Osteo Thread Part V I I

[Victor]

Wendy, I wonder though if the infection Twiggy fought is one of the reasons for her long survival time. I think someone mentioned it in one of the threads. It is believed that by having to fight the infection the body's amped up immune system also fights the cancer better.

Alicia I found something you might find interesting on this.

 

http://www.iwfoundation.org/articles_detail.html?item_id=42&year=2009

 

If recent experience is any indication, infections do not help. Both Lana and Python had infections, and both had lung mets before completing/starting IV chemo.

 

My guess is that for immune therapy to work, it has to be more systematic than a spontaneous infection. Dr. Mason's vaccine is an example of one that seems promising:

 

http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/302522-osteosarcoma-vaccine/

[Victor]

Just checking in and updating you on Casper. He went for his round of Doxo. He had a reaction upon administering the drug. They gave him Benadryl and a pain med. That seemed to do the trick but he was totally wigged out for the rest of the day and night. He was feeling better in the morning, but was tired from the day before. He struggled with eating. On Thanksgiving day he wanted to go for a walk and we went farther than I thought we would but I didn't push it too much. He also was chasing Wynnie in the yard and being chased. He is much better and his eating is returning to normal. I told the doctor that if he was going to have another bad day and a half after the next round, then I rather not do round number two. He days are numbered and we can't afford for him to waste them. He gets his blood checked this week and then is scheduled for Dec. 10th for his (possible) second round and I think we are stopping Doxo after that. I don't want to risk weakening his heart muscles. We will stop if the mets did not recess and if they did , we will switch to an oral protocol.

Sorry to hear Casper had a reaction to the Doxo, but I'm glad they were able to get it under control. If you don't do the second Doxo will you switch to cytoxan? If so, you might want to check with your oncologist to see how the cytoxan will be provided. With our vet they send the prescription to a compounding pharmacy ( http://www.diamondbackdrugs.com/ ) to produce it in just the right dosage. The drawback is you have to wait 3-5 business days for standard shipping or pay extra for faster delivery.

[TwiggysMom]

Kim, I've read that doxo can cause immense soft tissue injury if it is not administered properly (i.e. if some of it gets outside of the vein) - is this the type of reaction Casper had, or was it more of an allergic response - hence the Benadryl. I think I'd be inclined to ask the oncologist how likely a repeat reaction is as part of my decision on whether to proceed with treatment #2. I hope this treatment slows or even reduces his mets.

 

I'm so glad to hear Casper is feeling good and running and playing!

 

 

 

Judy, you're right, there is some feeling that infection during the recovery may contribute to better outcomes, but as Victor pointed out above, that is not always the case.

 

Since there is no guarantee that any good will come of it, and it definitely complicates recovery (including additional pain, potential hospitalization, and delayed start to iv chemo), I feel like it is best to try to prevent an infection, but not to panic and to hope that it all works out in the dog's favor if he or she develops one. I guess we'll never know whether Twiggy still here because of her infection or in spite of it.

 

 

 

Alicia, as far as how long he should be in the hospital, I think hind leg amps typically stay in for a shorter time than front-leg, but it also depends a lot on how the dog is doing in the hospital, whether there were any complications, and what the owner wants (or is capable of - if I was a vet tech, I'd have been comfortable bringing Twiggy home a lot earlier).

 

For us, with a front-leg amp, Twiggy doing very well being hospitalized (she had a friend working there and able to give her some extra visits!), and us being 6 hours from home at OSU, I wanted her there as long as possible - they actually had to boot us out They were like "it's time, she's ready to go home!" I was worried that something would go wrong somewhere in the middle of Indiana and I wouldn't be able to get help in time.

 

You and Henry's doctors will make the decision on when to bring him home.

[krissn333]

I felt comfortable bringing Pinky home because I was able to pick her up without any problem, so, I knew I could handle her without issue. Also, having done broken leg rehab and other medical stuff with greyhounds for the past 11 years, I was pretty comfortable with dealing with anything that would come our way. I'm glad I was able because she was definitely agitated being at the vet's office

 

Something that Dr. Less does with amps that I am not sure everyone does - Pinky was wrapped up for close to two weeks after her amp. It helps keep swelling and oozing to a minimum. I'd say she was bandaged for about a week and a half and during that time she had the bandages changed two or three times.

