I got a call from the vet today with the results from the biopsy. It was a confirmation of what we already knew, that the bone tumor was osteosarcoma. The only new info was that the lymph nodes from the surrounding tissue showed no abnormal cells. The pathologists are saying it is not an aggressive case but recommend chemo as they do with all dogs with this diagnosis.
I’m at a loss right now. I want to do everything I can for Tami because the idea of not having her in my life anymore is killing me but the uncertainty of whether this will extend her life or just cause her to be ill during the precious time we have left is impossible to know. I want to do whats right for her and I just don’t know what that is right now.
The stress of this decision coupled with the fact that Tami is having a low day today is causing me to be less optimistic and really sad. Hearing things like the life expectancy of a dog with a limb removal and no chemo is 3 to 6 months is hard to bare. However, Tami’s vet has a pooch whom had a front leg amp due to a tumor at 12 and no chemo is still alive 4 years after diagnosis. She told me however that this is an anomaly and she has never heard of another dog making it this long. But at least there is a glimmer of hope that Tami could beat the odds and be with me longer than 6 months.
People have said to me that its about quality of life over quantity but can’t I just have both….
I feel selfish even thinking that but like I said I’m just not ready to give up my best friend and the hardest part is I don’t think I ever will.
We all undrtstand every emotion you are having right now, along with all the questions.
And yes, you will see the ups and downs in Tami’s recovery for another week or so. A little sparkle coming backne day, not so much the next day. Ugh! But it will start coming back bigger amd brighter than you could imagine!
Okay, this is my 2¢ on follow-up treatment, nothing more! Remember two things, okay? Whatever decision you make out of love for Tami will be the right decision, okay? And, this stupid, hated disease makes up its own rules and they’re always changing! What works for ne dog, doesn’t for the next…and vice versa. It’s pretty much a crap shoot!
There ARE dogs on here who have lived year or more with no treatment. There are dogs on here who lived only months with no treatment.
There are dogs on here who lived a year or more with chemo. There are dogs on nere who lived only a few mnths with chemo.
And the same applies with special diets, supplements, holistic, etc. combined withor without treatment.
Now’ if that isn’t a crap shoot, I dn’t know what is.
I’ll share with you my thouht process for PROCEEDING with chemo. By the way, Happy Hannah is eightmnths post amp. and continuing forward feeling great (knockng on wood over here!) and every single second with her is all avout loving, spoiling and making her tail wag!
I would be asking myself, “Wouldit have made a difference if I had done chemo? Of course, had thi gs not gone well, I probavly have been askng myself, “Would she have done better if I had not done chemo? Crap shoot theory again!
I decided I needed to give her what I thought was the best possible chance for extended time WITH QUALITY!
I could ALWAYS stop if the side effects were too harsh. and really, I know youve already read this’ vut it’s TRUE! Most dogs have NO side effectsand the others onl experiencing mild nausea, tiredness or loss of appetite for maybe aday or so. And you have pills given to you for that just in case!
Happy Hannahu doesn’t mind car rides and she doesn’t mind going to the vet.
She had four founds of carboplarin, although most onco. go with five. SUPPOSEDLY, according to my onco, there are o studies showing a difference between four or five…SUPPOSEDLY but check it out with your onco.
Oh, and I didn’t start her chemo til after the third week as her recovery just wasn’t going full steam ahead and I wanted her feeling as good as possible.
In Hapy Hannah’s case, she had ZERO side effects! I may have given her one anti-nausea pill one time, can’t remember. I actualy think she started feeling better after her first trestment!! Crazy, right?
Her last carboplatin was in May. I researched and intended to follow-up with metronomics (which is a daily at home pill…..you can discuss that with your vet too. I think it’s most effective after the IV checmo…but maybe can be given on its own…not sure about that) Anyway, I started her on Cytoxan for two weeks and she had a urinary infection supposedly unrelated to the drug…vut that is a side effect of it. So I stopped it. There is another metronomic drug getting a lot of buzz tht, even though for various reasons I did not start her on, still may do it. It’s called Lukeran. “Jackson” has been onit for awhile and his mom Katy is the resident expert! Not a vet, okay? But I pers aly have found out more i fo. from tne peoplehere than I ever did with my onco!
I apologize for this being lengthy. I just wanted to share my experience and my thought process.
