

 

We built a beautiful ramp for Bing to get in and out of the explorer (it was great, he thought he was a rock star!) and he could do it a few days and now we haven't used it (three bad days in a row) until tonight. And now, tonight, he has had the worst night since the dx - the ride must've been too much?! Also, he sometimes seems like he's behaving like his old self - for instance, it is a full moon tonight and he ALWAYS drove us nuts with thinking anything glowing in moonlight was a RABBIT!! That's what he seemed to be doing tonight . . . I don't know . . . it also could've been aimless looking out windows due to pacing from pain, ugh! Alas, I am rambling.

 

Here are some pics of my babe Bing:

 

 

Bing is very comforted by Dave (perhaps Dave is a tad calmer??) - and so they have been sleeping through the night (quite nicely, heavy sigh of relief) lately:

 

 

I thought he was being pretty goofy here with his head on the basket - hee hee:

 

And here is Bing with his little sissy Cami:

 

Bing remains on Tramadol, Golden Seal tea, glucos and MSM, grain free Evo and other meats, veggies, and whatever these days - tuna, he loves tuna. Otherwise, I've been pretty much letting him eat whatever yummies he wants . . . I think twice it has lead to a little runny poo - but not bad. He has an appt 9-2 for an update on his leg xray.

 

To Charlie, Flash, Gracy, and Freddy - praying and hoping and sending white light things continue to go well!

 

To Teri, for you and Rivie my heart is bleeding a river for you and your pain - my time is so limited with Bing and I have such fear of the unknown. God Bless and please believe you will be OK. Thoughts, prayers and all that is good is going out to your heart from mine.

 

To Dee, for you and for Abby, please know you are in my thoughts and prayers and goD bless!

 

I know I forgot somebody . . . yet please believe you are in my thoughts and prayers.

[joejoesmom]

Shannon, that's hysterical! Glad Flash's chemo went well!

 

And glad Abby seemns to be feeling better.

 

Neyla seems really slow today and I'm pretty sure she was limping a bit when she last got up. Chiro adjustment may have made her feel good overall so she overdid it on her cancer leg this wkd? Or things are just continuing to progress? Gah, I know there will be ups and downs, I need to somehow not assume the worst each time we have an off day.

It is such a roller coaster. Last evening, I was so excited because Joe killed a stuffie. Then last night he had a little trouble going outside -- his rear legs just didn't seem to be under him. Then in the middle of the night he woke up with a scream so I gave him some tramadol. Today he has been back to where he was almost a week ago, having trouble negotiating on three legs and not quite sure where to put them. He actually slipped off the side of a step. So tonight I have managed to convince myself that the cancer has already spread to his back, pressing on some nerves and causing the lack of coordination. I am so scared right now that I can't sleep. I am just taking a break from the constant petting. Joe usually laps up all the attention but tonight his look told me "OK four hours of attention is enough already".

 

So I will call OSU tomorrow (I guess it is now tomorrow since it is 3 am) and hopefully they will tell me that everything is OK. He is scheduled to go in on Thursday for his second chemo treatment. But if they want to see him Wednesday, I will take him on in. I am happy to be his "driver".

 

So it is incredibly easy to assume the worst and drive yourself nuts. This story is just to let you know that we all do it. They are our babies.

 

Jane

 

Cried on Freddys shoulder tonight. he seems to be limping more and didn't want to go outside to potty... I cried with him for a while then he licked my arm a few times and then got up and went to his bed..almost like he was saying..ok mom..you got it out..not quit your crying:) Just feel so bad for him and us. His life is being cut too short. Anyway, sorry to be a downer...I just needed to get that out. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

I am so sorry. I hope tonight was just a hiccup and that he has many more good days ahead of him.

Edited August 25, 2010 by joejoesmom

[joejoesmom]

the time here right now is 1:30 am which isn't bad - just lonely and not a great time of the day for positivity.

I am feeling this right now. Nights seem to be the worst.

 

Your Bing is so handsome. I love the last picture where they form a heart shape.

 

Jane

[Batmom]

Just sending hugs to everybody with a sick pupper. Hoping ktarantino and kiki and Dee especially have time for more smiles and ice cream with their sweethearts, that Neyla is perkier today, and that Joe's apparent setback is just a little muscle soreness.

