HELP - My best friend has osteosarcoma

[jonesjoyful]

kohlfranz,

what kind of rxn did your dog have to rimadyl...they want to start my dog on that ..

[my kids]

Jonesjoyful, Drake my Rottweiler did not do well on Rimadyl. I had to take him off that and put him on a steriod. He did better with that. The thing that hurt was when I could not get him to eat at all no matter what I fixed him. He was still drinking water and broth but, that was not enough to give hem steriods or Rimadyl. They really need food in their stomach. Good luck. It is not easy at all. I just lost Drake this past Tuesday and I am not sleeping well and I keep looking for him. He was my boy and always will be. I hope your baby will not suffer and that you have a lot of time together, Take lots pf pictures.

[Xena's Daddy]

Lucasmom,

Hi, remember me? I just read your thread.........It's kind of weird reading it, as your diagnosis/realization sounds very similar to mine.
I'm very sorry about your boy! How is he doing? Is he still hanging in there? Does the Tramadol still work?? I started Xena on 2-pills, twice a day. That lasted about a week, and now she's on 2-pills, three times a day. (Been another week and a 1/2......I don't see a need to increase again......yet) Still not bad, I suppose....but it's hard when I can see the disease progress. I've been measuring her 'lump' for about three weeks now and have seen it increase in size by 3/8". Minor I guess, but still, it IS getting bigger.

But other than that, she really is acting just fine. She's her usual self, with the obvious exception of her physical activity. But her personality is the same. (Thank god!!)

The only other thing I really notice that is different is that she's not drinking nearly as much water. (?) Is Lucas doing that?
Her appetite is quite good though, maybe even a little more than usual.

As far as I can tell though, from what I've heard/read about the agressive nature of this disease, is that she seems to be progressing slowly. At least, slower than I originally expected. Hopefully it continues that way!!

Hope all is well,
Mike

[jlaack]

As far as I can tell though, from what I've heard/read about the agressive nature of this disease, is that she seems to be progressing slowly. At least, slower than I originally expected. Hopefully it continues that way!!

I am sorry to hear this but hope she does well for a bit longer.

The only other thing I really notice that is different is that she's not drinking nearly as much water.

Have you discussed this with your vet? You can try giving her chicken broth. I like the LOW Sodium Chicken Broth by Pacific Foods available at Whole Foods or some similar store or homemade no salt added. Salt will increase dehydration and this brand is the lowest sodium I have found.

[Xena's Daddy]

Jlaak,

I have not tried the chicken broth, but I actually have some. It's low fat, low sodium & it's leftover from the weekend, so I do need to use it up.
I will try that........and I'm quite sure she'll drink it!
Thanks,
MK

P.S. She never was a big drinker.....it's just gotten less lately (?)
She does not appear to be acting any differently though, so I have not spoken to the Vet about it yet. She still looks quite healthy; Hair, nose, eyes, nails, teeth, etc.

[Anne]

I make a chicken broth for my osteo dog from the bones of a roast or bbq chicken. Nothing added to the water but the bones. She loves it. Leave any fatty bits on because a fatty diet is good for a cancer patient.

[lucasmom]

Hi Xena's Daddy-
Our stories are almost exactly the same...so sad that we both have to go through this, as others before us have done. My Lucas is acting like his old self. I think he is responding nicely to the pain meds (tramadol and piroxicam). He is barking and the squirrels in the backyard and best of all, he now greets me at the door when I come home from work!!! He had given that up for the couple of weeks after diagnosis. Other than his tumor growing like wildfire, he is doing quite well. I thought about measuring the circumference because it appears to be larger than a golf ball now. When will it stop growing??? Dear God, this is so scary. I have noticed that Lucas does not drink like he used to, but that his appetitie is very good. He is eating only the low carb diet prescribed by the U of Colorado that I provided in an earlier thread. I make 50 meatballs a week that he gets his pills "hid" inside of. He loves those meatballs!! I do not give him any kibble, biscuits, or other carbs. He doesn't seem to mind!! I just pray that he continues to do well. I wouldn't even know that anything is wrong with him except for that darn growing tumor. I am praying that the Artemisinin will shrink the tumor. I have noticed that since I have been giving him 100 mg twice per day, the lipomas under his armpits have shrunk in half! He has had these fatty tumors for years that the vet biopsied years ago that were negative for cancer. Now they are shrinking!!! I hope that the tumor on his leg responds the same. We can keep in touch and support one another. I love my dog so much...my heart is slowly breaking. Please stay in touch with me on this thread. My best to you and Xena...I will pray for her when I pray for Lucas.

