Osteo Thread Part 8

[tbhounds]

Does anyone have experience with stereotactic radiation for lung mets.

 

I had SRT treatment performed on my girl here in NJ (brain tumor). I was talking to them about ghs and Osteo and possible treatment plans. They said they have been doing more SRT treatments on OSA patients (limbs) but, don't have long term documented results. (So many people would just rather amp) They did say that they are so far encouraged with what they have seen. I did not talk about lung mets but, I'm sure they wouldn't mind answering your questions.

http://www.vetmrirt.com

[greysmom]

kjw, I agree with the above about the recovery period being the hardest part. We had four other greyhounds here when our boy had his amp surgery, and our house is very small.

 

It was quite crowded around here for about three weeks as we rearranged furniture and beds to make a healing space for him. Within a couple months he was back to nearly normal - running in the backyard, doing the stairs (terrifying for us!), playing, etc.

 

We did leave him in the hospital for several extra days following his surgery, until he was stable on his feet, able to get up and down, and go potty on his own. That seemed to make things easier once we did get him home.

[kjw]

Greysmom, that's just what I needed to hear. I can arrange for extra time at Metzger's, and I can create an area for him for 3 weeks. He is a good candidate otherwise.

 

Thank you all.

[a_daerr]

Just checking in to see how all the osteo dogs are doing...?

 

Kinda cool thing happened with Henry. We took the dogs to Dairy Queen the other day, and of course, you can't go anywhere with a three-legged dog without everyone saying, "Oh... that's so sad! What happened to him?" I started explaining to this lady that Henry had a type of cancer that compromised the bones in his leg. A young man who is a foreign exchange student from the Congo came up to us and said, "I lost my leg to bone cancer too." He pulled up his pant leg, and sure enough, he had a prosthetic leg. After speaking with him for a little while, we learned that he had his leg amputated and completed six rounds of chemo- the exact same as Henry! He has been in remission for ten years now, and is studying at one of our local colleges. As we were saying goodbye, he gave Henry a hug and said how much this touched his heart. Of course, I started crying. It was just an awesome coincidence that really made my day.

[kjw]

What a great experience to have! You never know what's going to happen when you go out the door, do you?

 

Gabe and are are preparing for our trip to PA tomorrow. By 2pm we should know for sure what kind of cancer he has, and I will have a decision to make about treatment. I very much appreciate the feedback I received here, it made me a lot more confident that I know what to do should Gabe have OS.

[kjw]

To update, Gabe and I are at Metzger's. He had his FNA yesterday and OS was confirmed. He will be having his surgery this morning and staying until next Friday. We will likely be doing Carbo as per Guillermo's recommendation, every two or 3 weeks I think. I am trying to keep busy and not worry.

[MP_the4pack]

I wish you the best of luck with the surgery. Please remember, the first two weeks are the hardest.......ON YOU. He may be whiney, agitated, uncomfortable, just not himself. Many of us think it's more the medication than the pain. Once you can get past that point, he will become his normal self. I had an amp done on a 12 yr old, and I've never regretted it. She ran around for 6 months painfree and full of life. (OS then hit another leg)

[a_daerr]

Fingers crossed for Gabe The Babe.

[Remolacha]

hope the surgery goes well!

[tbhounds]

Will be thinking of you and Gabe <3

[greysmom]

[kjw]

They are almost done, just suturing now. He did well with no excessive bleeding...he had GCs's protocol for that. Trying to figure out how long he should stay away from the thundering herd at my place...a week, or would 2be best? Seems like a long time. What do you guys think?

[RedHead]

Oh Karen, what a dedicated dog mom you are! I am so sorry about the diagnosis, but am happy to hear that the surgery went well. You must be able to take a few deep breathes now. I hope the recovery goes well.

[KF_in_Georgia]

Play it by ear with Gabe. Reading here, I've seen that some patients haven't wanted to eat well in the hospital, haven't rested well there, and have done better at home quickly. Some were so delighted by the attention they got that they were fine at the hospital, while going home would have been hectic. You want his pain well controlled and a routine for meds established (if he's going to have an upset stomach from meds, let him have it at the vet's); you want him to be able to get to his feet with a minimum of trouble (so he'll be able to get up okay when he's home). He needs to figure out his balance and learn to get around potential obstacles at your house. (Is he going to need runners on slick floors?) And he needs to adjust to things--including doing some of the panicked yelling I've heard about--without setting off your other dogs.

Suggestion: Take a t-shirt you've worn but not laundered. Let the other dogs sleep with it to get it nicely smelled up, then leave it with Gabe.

[kjw]

Ok we will play I by ear and see how he does...they have agreed to feed him raw which is amazing...picked up some packaged meat for him. There are no slick floors at Camp Greyhound as we have matts everywhere for seniors. Goin to try to get the ramp replaced while he's gone, it's past time. I get one more visit in the morning before I go home so hopefully I will be able to get him to eat. Mayb not, his surgery was just finished today around 2pm so he might not eat for a while yet. He did have a little walk.

[Charlies_Dad]

I am glad the surgery went well for Gabe. Heing thoughts for your boy.

[kjw]

A vessle broke open last night and they had to open him up to stop it. He is resting now but his hemo dropped to 35. I hate to leave him but I'm supposed to drive home today.

[Batmom]

Sending best thoughts for your boy!

[Neighsayer]

Hope he heals up quickly!

[greysmom]

Glad everything went well for Gabe. Even the added surgery was probably a plus it happened when he was still there.

 

You will want to consult with your oncologist about feeding raw during the next 2 months or so, as he heals and continues with chemo. Our onco advised against it as their immune system is completely broken down, and any little bacteria could become quite serious. After treatment, it was OK to resume raw feeding.

[kjw]

Thanks for all the good thoughts for Gabe. He has not eaten yet, but he's been up and passed urine a few times, so that's a good thing. The bleeding appears to have mostly stopped. They did a smear to check and make sure nothing weird was going on with the platelets, but the tech I talked to could not find the results for me. Hemocrit is "ok" hopefully up from 35 which it was after the surgery. No food yet but it's not been 24 hours since the 2nd procedure; hopefully tomorrow he'll chow down a bit.

[a_daerr]

Looking for updates on Gabe and Kelsey...

[kjw]

We are doing ok here. Gabe had some trouble with spiking temps but that's stopped now. He does still have some fluid oozing, and apparently he keeps trying to get up, which is not always successful. I suspect he doesn't like the kennel, but today the updates have been much better, and he seems to have turned a bit of a corner. He is eating and going for walks. There is bruising. I checked with Dr. Couto about doing his chemo on Thursday before I pick him up, and he thought that would be fine so long as they have the path report in. We will likely stay somewhere in PA Thursday night, maybe in Bradford, and then we can get on the road early and over the border before the traffic gets crazy for Memorial day weekend. Fingers crossed everything goes smoothly!

[Batmom]

Glad to hear he's making progress! Hugs and safe travels!

[kjw]

Thanks Jey!

 

I'm wondering what all the rear leg amps use to keep their incisions clean. It's pretty warm for a belly warmer or sweater, any one like to share?