Osteo Thread Part 9

[EllenEveBaz]

Go, Bowie, go!

[greysmom]

bumping to the top for visibility

[TanManMom]

Hi, our boy Tanner, who is eight years old, was diagnosed last week with osteo in his right rear leg. We met with the oncologist today to discuss options. We are trying to decide between amputation/chemo and palliative care (probably a combo of radiation/bone infusion). Tanner may qualify to participate in a clinical trial at a vet school relatively close to us, which would help with the cost of chemo, although we would still do chemo even if we do not participate in the trial.

 

I know that the decision is personal for each family but I was hoping to get input on your experiences post-surgery, especially the first week home after amputation. The vet told us that Tanner would come home after one night at the clinic, unless there are complications. My husband and I can take a few days off from work to care for Tanner, but it could be challenging to do so for an extended period. Also, what could we expect when he gets home, and any tips/advice on what we can do to prepare before bringing him home?

 

Many thanks in advance, Melissa

[seeh2o]

Please hold good thoughts for my girl, she is having electrochemotherapy on her two nodules today. They are rare soft tissue mets, so soft tissue osteo. Dr Alice Villalobos, one of the vets interviewed in from the Cancer in Dogs series, will be doing it. Bowie's lungs were still clear at her last osteo vaccine booster shot visit a few weeks ago, her blood work was good, too. She's happy, playful, demanding, sassy, eating well, she's still able to fight it with a good quality of life, so we push forward. Every day is truly a gift. ❤️

Edited October 9, 2018 by seeh2o

[BatterseaBrindl]

[greysmom]

Go Bowie!

[seeh2o]

So, we got there and everything changed. The tumors were much larger than Dr. Villalobos expected and, given Bowie's age she was really worried about major surgery in two locations. Debulking apparently means removing the tumor rather than going in and removing some of the cancer cells encapsulated in it (which is what I expected). So, she injected the tumor with a form of chemo that she has had good luck with with osteosarcoma in hopes it will kill it from the inside out. We didn't want to give it systemically because we don't want to interfere with the osteo/listeria vaccine. She will get treatments of this every couple of weeks.

 

I don't see this as a negative or a setback, just an alternative to today's plan that is significantly less stressful on her body and spirit.

Edited October 10, 2018 by seeh2o

[greysmom]

[tbhounds]

So, we got there and everything changed. The tumors were much larger than Dr. Villalobos expected and, given Bowie's age she was really worried about major surgery in two locations. Debulking apparently means removing the tumor rather than going in and removing some of the cancer cells encapsulated in it (which is what I expected). So, she injected the tumor with a form of chemo that she has had good luck with with osteosarcoma in hopes it will kill it from the inside out. We didn't want to give it systemically because we don't want to interfere with the osteo/listeria vaccine. She will get treatments of this every couple of weeks.

I don't see this as a negative or a setback, just an alternative to today's plan that is significantly less stressful on her body and spirit.

Curious-was the chemo 5FU?

[seeh2o]

It was something called Immunocidin. Go to www.immunocidin.com and read about it. It's a lot less expensive, they invest it directly into the tumor, you need about 4 treatments. Bowie didn't need any anesthesia at all. I may be crazy, but it looks like her tomorrow is slightly smaller. It isn't systemic, works on the tumor from the inside out, if I understand it correctly. One of her soft tissue mets seems to be mammary.

[seeh2o]

Geez Louise, I hate autocorrect.

*inject, not invest

*tumor, not tomorrow

[greysmom]

 

It's interesting. I'd never even heard of soft tissue mets, so I will be watching to see how Bowie responds.

[NeylasMom]

Thank you Bowie for continuing to be our guinea pig for these new and promising treatments!! I hope that tumor continues to shrink!

[seeh2o]

Thank you Bowie for continuing to be our guinea pig for these new and promising treatments!! I hope that tumor continues to shrink!

 

I guess she is a bit of a guinea pig, I hadn't really thought of it that way. She goes for her second injection of Immunocidin next week.

