(I’ve been documenting everything that has happened so far but it is too much to put into one post, well I think so anyway, so I will split them up into 5 parts.)
17/1/2013
Buffy, has been diagnosed with osteosarcoma (bone cancer). It is in the ankle of her right back leg. Her chest x-ray appeared clear. We have a follow up appointment next Monday to get more information and go through the options and obviously we want what is best for her not us. At this stage the vet doesn’t believe she would cope with an amputation because she’s a large breed even though she is hopping around on 3 legs quite well and compensating when she goes to the toilet by putting her front leg roughly where the back one should be for support. We’ve done some Internet research & found quite a few Great Dane amputees in the States but they all had a front leg removed. I’m sure someone somewhere must have had an experience with a back leg amputation but I haven’t found any information yet. We’re also looking into alternative therapies to assist her.
Buffy is fairly petite for a Dane, just under 45kg & at times I have trouble keeping her ribs covered, combination of fussy eater & worrier. She burns a lot of energy doing nothing. Hopefully being light-ish will help the 3 legs she’s currently using.
The vet has said that the pathology report is not 100% conclusive & that more than one pathologist could not rule 100% but it is the most likely cause. At least that’s what my shocked little brain remembers. I’ll be looking for more answers at her appointment on Monday & will probably ask for my regular vet to take a look. Same surgery but he wasn’t available when I took her in & they didn’t want to wait to do the X-rays.
21/1/2013
We caught it early which is good, but as the possible speed at which it will spread is an unknown whether we should look at amputation is still a question mark. Of course the possibility that little micro cells have spread already is a reality. The vet is going to talk to the oncologist – more waiting. I also gave him copies of the info I found on line about natural treatments that might help her immune system & help her quality of life. More waiting whilst he looks at it and he said he would talk to the oncologist about it also.
22/1/2013
We now have an appointment at the Roseworthy Veterinary Campus with the only oncologist in SA on Friday morning. Apparently after discussions with the vet she believes there are options we can pursue and she’s willing to take a look at Buffy. Even if it’s only to improve the quality of her life in the weeks & hopefully months to come it will be worth it.
Tags: bone cancer, Cancer, Canine, Dog, Great Dane, osteosarcoma, Tripaw
By: munsta on February 18, 2013 at 1:52 am
Hi Merilyn,
Read your and Buffy’s Blog, thankyou so much for all of your posts.
Our beloved “Big Munny” Munsta (Rotty x) is facing the ordeal this week, and thus, so are we.
He has a large tumor on his front leg above the elbow which has grown rapidly in the last month.
Vets are going to try to save the leg, but we sort of know in our hearts our boy will probably lose his leg.
We are also in South Australia, down south.
This week has been beach swims every night at sellicks and victor harbour with his brother and sister.
We are shit scared of the surgery, complications, etc. We lost Munsta’s dad last year to Pancreatic cancer. He was my best mate, first dog and all.
We are using the southern animal hospital, we trust them with our furry family but it was interesting to read that the only oncologist is at roseworthy, the scans and xrays suggest the growth is not malignent…fingers crossed. Our vet explained that there is no chemo in Adelaide, closest being melbourne… do you know this to be true ?
Anyway its late, vet appointment tomorrow as the growth is not looking healthy at all as he skun it the other week. Should get going now.
Thankyou for your blog, the worst (?) thing is the anticipation and the fear of the unknown, your blog has helped….here’s to tripawd website… where would we be without it ?
Bracing ourselves for a bloody terrible week.
Kindest regards
Trent, Sharyn & Munsta
By: merilyn on February 19, 2013 at 9:13 pm
Hi Trent, Sharyn and Munsta. Sorry I didn’t reply earlier and sorry to hear your news. Hope all has gone well.
As far as I am aware the only oncologist in SA is based at The University of Adelaide’s Roseworthy Campus and yes, they do chemo there. Buffy is scheduled for her first treatment this Friday. If you go to http://www.adelaide.edu.au/vetsci/centres/cahc/services and click on oncology it will show you the full range of services they provide which includes tailored chemotherapy.
It’s not cheap (be prepared to hand over your wallet – ha ha) but nothing worthwhile ever is. I’d never put a price on either of my fur kids.
Everyone I have dealt with at Roseworthy have been excellent with Buffy and I’m hopeful of a good recovery for her. The worst is over, at least I hope it is.
As I said in my post this afternoon the pathology report has confirmed it was osteosarcoma and as it was in her ankle and they took the whole leg we don’t have to worry about whether they took enough of the bone or not.
Please let me know how your baby goes. Fingers crossed for you.