[nyGreys]

Shannon, that's hysterical! Glad Flash's chemo went well!

 

And glad Abby seemns to be feeling better.

 

Neyla seems really slow today and I'm pretty sure she was limping a bit when she last got up. Chiro adjustment may have made her feel good overall so she overdid it on her cancer leg this wkd? Or things are just continuing to progress? Gah, I know there will be ups and downs, I need to somehow not assume the worst each time we have an off day.

Thanks, Jen, I hope Nayla feels better today.

 

Cried on Freddys shoulder tonight. he seems to be limping more and didn't want to go outside to potty... I cried with him for a while then he licked my arm a few times and then got up and went to his bed..almost like he was saying..ok mom..you got it out..not quit your crying:) Just feel so bad for him and us. His life is being cut too short. Anyway, sorry to be a downer...I just needed to get that out. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Abby always gives me that "pet me" look & starts whining until I go over to her & pet her & then I start bawling.

We all have down days, don't apologize for it. I hope today is a better day for you & Freddy.

 

 

Hi all - Sorry I haven't been able to post. Bing can and can't do the stairs some days (most of the past week or so)and the PC is upstairs.

 

I am so surprised at the progression of Bing's cancer. 7 days ago there were so many things he could and now can't - or MAY be able to do on a 'good' day. Now we have 'bad' days and 'good' days and 'meh' days and we have 'bad' nights, and 'good' nights, and 'meh' nights. Whew. It is tiring - I never know when he will need meds, hence the time here right now is 1:30 am which isn't bad - just lonely and not a great time of the day for positivity. There have even been some times where I don't know if he's going to be OK and I begin to sorta pretty much panic - like should I sleep? Yet lately he's doing really well, like maybe it's an adjustment for him to even deal with the lump?

 

We built a beautiful ramp for Bing to get in and out of the explorer (it was great, he thought he was a rock star!) and he could do it a few days and now we haven't used it (three bad days in a row) until tonight. And now, tonight, he has had the worst night since the dx - the ride must've been too much?! Also, he sometimes seems like he's behaving like his old self - for instance, it is a full moon tonight and he ALWAYS drove us nuts with thinking anything glowing in moonlight was a RABBIT!! That's what he seemed to be doing tonight . . . I don't know . . . it also could've been aimless looking out windows due to pacing from pain, ugh! Alas, I am rambling.

 

Here are some pics of my babe Bing:

 

 

Bing is very comforted by Dave (perhaps Dave is a tad calmer??) - and so they have been sleeping through the night (quite nicely, heavy sigh of relief) lately:

 

 

I thought he was being pretty goofy here with his head on the basket - hee hee:

 

And here is Bing with his little sissy Cami:

 

Bing remains on Tramadol, Golden Seal tea, glucos and MSM, grain free Evo and other meats, veggies, and whatever these days - tuna, he loves tuna. Otherwise, I've been pretty much letting him eat whatever yummies he wants . . . I think twice it has lead to a little runny poo - but not bad. He has an appt 9-2 for an update on his leg xray.

 

To Charlie, Flash, Gracy, and Freddy - praying and hoping and sending white light things continue to go well!

 

To Teri, for you and Rivie my heart is bleeding a river for you and your pain - my time is so limited with Bing and I have such fear of the unknown. God Bless and please believe you will be OK. Thoughts, prayers and all that is good is going out to your heart from mine.

 

To Dee, for you and for Abby, please know you are in my thoughts and prayers and goD bless!

 

I know I forgot somebody . . . yet please believe you are in my thoughts and prayers.

Bing is beautiful, bless his heart.

 

It is such a roller coaster. Last evening, I was so excited because Joe killed a stuffie. Then last night he had a little trouble going outside -- his rear legs just didn't seem to be under him. Then in the middle of the night he woke up with a scream so I gave him some tramadol. Today he has been back to where he was almost a week ago, having trouble negotiating on three legs and not quite sure where to put them. He actually slipped off the side of a step. So tonight I have managed to convince myself that the cancer has already spread to his back, pressing on some nerves and causing the lack of coordination. I am so scared right now that I can't sleep. I am just taking a break from the constant petting. Joe usually laps up all the attention but tonight his look told me "OK four hours of attention is enough already".

