This Is A Thread I Hoped I Would Never Have To Make

[KF_in_Georgia]

When I looked on the webcam an hour ago, Tempo was sacked out on the bed in the back of the room, and Rocko was in full-out roach mode on the sofa. Last time I checked, Rocko was semi-roaching, with one foot propped against the back of the sofa.

[a_daerr]

Look at him digging that hole like a pro!

I'm so glad to hear good news for Tempo. This made my day.

[krissn333]

Pinky had to skip chemo a couple of times because of her white count. No big deal. I'd imagine that there are very few pups who can get through all of the treatments without ever experiencing a delay

[TwiggysMom]

Yep, Twiggy delayed at least two, and I think three of her 6 iv carbo treatments due to low neutrophils. As Kristin said - pretty common, I think.

 

I love the photos, he is so happy!

[Charlies_Dad]

He is doing great! Love the pics. As for the chemo, as others have said, it is common that one or two get delayed so try not to worry about that.

[jaym1]

In case anyone is reading this whose dog has just been diagnosed, and who is wondering about next steps AND for whom cost is an issue, I thought I would post the following info:

 

The emergency exam during which Tempo was diagnosed took place on March 21. It is now May 20th -- exactly two months later. In addition to that first visit, Tempo has had an amputation, Two rounds of chemo, a thorax x-ray, a number of blood tests, and many prescriptions. We live in Boston, and so far the total billings from the vet come in at $6,167. I only paid for the first dose of carboplatin, as OSU has provided me with 4 free dosages. So without OSU, we'd be looking at about $6500 on the dot. There are still 3 to 4 more rounds of chemo to go. Even without the carbo, its $180 per treatment. SO figure $750 more, plus 2 more x-rays ($220 each) Thus, without OSU help, from diagnosis through chemo treatment 6, we'd be looking at at just about $9000. With OSU, it'll end up at around $7500, and that's without taking anything unexpected into account.

[Guest lynne893]

He looks like he's doing really well! Beautiful little "kiddos"

Good luck and keep your chin up!

[greytpups]

 

 

but in the meantime, we're still having fun every day. he was in fine form yesterday, and barked himself blue in the face at a couple dogs who were roughhousing at the park. it used to annoy me to no end when he did that, but thats what he loves to do, and as far as im concerned he can bark until the whole neighborhood wakes up. gotta make hay while the sun is shining. i just hope it'll be sunny for a long time.

 

 

Life's not about waiting for the storms to past...life is about learning to dance in the rain.

 

Looks like both of you are doing just that. I know some people post about what annoys them about their greys, but I always wonder if they'd still complain if the grey was gone or facing a death sentence...puts things in a whole different perspective.

[Xan]

In case anyone is reading this whose dog has just been diagnosed, and who is wondering about next steps AND for whom cost is an issue, I thought I would post the following info:

 

The emergency exam during which Tempo was diagnosed took place on March 21. It is now May 20th -- exactly two months later. In addition to that first visit, Tempo has had an amputation, Two rounds of chemo, a thorax x-ray, a number of blood tests, and many prescriptions. We live in Boston, and so far the total billings from the vet come in at $6,167. I only paid for the first dose of carboplatin, as OSU has provided me with 4 free dosages. So without OSU, we'd be looking at about $6500 on the dot. There are still 3 to 4 more rounds of chemo to go. Even without the carbo, its $180 per treatment. SO figure $750 more, plus 2 more x-rays ($220 each) Thus, without OSU help, from diagnosis through chemo treatment 6, we'd be looking at at just about $9000. With OSU, it'll end up at around $7500, and that's without taking anything unexpected into account.

Thanks for this. It's so hard to get a handle on all the details, and for most of us money is a more important question than we'd like. How awful to have to weigh $$ against your beloved pup's life, but ... reality can suck like that.

[MaryJane]

Thanks for this. It's so hard to get a handle on all the details, and for most of us money is a more important question than we'd like. How awful to have to weigh $$ against your beloved pup's life, but ... reality can suck like that.