 

The other plus to the wrap is that her stump had a little cushion, so if she dipped and touched down, her stump was protected and I definitely didn't worry as much about her freaking out if she bumped herself.

[Guest fastcasper]

My oncologist and techs said that in humans when Doxo is being administered, they get a tingling sensation in the vein. It can make some humans uncomfortable. So, Casper was hypersensitive and might have freaked out with a weird feeling going on. They covered their bases if it was an allergic reaction or some discomfort. I already told them that if that is going to happen again, that I don't want to do round 2 of the Doxo. Today he didn't need any meds to get him to eat and he seems good again today. My acupuncturist/vet looked at his vein to see if she could see any "damage" but his arm looks good.

 

If the mets are reduced, I'm incline to go with Cytoxan until we need to stop treatments. I don't know yet where they get it from but I will keep in mind about Diamond back drug. Good to know!!

 

Casper was amputated on a Monday and came home Tuesday afternoon. I was hoping they would keep him one night more. And they would have if I really insisted, but Casper gets very stressed out at vet and they thought he would be better at home. It was harder on me because I really didn't know what to expect. I read ALL the threads here which helped out a ton! But until you go through it, anything can happen. I think I hurt Casper one night when I thought I was helping him, it broke my heart and I started to cry. But he calmed down and he and I began to figure this out together. He had a tougher time adjusting than I think most dogs do. It really took 5-6 weeks when he turned his corner. He still today, has phantom pains, but it is much better controlled and he hardly skips a beat with it.

 

I took the whole week off when he got home and never left him. I had a friend come over so I could run out and do errand/shower/sleep etc. Then when I had to go back to work (self employed), I blocked off the couch and the room so he could not get into trouble. My other grey, Wynnie, pretty much left him alone. She really didn't try to play with him for a couple of months. Nor did she really treat him any different with three legs (though sometimes I wished she had). She knocked him over a couple of times, I was there to help him recover and then make a little game of it because I actually think he was a little embarrassed.

Edited December 1, 2013 by fastcasper

[Guest bozicj]

Python update: We had a rough night on Saturday. I woke up at 4:00am to her breathing heavy and on the exhale it was a combo of a whine/cry/rasp. She's also been coughing a lot lately. I have her follow-up recheck on Thursday but I think I'm going to try to get her in before then. I want to remain positive but I'm scared.

[Guest fastcasper]

Fingers crossed for Python!! Please let us know what the doc says.

[Victor]

My thoughts are with you and Python. Lana's started coughing lately too. Our vet said that tends to happen when the mass starts pushing on the lung and irritating it. Our vet gave us three things to keep an eye out for: (1) change in gum color (paler than usual or bluish indicates she's not getting enough oxygen), (2) coughing up blood, and (3) decrease in appetite and lethargy.

[Charlies_Dad]

Good thoughts for Python.

[Guest bozicj]

Python's xrays today were not encouraging. There has been a lot of expansion and multiplication of the nodules. They're just everywhere

 

We're off chemo since it is clearly not helping. Just rimadyl and adding tramadol.

 

I think I'm going to keep Kleenex in business this month. The vet said we just need to keep her comfortable until we make a decision. We're supposed to watch out for any issues with her eating/drinking and or peeing/pooping. Or the inability to get comfortable.

 

I wasn't ready for this news...

[Victor]

I'm so sorry, bozicj. It's just not fair.

[TwiggysMom]

I am so sorry to hear this about Python. I hope you and she can still enjoy some very good days together.

[cristar]

You can do this Jeni. I know in the back of your heart you've

been preparing for what could happen, all the while trying to help

her the best you could and give her as long as possible. You've done that.

She's a strong little fighter.

Love her with all your might and let her go when you know it's time, knowing

that you've done everything possible to try and make her better.

You've done well sweetheart.

I am so, so sorry for this news.

Love you,

Marcy

[a_daerr]

So sorry for your bad news with Python... Poor girl. Hoping you have some more good days together.

[MP_the4pack]

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{ Jeni and Python }}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

 

Jeni, it's never easy. It never will be. But she's just enjoying today with you, each and every day.