 

So I will call OSU tomorrow (I guess it is now tomorrow since it is 3 am) and hopefully they will tell me that everything is OK. He is scheduled to go in on Thursday for his second chemo treatment. But if they want to see him Wednesday, I will take him on in. I am happy to be his "driver".

 

So it is incredibly easy to assume the worst and drive yourself nuts. This story is just to let you know that we all do it. They are our babies.

 

Jane

Jane, I am so sorry Joe had a bad day. Good luck on his chemo Thursday.

 

 

Just sending hugs to everybody with a sick pupper. Hoping ktarantino and kiki and Dee especially have time for more smiles and ice cream with their sweethearts, that Neyla is perkier today, and that Joe's apparent setback is just a little muscle soreness.

Thank you Jey.

 

Abby acts a little perkier this morning, or at least she acts like she is, she is able to sleep

& she loves her treats. She went out & came back in & went to bed. She ate a little dinner last night & she

was roaching yesterday.

Could the tramadol be making her drowsy? I give her 2 (50mg) every 6 hrs. Plus (1/2 ) meloxicam once a day.

 

I hope everyone has a good day today.

[NeylasMom]

Kiki, Bing is absolutely gorgeous. Just stunning, wow. Hubba hubba. It sounds like the only pain medication that Bing is on is Tramadol, is that right? Is there a reason why Bing can't be on an NSAID as well? You could also try Gabapentin, and I am sure there are other options if the NSAID isn't a possibility for some reason. It doesn't sound like the medication he's on is sufficient for pain management at this point, and generally I don't think Tramadol is sufficient for bone cancer in general. Just my (unsolicited ) 2 cents.

 

Jane, Sorry Joe was having a rough night last night. For what it's worth, it sounds to me like Joe just overdid it, nothing so bad as cancer spreading. Yeah I know, says the girl who just says she automatically assumes the worst. But that's what we're here for right? To talk some sense into each other. Hope Joe is feeling much better today.

 

Thanks Jey for your support.

 

Shannon, how is Flash feeling after his chemo today? Good I hope.

 

 

Abby acts a little perkier this morning, or at least she acts like she is, she is able to sleep

& she loves her treats. She went out & came back in & went to bed. She ate a little dinner last night & she

was roaching yesterday.

Could the tramadol be making her drowsy? I give her 2 (50mg) every 6 hrs. Plus (1/2 ) meloxicam once a day.

Glad Abby is feeling better today.

 

Yep, the Tramadol could be making her drowsy. Seems like it makes some drowsy, others jittery, and others no effect at all.

[Guest ChasesMum]

: love to all this morning,

 

It so easy for them to overdo it, i always told myself to 'give it a day, see what tomorrow brings'. and 'Try not to worry about tomorrow, today has enough cr@p of its own to deal with'. but I agree, nights are the WORST! I realized after Chase was gone, just how poorly I was sleeping the 2 weeks prior. like with my kids, I was aware of every snort and jingle she made when she wasnt well.

[joejoesmom]

Okay, so I am just a worried nervous mom. Dr. Couto had me come in today (he was on clinic duty today) to have a look see before his chemo appointment tomorrow. Short story -- nothing really bad.

 

When I arrived they took Joe back to the blood donor room (his home away from home) so Dr. Cristina and Dawn could fawn over him until Dr. C was available. While I was waiting in the waiting room, Joe's orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Hetlich, walked by and stopped to chat. When I told her why I was there she said: "It is most likely that the lumbar stenosis that we noted on his initial orthopedic exam has flared up or that he simply pulled some muscles while he is learning to walk on three legs." Well I now remember that in the haze of the first two days of his diagnosis that they told me about the LS, of course I didn't remember in the middle of last night. On initial inspection he had some tenderness in his lower back so they did an x-ray and saw some LS. However they felt that it would not interfere with his abilities as a tripod.

 

Well the first thing Dr. Couto did was assure me that metastasizing to the back would be toward the bottom of his list of possibilities. He asked the head of orthopedics, Dr. Dyce for his opinion (I had taken some homemade bread into Dr. Couto and crew -- Dr. C said that he bribed Dr. Dyce with some of my bread . Dr. Dyce concurred with Dr. Hetlich. He felt that the pain in the area was very similar to the amount that they saw pre-amputation. So I came home with instructions to keep him on the Deramaxx and Tramadol for a while longer.