 

 

I just want to mention that I think the amputation and follow-up care has been done at Angel (please correct me if I'm wrong). Angel is a first-rate hospital and their charges reflect that ... while I would not say they are the most expensive in Boston, they are not the cheapest. I think they fall between middle to high cost (corrections welcome if you feel differently about their prices). Also, Boston is not a cheap place to live and probably ranks up there in cost between middle to high cost among all US cities. When you take both of these factors into account, they are likely adding quite a bit of cost to what would be the "average" US charge for osteo amputation and follow-up.

 

With this in mind, best to check costs in your area before making any firm decisions one way or the other.

 

And Tempo looks great -- enjoying life to it's fullest.......

[krissn333]

Pinky was a dog that would bark at other dogs playing until she was blue in the face too...Ace really misses that!

[jaym1]

 

 

I just want to mention that I think the amputation and follow-up care has been done at Angel (please correct me if I'm wrong). Angel is a first-rate hospital and their charges reflect that ... while I would not say they are the most expensive in Boston, they are not the cheapest. I think they fall between middle to high cost (corrections welcome if you feel differently about their prices). Also, Boston is not a cheap place to live and probably ranks up there in cost between middle to high cost among all US cities. When you take both of these factors into account, they are likely adding quite a bit of cost to what would be the "average" US charge for osteo amputation and follow-up.

 

With this in mind, best to check costs in your area before making any firm decisions one way or the other.

 

And Tempo looks great -- enjoying life to it's fullest.......

 

it is angell. anyhow, good point. i specified that i am in boston, as i am sure that cost of care is considerably lower in less urban areas or at smaller practices. speaking locally, from what i have observed, on a lot of procedures, angell is not necessarily far above the cost of other area facilities. however, their exam fees are substantially more expensive than they are in a lot of places, which adds a significant amount to the overall cost of care. indeed, their quality of care has so far been superb and, as a major area veterinary hospital, they have a lot of diagnostic and therapeutic treatments and tools available to them in-house that a lot of vets wouldnt necessarily have. it doesnt hurt that its 2 minutes away from me by car, either.

Edited May 22, 2013 by jaym1

[jaym1]

third chemo treatment on friday. it hit him for about 24 hours, during which he really didnt move at all, and he immediately threw up when we went for a walk at night (i think it was the jarring motion of his irregular gait). but by the next day he was getting better, though still slow. sunday was normal, though a little off, and today he's back to full strength. i was at home studying for a class this afternoon, and i heard a commotion. when i looked up, tempo was absolutely rampaging through their toy box, pulling out each toy, flinging it everywhere, then going back, taking the next one out, and repeating. i hadnt seem him do that in. . . i dont know how long. a year, maybe?

 

i was also able to put a few pounds on him, so that he was back up to 67.3 on the scale at the vet (he was about 73-75 with all four legs), so the sardines and cottage cheese are paying off. im in kind of a weird place though, where, after the diagnosis, i was basically prepared for him to die, not to get better, and i find myself weirdly reluctant to be too excited about his progress, because i dont want it to come crashing down again. i know its a counterproductive, not-exactly-positive way to look at it, but it just sort of pops into my head.

 

 

The squirrel hiding on the other side of that telephone pole just lost the staring contest. Even with three legs, he's still a hunter.

Edited May 28, 2013 by jaym1

[forevergrey]

He looks great in the photo above. Also try to just take it one day at a time, (which I am sure you are doing anyway). Every day is a gift. Life is full of surprises some good some not so good so we never know what will happen in the future. OTOH, there was a discussion on the subject of diet and osteo in one of the greyhound facebook groups I am on. One person said that his greyhound lived for 9 years post amputation for osteo. That is a full long life and that will hopefully will be the case with Tempo.

