Radiation Therapy For Manny's Sarcoma Or Melanoma

[Guest Annabelly]

Hi all,

 

Manny recently had a partial mandibulectomy as some of you may know (thanks for all the well wishes). Today we had our follow up appointment where his surgeon told me that the ventricular margin was only 5m and they want to see 10m. Daily radiation therapy for a month was recommended. My other option was to wait and see if the tumor returns. I feel I'm at a point of no return because I had half his jaw removed, but before today I was telling myself I would do palliative care if he needed more treatment... who has experience with radiation therapy? He will have to be anesthetized daily and I do not want to put him through an ounce of pain... I just don't know what to do here...any advice is welcome. I want what's best for him. Can palliative care sometimes be curative if it's the right kind of tumor? We are still waiting on a final biopsy staining.

 

I went from relieved after his surgery with high hopes and now I feel beat down yet again...

 

Thanks so much-hug your hounds.

[Patsy]

No info but huge hugs.

[tbhounds]

Once a day for 30 days would be brutal. I would what for the final biopsy report-gather all the info you have -complete a synopsis and consult with Dr Couto--aka Dr Greyhound before I proceeded to do anything further.

 

http://www.coutovetconsultants.com

[Guest Annabelly]

Yes, I have just emailed Dr. Couto, my adoption agency front man told me she would do the therapy, as it could buy him up to 2 years. For some reason, my gut is saying not to do this, as it is possible that the tumor won't regrow. The final staining of the biopsy is 1,000 dollars, so I'm waiting on a call back from his surgeon to see if the type of cancer effects any further treatment. It sounded like either cancer needed treatment. I hope Dr Couto can help.

[tbhounds]

Wait for his opinion -he will be more than helpful. He will need labs, history, surgical notes etc....

[GeorgeofNE]

Just my 2 cents, but I think you should go with your gut.

 

Dogs cannot understand "I'm trying to buy you time." All he will know is the misery of the treatment. It's a deeply personal decision, but I always go with my gut in these sorts of situations.

[Guest greytkidsmom]

I'm reading this a bit late, do you know your guy's final path? I had a boy who didn't have mandibulectomy but maxillectomy for fibrosarcoma which is locally invasive but not commonly metastatic. The first surgery did not get clean margins and we were offered radiation, reoperation to get clean margins, or palliation. This particular dog hated riding in the car and the referral center was 3 hours from home so radiation therapy wasn't the right choice for him. We took a chance on a second surgery which was much more radical than the first but achieved clean margins. It took about 3 months for him to recover and we questioned ourselves every day. We bought a little bullet blender and ground his kibble into powder then mixed it with water for at least two months. He ended up living 3.5 happy years afterward and even caught and ate a couple of rodents in the backyard. He left us for reasons completely different than the fibrosarcoma that led to the maxillectomy and in the end we were glad to have done it. If you have any questions or just need to talk please feel free to email me at lgwhitepac@yahoo.com.