 

So as far as I am concerned, it was a good visit, my pocketbook is sorry I overreacted, but I would gladly pay for news this good any day.

 

Jane

[Charlies_Dad]

Kiki, Bing is a so beautiful! I am very sorry to hear that he and you have had some bad times/days. I truly hope he has many more good days than bad. We all know how you are feeling and are here for you so don't make apologies! There are times when we all feel similar and need somebody to lean on.

 

Jane, I am glad that Dr. Cout and his staff helped you out. It sounds like Joey may have just overdone it. He'll be back in not time!!!

[Guest handpicked]

Hello, everyone! I am so glad that right now I am not fighting the monster, osteo, but I have had two angels that fought the monster. My Boston was diagnosed at 11.5 years old and the tumor was located in his right femur. He raced until he was way over 5 and had horrible arthritis and so I couldn't do an amputation. We did just pain management and in under two weeks, the pain was so bad that he couldn't get comfortable anymore even while sleeping. The tumor had grown from the size of a golf ball to the size of a softball. We sent him to the Bridge in January 2005. In August 2006, my Boy Friend was diagnosed 3 days before his 11th birthday with osteo in his left proximal humerus (shoulder.) He was a very young 11 and with clean radiographs of his chest and positive indicators in his blood work, we proceeded forward with amputation and chemo. We did 4 rounds of carboplatin chemo with the only side effects being mild anorexia for a couple of days and then immunosuppression (plummeting WBC counts) at 3 weeks post chemo. We had 5 wonderful months before the monster came back in his chest: lung metastasis, pleural effusion and hypertrophic osteopathy. I join this discussion today to ask you all to please send me the racing name of your greys with ANY type of cancer diagnosis as I am a veterinarian who is doing a study on greyhound cancer to honor my 6 out of 8 cancer angels. Thank you in advance.

[Guest ChasesMum]

the links to mine are in my siggy,

 

Chase never had a true lymphoma diagnosis, she had 1.225l of fluid drained from her pericardium and it came back as "highly suspicious but not diagnostic of an infiltrative neoplastic process" and the cardiologist saw nodules on her heart muscle on echocardiogram. she was swelling and had ehrlichiosis as well - they called it a lymphoma but what it truely was we will never know.

 

george was osteo

[NeylasMom]

i always told myself to 'give it a day, see what tomorrow brings'. and 'Try not to worry about tomorrow, today has enough cr@p of its own to deal with'.

I am going to take this to heart. Neyla was fine yesterday. In fact, we hiked 1.7 miles in the morning - I decided screw getting to work on time and took them to a nearby wildlife refuge where Zuri can run up and down the trail off lead while Neyla walks - and then when I got home from work, she wanted to walk again so we did our normal "medium length" walk down to our lake and back. This was also after crazed toy playing when I got home and then she played more when my friend came to pick me up for dinner. This morning, we did a normal AM walk and she did well. I really think it's her back leg that is causing the soreness I am seeing moreso than her osteo leg, crazy as that is. I think I need to talk to my ortho about whether there's anything else I can be doing to build up the muscle again and address the fatigue. Anyway :blah I am going to try the see how tomorrow is thing moving forward to give myself a bit of a break from the stressing.

 

Jane, glad to hear Dr. Couto felt it was nothing major with Joe. Our ortho said the same thing about Neyla - looked like the beginnings of LS - but we never took x-rays. I wonder if we should do that?

 

Kyle, how's Charlie doing? We haven't had any pictures lately.

 

Hello, everyone! I am so glad that right now I am not fighting the monster, osteo, but I have had two angels that fought the monster. My Boston was diagnosed at 11.5 years old and the tumor was located in his right femur. He raced until he was way over 5 and had horrible arthritis and so I couldn't do an amputation. We did just pain management and in under two weeks, the pain was so bad that he couldn't get comfortable anymore even while sleeping. The tumor had grown from the size of a golf ball to the size of a softball. We sent him to the Bridge in January 2005. In August 2006, my Boy Friend was diagnosed 3 days before his 11th birthday with osteo in his left proximal humerus (shoulder.) He was a very young 11 and with clean radiographs of his chest and positive indicators in his blood work, we proceeded forward with amputation and chemo. We did 4 rounds of carboplatin chemo with the only side effects being mild anorexia for a couple of days and then immunosuppression (plummeting WBC counts) at 3 weeks post chemo. We had 5 wonderful months before the monster came back in his chest: lung metastasis, pleural effusion and hypertrophic osteopathy. I join this discussion today to ask you all to please send me the racing name of your greys with ANY type of cancer diagnosis as I am a veterinarian who is doing a study on greyhound cancer to honor my 6 out of 8 cancer angels. Thank you in advance.

