Osteo Thread Part 8

[MP_the4pack]

Thinking of you today. Please remember, the first two weeks are the hardest. Don't second guess yourself at least during that time. Just support her.

 

Then suddenly she will seem back to normal with just a hitch in her giddyup.

[Charlies_Dad]

They may be late but good wishes for your boy.

[Guest Hollys2hounds]

Thank you all. It seems Kelsey did well with surgery and all went well. She will have a tech with her thru the night, and I will continue to get updates.

Praying she will come home Saturday or Sunday.

[Rickiesmom]

That is a big milestone, so glad it all went well. If you haven't already, I would suggest going to the tripawds.com website. They have two downloadable books in PDF format, and "Three Legs and a Spare" is a great resource to prepare you for when Kelsey comes home. Holding you both in my thoughts.

[Neighsayer]

Glad it went well. Thanks for the update. Hope she has a speedy recovery. Make sure that you take care of you!

[a_daerr]

Yay! Holly, if you PM me your address, I'll send you a superhero collar for Kelsey.

Everyone on GT was so kind when Henry got amped (16 months ago... yay!) I try to pay it forward.

[Guest Hollys2hounds]

Kelsey is still in the hospital. Amp was on Thursday morning. Doctor says she is bright and alert, but too much oozing to come home.

We are praying for Monday.

[Neighsayer]

Glad she is doing well.

[Guest Hollys2hounds]

Kelsey is home, and recovering. She got home Monday afternoon. Today makes one week since amp. Doing well. Walking, eating well, pooping and peeing!

Getting used to her new body.

[Neighsayer]

Yay!

[Remolacha]

I have just read through this thread, cried for the losses, cheered for the ones still with us. When I lost my Charley girl to osteo last Nov, I didn't come here because hers was the dreaded scenario, mild limp, yeah gotta get that x-rayed, she slips, falls, breaks her leg, x-rays show cancer all over the place, let her go. It was devastating but there were no real questions or choices.

 

I want to thank everyone who has posted for the valuable information and insights which help making a difficult decision a little easier.

 

I am in a different place today. Sallie broke her leg on Sunday, the vet who looked at her (not my regular) thought it was just a fracture, no cancer. So the next day they repaired the fracture and we came home. My vet saw the x-rays and said uh-oh. She showed them to a radiologist, who said the same, and today we emailed them to Dr C. He agrees, it is osteo.

 

So, here is one question, since the bone has already fractured and been "repaired" can it break again? I have now heard the broken leg version of the GSOD twice and never, ever, EVER want to hear it again. I have not made a final decision yet, but am leaning towards palliative care rather than amp. Which is why the re-break question.

[greysmom]

I don't think the leg would reheal if that is the site of the original tumor. Have you done chest xrays?

[Remolacha]

no, I know it won't heal, but the fracture is currently pinned and braced? wrapped? something they did to stabilize it when it was thought to be "just" a fracture. Chest x-rays have not been done, that is one of the things I will follow up with. Right now I am thinking of doing a consult with a local oncologist that I know and like.

[JJNg]

So, here is one question, since the bone has already fractured and been "repaired" can it break again? I have now heard the broken leg version of the GSOD twice and never, ever, EVER want to hear it again. I have not made a final decision yet, but am leaning towards palliative care rather than amp. Which is why the re-break question.

 

So sorry to hear about Sallie's diagnosis. Considering that OSA will continue to weaken the bone, I would have to say that re-break is possible. The hardware used to repair fractures is not meant for long term support, just temporary while the bone heals, which will likely not happen in this case. The actual risk of re-break probably depends on exactly where the fracture is and how they surgically stabilized it, also whether it's in a location that's amenable to also using an external splint for additional support.

 

Also keep in mind that even stabilized, the bone cancer is still painful, and amputation would remove the source of that pain. Obviously chest x-rays need to be done before amputation is even considered, and your oncologist should be able to provide more guidance too. Sending good thoughts. As always, there's no right or wrong, and there's no easy answer.

[Remolacha]

Thank you. The break was "spiral fracture" type break of the left humerus, with the cancer lesion at the top of the bone Pretty classic osteo from what I understand They put in a pin and wrapped the bone with wires (?) Just another complication we don't need.

[greysmom]

bumping to the top

[Rickiesmom]

Revisiting Palladia with your help please.

 

My understanding is that no study has yet shown it helps with osteosarcoma mets, however, there seems to be some anecdotal evidence from oncologists suggesting they are seeing some positive results.

 

I have also heard that it has side effects pretty often, and sometimes these are severe. This is concerning because unlike post-amp chemo, your dog needs to stay on Palladia long term.

