SaltyDog Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 (edited) He has been getting around for almost a week now on 3 legs. The first vet we saw misdiagnosed his break as a sprain, and sent us home with NASAIDS. WHich didn't help, and we went back to another vet when nothing had changed 2 days later. He was diagnosed with the break officially yesterday but has been hobbling for a few days prior to that and even given the pain he must feel when moving, doing amazingly well. He quite literally just leapt through our garden bed when he went for a wee as we headed to bed just now...so he is already finding his feet, so to speak. I have weighed a lot of options, good, bad, for, against and all that. Our vet seems very positive and our boy is very happy, strong, brave and courageous...most importantly, I don't think he is ready to give up yet. I work from home, and spend 90% of my time with him...I think I'm very in tune with him and I just don't think he wants to give up either. As I said earlier, when I made the PTS decision with his brother....I beleive he told me in his own way that he was tired and didn't want to fight anymore. I just don't see it with Thabo. Me working from home also means I can spend a lot of time helping him get past his surgery...and making sure he is happy. Our vet has also said he thinks the tumor is quite early stages. He said most times he sees osteosarcoma, it's well advanced and much larger and more wide spread in the bone. Fortunately Thabo has has a break, which may very well be from a bad fall or knock, and potentially broken a healthy bone anyway, but which has allowed us to pick up on it 1-3 months earlier then normal. So he as much as the break is where the tumor lies, it's been a blessing in disguise that it's allowed us to diagnose him before he really started showing signs. The clear lungs also support this, and whilst I understand how osteosarcoma works and that is 99.999% likely it's already in his blood...hopefully we can get another 12 months with him and cherish his life and make him as happy as we can. I will post a pic tomorrow...I've been on my iphone and I can't see how to post a pic on here?? So I'll try on my pc. Edited January 17, 2014 by SaltyDog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FHRP Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 (edited) Such a hard decision SaltyDog. Is Thabo your vizsla? Sounds like he overcame his previous health issues, I hope he can fight this one too. 12 months is a long time in a dogs life and I know I would be inclined to try too if there was a chance at another good year for him. Whichever decision you make it will be the right one for you and Thabo. Eta. I just read it was Jake the vizsla in your previous thread. Edited January 17, 2014 by FHRP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaltyDog Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 Yeah, we lost Jake after a horrendous 12 month battle. He was PTS in October 2012. Just over 12 months ago and here we go again. I'm feeling more positive about this fight though, as there seems there are things we can do this time to help Thabo fight. Where as last time we had no diagnosis and no choice but guessing. If eventually turned out to be cancer but was only the last day or so it got diagnosed. Which was incredibly hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 I too wouldn't put my dog through it. But its your decision & something you all have to be happy to live with . Our Grey had very early stages but only lasted 3 months before it spread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xyz Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Thinking of you saltydog, did your boy proceed to surgery today? :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaltyDog Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 (edited) Yeah, he got through yesterday all ok. Was extremely traumatic for us all at home and dropping him at the clinic was awful, he was probably zonked out most of the day so was probably an easy day for him. Although today is obviously going to be tougher for him, but he had an epidural, and is on an IV morphine drip, so hopefully he is quite comfortable considering. The op went very well and no further signs of a spread, so good news there again. He also got through it all with flying colors. We are now ready for the next stage, of getting him back to the bright, happy boy we know and love...which is going to be hard work for him, and for us to I suppose. But we think he is worth the fight and his quality of life is worth us going through all this...in a lot of respects, the PTS option was probably easier on us all...but if we can get even 6 months of good time with him, it's worth it, and I think he wants to fight on...everybody can see it in his eyes. Edited January 20, 2014 by SaltyDog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaltyDog Posted January 21, 2014 Author Share Posted January 21, 2014 Just an update guys....picked Thabo up from the vet. Op all went very well, and was basically the perfect results. Tumour has totally been removed, and we have him booked in for chemo in a couple of weeks. He seems amazingly bright and happy...which is great news. He is a bit dopey due to the morphine, but that's to be expected. Besides that, so far so good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 good news! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xyz Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 Yay! Good for him (and you!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harley Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 Sounding good! I hope he continues to improve :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrodofromAus Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 (edited) Hi Salty Dog Can you get yourself to the Victorian Animal Care Center? There is a new trial going for osteosarcoma The drug Auranofin is being trialed to stop the metastasis to the lungs. Mouse models of this drug have shown it to significantly reduce the metastasis without side effects. The hope it that the results will be similar with dogs and the disease free survival rates will be increased with dogs who have osteosarcoma. This study is also being done with four human hospitals so it sounds promising for both dogs and humans. I will be making a formal announcement on our fb page once the paperwork is ready for the website. fb-caninecancerorgau If you have any questions please feel free to post on our forum for one of the oncologists to answer. Dan one of the regulars here has had Dr Ken answer his questions. Good luck. We desperately need answers for this and other cancers. It claims far to many lives. Lisa Edited February 5, 2014 by smiley4444 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaltyDog Posted February 5, 2014 Author Share Posted February 5, 2014 Hi Lisa, Wow! What a coincidence. We are actually off to VACC with Thabo literally as I type this. We have a midday appointment for Thabo to start chemo and auranofin! We have fingers crossed he will do very well with the chemo and that we will see some good results with the auranofin. He has been absolutely amazing so far. His recovery has been quick and he is so happy and fully of life. Just like he used to be. I won't lie, the first two days were tough. But he was on good pain killers and got past that so well. Now he is just back to being an amazing, happy, energetic dog. We are very realistic regarding his survival time, but we are so glad we made the choice to save him and not give up. Even the past week has made it worth it, to see him happy and back to normal. We hope we get a lot more time with him, but we cherish every minute we have with him and we know his love of life is still there...making the tough operation he went through worth it. To be totally honest, I think it was probably harder on us then it was on him. He bounced back so well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrodofromAus Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Glad to hear he has bounced back so well. Most dogs from what I read do bounce back well and adjust to amputation. I have been the cancer path with my Frodo with histiocytic sarcoma so I know exactly how it feels for owners trying to do their best. I am glad you have gone to VACC and that you are going on the trial. We have fantastic oncologists in this country and I am hoping that the auranofin is going to be as successful as they are hoping it will be. I would love a greyhound next time around but for the osteosarcoma. Check out our UK Research page as well as we need research to get answers. Maybe you or someone else might know someone that has a dog that fits the criteria. http://www.caninecancer.org.au/researchuk.html Keep us posted and all the best. Your dog is in great hands. Lisa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayla1 Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Sounds like he is doing exceptionally well. That's great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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