Shelley, are you the vet who is on the Circle of Grey group? I've been wondering.

 

Also curious what you're hoping to do with the information and if you're working with anyone else or independently on yoru research gathering and analysis?

[Charlies_Dad]

 

 

Kyle, how's Charlie doing? We haven't had any pictures lately.

 

 

Also curious what you're hoping to do with the information and if you're working with anyone else or independently on yoru research gathering and analysis?

 

Jen, thanks for asking. I am away on business this week so I don't get to hug my sweet boy but I will tonight! He's doing well though and had another blood test just to ensure his WBC was recovering and the good news it is. It was at 3.8, then went down to 3.3 last Wednesday just before round 2 of Chemo and today it's back up to 3.8. So we are going the right way! Without further ado, heeerrrree's Charlie:

 

 

He looks like he is roo'ing in this one but is actully eating and loving a piece of cantalope!

 

[joejoesmom]

Jane, glad to hear Dr. Couto felt it was nothing major with Joe. Our ortho said the same thing about Neyla - looked like the beginnings of LS - but we never took x-rays. I wonder if we should do that?

 

 

My thought is: If it is not going to change the treatment, why do the test, x-ray, or whatever. My guess is that the pain management she is already getting would be the treatment that they would recommend. But I would call and ask your vet. I don't know if they would prescribe a steroid to reduce inflammation, but that is the only other med I can think of that they might suggest. Perhaps others have more knowledge?

 

Jane

[NeylasMom]

 

 

Oh my. Great news on the WBC count!!

 

Jane, good point. I guess I would feel more comfortable knowing what we are dealing with since she already has the osteo and the back leg issue and it's sometimes hard for me to tell what she's sore from, but you're right, if treatment won't change, it really doesn't matter. I wonder if it would matter for acupuncture since we're thinking of that as our next pain mgt option?

 

Good news - Neyla is back on teh couch with me! I thought she was avoiding it b/c she was sore, but I think some of that and the panting has been b/c I've been keeping the house too warm for my little princess. She apparently much prefers it at 72 degrees and no warmer thankyouverymuch. I have a sweatshirt on.

 

I will say, she has grown a LOT of fur on her belly in the last few months - I'm assuming it's the fish oil.

[Guest kiki_13]

Hi all - thank you for all of the encouraging words and the good thoughts. I guess at this point, Bing is a typical progressing terminally ill pup. He does well for the most part yet every day is an adjustment.

 

I (and would love to emphazise the word I) am having the worst days; yesterday and today - and I think, perhaps I am just beginning to realize the enormity of what is to come . . . .

 

Bing has an updated xray appt 9-2, Thurs - and I do agree he does need a supplemental NSAID to the tramadol and this will be discussed - yet he, the past few days, has been doing really greyt.

 

I am quiet lately. Thanks for all of your comments and bless you for thinking of us.

[Guest kiki_13]

Me again - just wanted to add some more pics, old and new, of my baby, Bing. Who doesn't love pics, right? Thank you to all of you who have the comprehension of the enormity of what this life event means to me - I have had a difficult time regarding support and understanding from some of the ppl I considered near and dear to me.

 

A sweet moment between Bing and Cami - :

 

This is Bing sleeping, love his buck toofs!:

 

Christmas Bing:

 

I love this pic because it looks as though they are conspiring against me lol:

 

A typical summer day after work Summer 2009:

 

Dave and I always loved to walk the dogs at the local state park:

 

 

 

Going on a summer vacation:

 

Some pics taken at Christmas time:

 

 

Bing and I going to pick up a foster doggie:

 

Bing enjoying the yard:

 

Bing:

 

One of my favorite pics of Bing:

 

 

 

Please continue with the prayers, white lights, and positive thoughts, - at this pinpoint in time, it appears to be working!

Edited August 27, 2010 by kiki_13