[Guest fastcasper]

I'm so sorry about Python's news. What chemo were you guys using? You have done a great job with her and she loves you unconditionally. Remember she is living in the moment and in this moment she is still happy. It's harder on us than them, but I rather carry the burden then them. I know Casper and I will be facing this very same situation in the near future (I hope I can take my own advice too), and it breaks my heart when any of us have to face this. Continue to embrace each day/moment with her.

[greytdecals]

Hi Everyone...Suzie here, dropping in to give you a brief update on Maggie-Mae. On November 11 we celebrated an amazing milestone, 5 years post amp!

 

For those of you unfamiliar with Maggie's osteo journey...she was diagnosed in November of 2008 with osteo in the metatarsal region of her foot(very rare) and had her rear left leg amputated on November 11, 2008. She had 6 chemo treatments consisting of Carboplatin/Gemzar. Maggie was given 6 months to a year survival rate and here we are 5 years later.

 

I don't want to give anyone a false sense of hope, because this is not the normal with osteo.

 

Why has she survived this long? I don't know, we have no real answers for that. Was it because it was in her foot? Was it because she had an infection at the incision site after surgery? Did we catch it early? No one will ever really know, but what we do know is that we are blessed to have her with us and treasure every single moment!

 

Maggie is 11 years old and has slowed down a lot. She struggles with hind end weakness. We are currently taking her for acupuncture treatments which are helping to keep her stable and still able to move around on her own. She also takes 100mg of Gabapentin a day. At this point we are only trying to keep her comfortable. She eats well and still goes outside on her own, she still has a greyt attitude and till she says otherwise, she's not going anywhere!

 

Maggie's message to everyone is to never give up Hope!!

 

Keeping all of you in my thoughts and prayers. Osteo is evil but every now and then it can be beat!

 

[a_daerr]

Maggie Mae.

This gives me hope that Henry can still live a long, fulfilling life. She was diagnosed at age 6, then?

[greytdecals]

Maggie Mae.

This gives me hope that Henry can still live a long, fulfilling life. She was diagnosed at age 6, then?

You just never know.....

 

Yes, she was 6 when diagnosed.

[tbhounds]

YEA MAGGIE!!!!!!! Gives such hope for all

[Guest bozicj]

I'm so sorry about Python's news. What chemo were you guys using? You have done a great job with her and she loves you unconditionally. Remember she is living in the moment and in this moment she is still happy. It's harder on us than them, but I rather carry the burden then them. I know Casper and I will be facing this very same situation in the near future (I hope I can take my own advice too), and it breaks my heart when any of us have to face this. Continue to embrace each day/moment with her.

 

She had micro-mets by the time she was finally healed from surgery (we had over a month of bandage changes, etc due to infection post-amp) so we didn't do any IV chemo. We started on Palladia but the 4-6 week checkup showed that although she was tolerating it well it wasn't effective. Her mets were the same size but more of them. We've had her on Chlorambucil (Leukeran) for the past month and that was also well tolerated but didn't help at all. Her xrays showed extensive metasteses since the last set. For only being a month apart the difference was astonishing.

 

We're trying to deal with the news but the long and short of it is that she is having trouble breathing (coughing/wheezing) and we've got her on tramadol now which makes her seem a bit out of it and more lethargic than normal. She's not "her". I think we might need to say goodbye as early as this week

[MP_the4pack]

 

She had micro-mets by the time she was finally healed from surgery (we had over a month of bandage changes, etc due to infection post-amp) so we didn't do any IV chemo. We started on Palladia but the 4-6 week checkup showed that although she was tolerating it well it wasn't effective. Her mets were the same size but more of them. We've had her on Chlorambucil (Leukeran) for the past month and that was also well tolerated but didn't help at all. Her xrays showed extensive metasteses since the last set. For only being a month apart the difference was astonishing.

 

We're trying to deal with the news but the long and short of it is that she is having trouble breathing (coughing/wheezing) and we've got her on tramadol now which makes her seem a bit out of it and more lethargic than normal. She's not "her". I think we might need to say goodbye as early as this week

 

[Guest fastcasper]

I am sorry about Python, this is very upsetting. Please try to hang in there, you are and will continue to do the right thing for your girl. You and Python are in my thoughts.

 

Kim and Casper

[greysmom]

I'm so sorry Python didn't respond well to the treatments. You've done everything possible for her.

[Guest bozicj]

Just made the most difficult phone call ever to make an appointment to say goodbye. I hate this.