FORGET statistics! Hard, I know. Take it day by day, live in the moment. Live in the NOW…just like Tami is! To fill your days with worry robs you of your time together! Let nothing take away from these wonderful times with Tami Bear.
Hope this helps!
Now go do smething that makes Tami’s tail wag and you both will feel better! Really! Go do somehing right now! Is she wagging? YES! Now tht’s what it’s all about!!
Love and hugs to you and Tami!
Sally and Happy Hannah
My local pal Cemil is almost 5 YEARS out from his OSA amp, no chemo. Not common, but now you can tell your vet you’ve heard of another one!
Chemo is a personal decision, I’ve chosen to do chemo in one case, and not to do chemo in 2 other cases. Fact is that most dogs have little or no side effects from chemo. Not trying to sway you, but you should arm yourself with all knowledge before you make your decision.
Also I would encourage you to check out the forums here- tons of good information and people who have faced the decisions you are facing now.
My little pug Maggie was given 6 to 9 months WITH chemo after her amp for mast cell cancer. In that case I did do chemo. Mag lived almost 4 years and did not pass from mast cell. So don’t focus on the stats and numbers, enjoy each day. No matter which path you choose make each day Tami’s best day!
Karen and Spirit Maggie
Hi!
I’m sorry to hear about the confirmation of OSA, it’s totally sucky, I know! I did NOT want to do chemo at first and I’m not at all saying you should or shouldnt. It’s a personal decision. But, I can tell you what helped make my decision easier was the oncologist telling me that it was OK to stop at ANY TIME. Jill did great on IV chemo and we started metronomic (a low dose pill form) of chemo when she was done with IV and she lost a lot of weight on that, so we just stopped, easy peasy!
Again, its a decision you need to make as a family, there is no right or wrong decision, but I did want to share my thought process!
xoxo,
Erica & Tripawd Kitty Jill
As others have said…it’s a decision only you can make, and it is different for every dog–even for each instance within each dog.
When Sam was closing on on his 12th birthday, we (us, the vet, the specialist, everyone) were POSITIVE he had lymphoma. Only the very last test said nope. It looked, walked, and quacked lymphoma…but it wasn’t. Regardless, in that case, HAD it been lymphoma, we would have done chemo.
Fast forward a year, to his diagnosis with OSA. In that case, we did not. The reasoning in both of those cases was different, and based on a bunch of factors.
No matter what, you just have to remember two things: 1) Only YOU can make the right decision for Tami. And if you are making an informed decision out of love, then it is the right one. and 2) There are no guarantees. Like sally said, chemo no chemo chemo no chemo…either one could go either way. So when you make your choice and enact your plan…do NOT waste one minute second guessing yourself, no matter what happens. <3 (See point 1)
Hello! Hi Tami! I’m hearing from you what we felt toward Jackson: we wanted to give him everything he could stand to fight osteo. We went with chemo. He sailed through! We’re on metronomic therapy, too, and only had a small bump in the road with that, but beyond that…he’s here and rockin’ it. the great thing about chemo is you can stop. Anytime. If Tami doesn’t like road trips or the vet, then you may want to rethink chemo. Jackson loves road trips and doesn’t like the vet, but chemo takes like 15min, so I figured he could suck it up. He did! Those doseage per body weight for humans and dogs is different. For humans, we can rationalize feeling awful for a period of time in our lives b/c that dosage is strong – strong enough to kill cancer. You give that same dose to dogs and they’ll be really sick and quality of life plummets. You can’t do that to a dog. So the dose for chemo for dogs is less, but don’t let that make you think NO chemo cures. Chemo will postpone and in some cases, yes, keep cancer away…maybe even forever. Most dogs sail thru chemo. If there are side effects, they’re very well managed. Come to chat some night and talk to us. Read up on the forums about chemo and how it’s gone for us and furbabies. Read up on metronomic therapy, too, as that might be a good option for you too. Tami has lots of options! You can still give her everything!!!
~ Katy & Jackson
I did choose to do chemo with Shooter and although it probably didn’t extend his life, the chemo itself did not make him ill. He did develop an infection after one dose, but after that we always put him on antibiotics during chemo and had no other issues. In his case, chemo did not affect his quality of life. In the end, it is your decision and whatever you decide is the right one for you.
Luanne & Spirit Shooter