 

Back story: Bowie and I had to move recently from my sweet home of 24 years (l-o-n-g painful, sad, story which involves my downstairs neighbor, bad choices, her schizophrenia and an eviction that began in January - not mine). The last 10 months have been increasingly stressful, I do believe that the stress of living with the tension and fear of my neighbor has taken its' toll on the health of both Bowie and me. It came to a head 2 weeks ago when at 4:30am she threatened to kill me? my good neighbor? my landlord? I had to call 911 and the police took her away on a 5150, which was extended to a 5250.

 

It is as heart breaking as it has been maddening. She used to be a great neighbor, had a key to my place, would let the dogs out when I was at work, treated them as if they were her own. Her mental health had been slowly declining over the last 4 years, but rapidly the last 2. My feeling is that it has to do with menopausal hormonal changes in her body that were making her meds less and less effective. She took up with a religious group and decided that Jesus would be able to help her control the voices, so she stopped taking her medication. Her mental health decline became precipitous after that. She used to take things out on herself, made some very serious suicide attempts in the past. Now she is lashing out at those around her. She was so out of control, it was terrifying. I am so relieved that Bowie and I are out of there. We need to heal.

 

I hope my old downstairs neighbor gets/accepts the helps she needs, though I don't think she will accept it. We thoroughly expect she will become homeless or lose her life by putting herself in grave danger. She has pushed her family away, she doesn't seem to have any friends. We suspect in the weeks leading up to her recent big breakdown that she was doing sex work on the streets in the wee hours of the morning, given her coming and going for periods of half an hour to an hour for nights on end. At one point she came up to my gate and posted a photo she had taken of Bowie from her window, then crawled up from her steps, assumed the lotus position facing the photo and ooomed for about 15 seconds, then looked down at her open legs and was distracted by her crotch and started taking photos of it, muttering that "this will be a good one for you". It wasn't for me, I don't know who she sent it to. She has become completely delusional, making up stories and lies about me, friends, neighbors, and my landlord. Like I said, it's as heart breaking as it has been infuriating. It's a vicious circle that, for her, I fear will not end well.

 

So, we moved last week. Bowie now has a big house to run around in, a big flat yard to run around in, another greyhound to keep her company (I now have a roommate) and - I adopted a new boy named Barney (his call name at the track) who is the happiest, sweetest boy with such soft eyes. He and Bowie have known each other since July when he came in to Homecoming from Caliente. He has been fostered by my best friend since he came in and Bowie spends a lot of time with she, her husband, and their pack. We recently spent a week with them after the downstairs neighbor made death threats. They took us in and we were safe. I'm very lucky to have such good friends.

Edited October 19, 2018 by seeh2o

[greysmom]

I hope you and your family get back to a good (mental) place soon. How terrifying and upsetting. {{{hugs}}}

[seeh2o]

Took Bowie in for her treatment, her temp was 104.4. We attributed it to stress. Got her home and settled, 105.5. Doused her pads and abdomen with rubbing alcohol and put a fan on her and got it down to 102.2. It kept going up when I would stop the fan. She wasn't walking right either. I finally got her to eat, which seemed to help a bit. The vet stayed in touch with me via text, so I gave her Tramadol every 4 hours. That improved her walking. I'm afraid she isn't going to pull through. The vet said, "She has an FUO fever of Unknown Origin but since she has cancer, it's probably related." So she wants her to see an internist today. We need some prayers.

Edited October 24, 2018 by seeh2o

[greysmom]

[MaryJane]

I'm sorry to hear this.

 

Adam also had bouts of over-temperature which seemed to be attributed to coming out of anesthesia and also stress likely vet-related. He would get so stressed out at the vets that they would need to go through a cool-down procedure which took about 30 minutes during the visits (cold wet towels, fan, and gaba). What eventually helped with the stress of vet visits is giving gabapentin -- two 300mg about 2 hours before visit.

 

Hope that you get past this.

[BatterseaBrindl]

[NeylasMom]

Hoping for some good news for Bowie.

[seeh2o]

At the critical care. I don't think we're going to have good news.

[NeylasMom]

[Annette]

Sending gentle hugs.

[FiveRoooooers]

[greysmom]

 

Still hoping for good news....