[krissn333]

I know that it's hard, but PLEASE don't wake up every morning preparing for the worst. Instead ENJOY the day with him. He's certainly not preoccupied with what might come down the road, and you shouldn't be either. Instead of being prepared for him to die, be prepared to help him LIVE!

[Charlies_Dad]

I know that it's hard, but PLEASE don't wake up every morning preparing for the worst. Instead ENJOY the day with him. He's certainly not preoccupied with what might come down the road, and you shouldn't be either. Instead of being prepared for him to die, be prepared to help him LIVE!

This! Just smile every time you see him, love him for as long as you have him and laugh at his antics as he enjoys life.

[EllenEveBaz]

i heard a commotion. when i looked up, tempo was absolutely rampaging through their toy box, pulling out each toy, flinging it everywhere, then going back, taking the next one out, and repeating. i hadnt seem him do that in. . . i dont know how long. a year, maybe?

 

:)

[jaym1]

its been just about three months since amputation, and tempo continues to do well. i was a little startled that some of his skin started to turn the color of an eggplant -- mostly in the area where his shoulder used to be, but the oncologist seemed relatively unconcerned, and it doesnt seem to be any sort of infection, nor is it bothering him.

 

otherwise, he remains active -- extremely active, in fact. we still play fetch multiple times per day until he is exhausted, and i have started taking them on some increasingly long walks, which he seems to do well on. he gets a little more wild than he used to when i come home, and he has now taken to doing THIS every morning at 6:30 until i wake up. which is to say, all is well for now.

[Beachbum1]

That's great news, and you know now that you won't be over-sleeping!!!

[Neighsayer]

He doesn't know that he is sick. Enjoy him while you have him. Have fun! You are one of the lucky ones!

[Charlies_Dad]

It looks to me Tempo has found his groove and is loving life! That is awesome. Our Charlie 'changed' after his amp too and became more cheeky and loved life as well. Keep it up!

[krissn333]

The skin color thing is totally normal too...most fawn/red dogs have darker skin and it looks black/purple when they "tan" and when they scar. With the summer sun he's getting on your walks coupled with the fact that he probably has some sort of a scar from his surgery, I'm not at all surprised.

 

Pinky too really became her own dog after her amp...she was bossier and more outgoing and just SO full of life. I made it my mission to enjoy ALL of those fun moments with her and laugh and smile right along with her

[jaym1]

unexpected question: has anyone put an osteo greyhound through chemo and actually had the dog deal with each treatment progressively easier? from all the reading i had done, i had expected chemo treatments 4,5 and 6 to be really hard, but the opposite seems to be true. treatment 2 was substantially harder than the first one, but treatment 3 seemed to hit him much less severely. treatment 4 was yesterday afternoon and he's barely skipped a beat. he was more tired than usual yesterday, but that was it. today he was maybe a little slower than normal, but it was also around 90 degrees outside, and like any greyhound, they both move like theyre walking through cement when the weather gets like this. yesterday and today he was up and excited for walks, and even wanted to take his fetch ball with him.

 

is there any perspective from which i shouldnt be relieved about this? is it somehow possible that the efficacy of the carboplatin is somehow no longer there, like hes building up a resistance?

[KF_in_Georgia]

Other people will chime in, but I think Tempo's doing what the other dogs on chemo have done: reacting more severely to the early treatments, then dealing better with subsequent treatments.

[TwiggysMom]

I imagine it is different with each dog, but Twiggy had absolutely no discernible reaction to her first 3 treatments (so much so that I actually doubted she was getting the chemo!)

 

Treatments 4 & 5 had some side effects, but not too terrible. Treatment 6 was too terrible, but I suspect that was due to administration error.

 

Throughout, her bloodwork did show her immune system taking a hit from the chemo, but never enough for her to need antibiotics. She did have several infections (UTI, and skin infections). We used a supplement recommended by our regular vet called "Uro-Maxx" to prevent and additional UTIs, and just treated the skin infections with topicals.

 

Sounds like Tempo is doing great!