 

My questions are:

 

--> is there any new information anyone is aware of, regarding the efficacy of Palladia in slowing the development of new and existing lung mets, and

 

--> either in your practice, or as an owner of a dog to whom Palladia has been given, what was your experience, in particular if you were using it alone and not as part of a multi-drug metronomic protocol.

 

ALSO:

 

Does anyone have experience with stereotactic radiation for lung mets.

 

Thank you!!

[JJNg]

I'm not sure where you heard that Palladia has side effects 'pretty often', but from what I've seen from personal experience and talking to our local oncologist, while the risk of side effects is real and potentially serious, the frequency of problems is pretty low, especially when compared with traditional chemo. Palladia is one of a class of drugs considered targeted therapy because it targets certain receptors of cancer cells more specifically than chemo. Traditional chemo tends to affect all rapidly dividing cells, which is what results in most of the negative effects it is known for. Also, if a dog does develop side effects from Palladia, the majority clear up quickly once the medication is stopped.

 

I had a dog who was on Palladia for almost 3 years with absolutely no problems. I've also had a couple patients who were on Palladia for mast cell tumors, which is the FDA-approved use, and neither had any issues with it.

 

I don't have any experience with using Palladia to treat lung mets from osteosarcoma.

[seeh2o]

Update and a question. My friend's greyhound, Sunny, who had his leg amputated a couple of months ago is doing really well. He goes for walks (more like kangaroo hops!) in the park daily. He just had his third chemo treatment and they did xrays and everything was clear!

 

My question is this, what is safe for him in terms of flea and tick prevention since he is slated for more chemo? Would a Preventic be safe? Advantage for flea protection?

[Charlies_Dad]

Rickiesmom, we gave Charlie Palladia prior to what the latest studies have shown. Did it help him? We are not sure but do not regret the decision and his side effects were minimal. Truly he had none to be honest however he was on over the counter stomach settlers just in case.

 

As for Sunny, that is a good question. We did not apply anything to Charlie while he was having Chemo just to be sure.

[a_daerr]

My question is this, what is safe for him in terms of flea and tick prevention since he is slated for more chemo? Would a Preventic be safe? Advantage for flea protection?

 

Interesting question! Our oncologist never told us *not* to do flea and tick, so Henry still got Heartgard and Frontline through his six chemo treatments. I wanted to make sure my boy wouldn't get a TBD on top of everything else he was dealing with. He was not able to get any vaccines for a year following the chemo, so we had to opt out of the Lyme vaccine.

[kjw]

I appreciate all the wisdom you are sharing through the pain. It's helping a lot of people!

 

I have a possible OS diagnosis for one of my furkids, it is either osteo or hemagio, we have to do an FNA to find out which. I will be travelling 6 hours for the FNA, and if OS is the diagnosis, I'm going to have to make a fast decision about treatment. My biggest concern right now if we do an amp is the environment in our home. I have 6 greyhounds of my own, and I'm coming up on the busy season for Camp Greyhound. I have concerns about this boy getting bumped around. He is 10.5, and the tumor is at the proximal tibia on the back leg. I could crate him of course, but I wouldn't want to in the long term. Will he learn to deal with the thundering herd, or am I nuts to be considering this?

[MP_the4pack]

I currently have a tripod that I dogsit. When he first lost his leg he would forget and try to run full speed and act as if he still had 4 legs. But he has become conservative now and while he'll still play, he does hang back from the pack.

 

When I had a 12 yr old an OS amp, she too was going full speed but after about a month or so realized she can't go that fast and kind of hung back.

 

Your boy will probably do the same. So you may have to crate to start with until he realizes he still doesn't have 4 legs. But I think he'll get the hang of it eventually.

 

I'm sorry you're facing this. Good luck.

[a_daerr]

Definitely a legitimate concern. I was worried when Henry had his amputation because my other greyhound, Truman, was only 2-years-old at the time. He is very big and strong and had the tendency to act like a bull in a China shop. Luckily, he picked up fairly quickly that he needed to be more careful around Henry. It didn't require much training or coaxing for me- seemed more like an instinctual thing.

 

I have no personal experience with amputations in a pack environments, but I think the toughest part would be the recovery period. Keeping him stable and comfortable for those first two weeks would be a challenge with a pack of other greys who will no doubt be interested and confused. After that, though, I'm sure it would become more manageable.

 

Best of luck... Crossing my fingers for the best possible diagnosis.

[kjw]

I'm still not sure what the best possible diagnosis is between those two, I'm told hemangio - there would be no amp with that.

 

I think it might be possible to keep this pup down at Metzgers, at least for the first week, maybe I should ask for 10 days. That might be the best solution, then he could come home when he's not so fragile. Apart from the other hounds, the house is pretty amp friendly, as I collect seniors.