Post Op visit

Well we were doing so well after his amputation that we had to keep a close eye on bull because all of a sudden he wanted to climb the stairs, jump on the couch,etc. You guys were right he would make a full recovery and learn to be whole with 3 legs!!! And he Did!! But after getting his stitches out we met with the oncologist and they repeated the xrays that today show the cancer has spread to the lungs. It has only been 2 weeks since his amputation and the cancer already spread rapidly. The oncologist were not very helpful at all. Basically they gave us option of chemo in the hospital , metronomic chemo at home or pallative care. They could only tell us that they think he is at a stage of approx 2 months left. How can they know that????? ugggghh!! When I asked them the statistics of survival rates for this type of case they could not give me any. I called the vet that did the amputation and has been seeing Bull for the past few years and she will send me some information to help me decide. So to make a long story short—WE were sooooo happy to see how well he was adjusting to his life on 3 legs and now hopeless and devastated at the lastest development. We feel alone in this decision. (medically I mean) except for our surgeon that has been the most caring vet we have ever seen.
Thank you for all your concern.

9 thoughts on “Post Op visit”

  1. Sonia and Bull

    I am so sorry to hear that they found lung mets already. That is incredibly rotten news! And to hear how great he is adjusting to life on three legs.

    I can’t say how long a dog might go with mets, but you should start to post in the regular forums (I hadn’t noticed you until now – sorry but lots of us just discuss things in the forums). I’m certain you will get lots of useful feedback there.

    My dog Tazzie seems to have some mets, but they are really weird ones (under the skin and possibly in the spleen; we were 6 weeks post-amp when I found the one under his skin). So I am also figuring out whether to do chemo, metronomics or a new drug called Palladia. Or Artemisinin which is unproven but should not hurt and sounds as though it has potential. Anyway, do post in the forums and tell us about Bull. How old is he?

    Tazzie

  2. Tazzie,

    Sorry to hear you are also going through a similar experience.
    I have yet to master this site so I still do not know how to post in forums. My rottweiler is 7 years old.

  3. …I still do not know how to post in forums…

    Welcome to the Tripawds community Bull! To participate in the discussion forums, just find a topic of interest and click the Post Reply button. You can use the Search button to find threads about specific concerns, or click Add Topic within a relative forum, such as Share Your Story, or others. Hope this helps!

    Also, since you mentioned metronomics, be sure to check out Jerry’s post about his metronomic therapy.

  4. I am one of those that try to read the blogs, because the forums are mind boggling!
    However, Jerry did teach me about Google reader and it does help to just flip through what’s new and then click on the one’s that I might have something to add.
    While scanning through all these forum posts, one thing I have noticed…no one has control over the date and fate of a dog. There are so many who have lived waaaaaaaaay past the deadline given by a vet. Of course, I do not know anything about the mets Bull has. What I do know is that if you keep giving him a good quality of life while he is here-great food, healthy treats, supplements, awesome dogsome playtime-he will give you back the love 10-fold over.
    Dogs are incredibly perceptive. Give him love, and he will help you through this.

  5. Oh, I’m so sorry. I really hope Bull beats the odds with his lung mets so that he can get in more quality, pain-free time with his fam!

    Yoda developed lung mets a little over a month ago (but he’s almost 4 months post amp now – what a great few months it has been!). I was told the same 2 month statistic. The median survival time after lung mets are found is 2 months, they say. Dogs have certainly gone MONTHS longer than that with good quality of life – I’ve read about them on this site. Not sure if Yoda will be one of them, we’re having a difficult night and will be going in for emergency care in the morning, but for now he’s ok and resting.

    I’ll being thinking about Bull and you guys and praying that the mets don’t slow him down for a long long long time, no matter what treatment option you pursue.

    Oh by the way, since you’ll probably wonder, Yoda’s only treatment right now is Piroxicam (an anti-inflammatory, and one of the metronomic drugs, I believe). He developed his mets just before his last chemo (carboplatin) treatment was scheduled and there wasn’t enough money left after that to pursue anything more rigorous than the Piroxicam (a different chemo drug or Palladia were the oncologist’s top two suggestions, though she gave both only a 15% chance of helping). Piroxicam has been shown to have “anti-cancer activity,” so it could slow the mets down a bit.

  6. I am so sorry to hear that lung mets have come already. I don’t know much about the protocol for them but I do know that there have been many dogs on this site that have had more than two months with mets. Please check some of the forums so you can have some ideas when you meet with your vet. I have seen your post on the forums so you and Bull are already in my prayers.
    Debra & Emily

  7. I’m so sorry to hear about Bull… I can just imagine how devastated you are feeling now. First the horrible diagnosis of bone cancer, then going through the amputation… now this.

    How is Bull feeling otherwise? Does he have any symptoms from his newly discovered lung mets like coughing or shortness of breath? Get on the disscusion forums (if you haven’t already) and find out all the other treatments (chemo, NSAIDS, bisphosphonates, supplements, etc) that are being used, and then go back to your oncologist and discuss all the options.

    I know that one day, I will also be in your same situation… but for now I’m just concentrating on taking things one day at a time. Today is just 10 days post-op for my Jake. He is a 10yr old golden retriever. I just want to make sure that he is happy, pain-free and getting as much love and affection from us as he can. None of us know how much time we have left with our babies…

    Please keep us posted on Bull’s progress.

  8. How is Bull doing these days? It’s been a couple of weeks since you last posted and I’ve been thinking of you and Bull…

    Jake is now 1 month and 1 week post op… and he’s had his ups and his downs. Seems like he’s more tired/down this week… My husband is sure there is soemthing wrong… he says he can see it in Jake’s eyes… I don’t know… It’s such a freaken rollercoaster, this whole cancer crap! I am so tired of it… but will not give up on Jake until the very end… whenever he decides that will be…

    Jake’s Mom

  9. Hi Bull’s pawrents,

    Haven’t seen any posts from your recently… How is Bull doing these days? Last post you said that the cancer had metastisized to his lungs… poor baby.

    My Jake lost his battle to this horrible cancer on Nov 9… his cancer had spread to his spine, in just less than 8 weeks after his surgery. I miss him so much.

    Angel Jake’s Mom

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