[Xena's Daddy]

Lucasmom,

Xena's tumor was a 'golf ball' when she was first officially diagnosed (2/7), but now it is more like a 'racket ball'. I have to say, I WAS expecting it to grow much more quickly from the way it was described to me by both the Vet Specialist who made the dignosis, and later by my Vet. I feel very fortunate that I was wrong in my initial expectations.......Let's just hope it stays that way!!

As I said, I have measured a difference of 3/8" in circumference, but it does continue to grow in an 'outwardly' fashion.......like it's not really getting bigger in the overall circumference measurement that I take (At the biggest point), but does seem to be 'filling out', indicating that growth is still active....

I use a flexible tape measure (Like the one a tailor would use.....I forget what they're called) and I do it VERY gently!! She's not really crazy about it, she kind of gives me that look like I'm about to cut her nails or something!! LOL............ But she's a good girl & lets me do it......and she's pretty smart, I think she 'knows' that what I'm doing is somehow tending to her 'boo-boo' in some knd of a way that might help make it dissapear. (If only............)

Anyhow, so Lucas is drinking less too? I wonder what that's about?? The only thing I could come up with is maybe since they're less active, they don't 'sweat' as much & therefore need less liquids?? Like I said, she appears to be fine with it, when she's thirsty, she DOES drink. (?)

Artemisinin? I haven't spoken to any of Xena's doctors about this. Maybe I'll give them a call & see if they have any. Did you get it at your local Vet? I was completely unaware that there was anything that could shrink a bone tumor like that. Do you see a difference yet? How long has he been on it?

Talk to you soon,
MK

P.S. My squirrels also have NO IDEA that anything is wrong with her!! LOL..........

[BonnieBlue]

Lucasmom and Xena's Daddy, I'm so sorry to hear your sad news. We unfortunately find ourselves in the same heartbreaking situation. We found out yesterday that our Rocky also has bone cancer. His x-rays are being sent off to be read by a specialist and should know an exact diagnosis in a few day, but we already know.

Rocky was recently diagnosed with ehrlichiosis, which was caught early so we were overjoyed to learn it was something treatable and he would be okay. Then came the dreaded, limp-lump.

Thanks for sharing your stories, although painful to read there is comfort in not facing this situation alone.

[BonnieBlue]

Can you purchase Artemisinin from a typical health-food store or on-line? Should I look for a particular brand or potency?

Thanks

[shelneese]

Our beautiful girl, Chama is still with us...we decided no extreme measures - like amputation etc. She still goes on two short "hops" a day and eats twice daily and is in as good a mood as she could be in. She is on her Tramadol/rimadyl cocktail - three times a day.
The question I have is ....her wrist above her paw looks like the tumor has grown to the size of an egg - has any of you had this experience? if so what should i do?

[lucasmom]

Xena's Daddy and Bonnie Blue-
I am so sorry that we all belong to this dreaded club. It does feel better to connect with each other though and share our common paths down this dark road. My prayers and love to Rocky and Xena. I have been praying for Lucas and Xena over the last couple of weeks, and now I will add Rocky. I believe in miracles!!! Aside from a miracle, we have to forge ahead and try to help our babies.

I don't know if the Artemisinin will work, it is experimental, but it has been used in human models with some success. It has been used with breast cancer patients for years. The only place I know of that has the highest quality and pure Artemisinin is through Holley Pharmaceuticals Home of High Quality Artemisinin

[lucasmom]

Xena's Daddy and Bonnie Blue-
I am so sorry that we all belong to this dreaded club. It does feel better to connect with each other though and share our common paths down this dark road. My prayers and love to Rocky and Xena. I have been praying for Lucas and Xena over the last couple of weeks, and now I will add Rocky. I believe in miracles!!! Aside from a miracle, we have to forge ahead and try to help our babies.

I don't know if the Artemisinin will work, it is experimental, but it has been used in human models with some success. It has been used with breast cancer patients for years. The only place I know of that has the highest quality and pure Artemisinin is through Holley Pharmaceuticals Home of High Quality Artemisinin

I use 125 mg per day (Lucas weighs 128 lbs). If your dog is smaller, then order less. I give it to him twice per day. It is a Chinese herb used to treat malaria. They are doing research on it at several universities. You CANNOT use antioxidant vitamins with it though because the antioxidents neutralize the effectiveness of the Artemisinin. It is a small capsule.

I am a nurse practitioner at a major university and conduct research on humans. Who would think that I would be applying my knowledge and research experience to my dog!!

Mike...I had a great laugh over your "nail clipping" comment. Lucas is the same way. I can do just about anything to that dog except clip his nails!!! He is so funny. That is one of the reasons why I don't want to measure his boo-boo. I can just see him giving me that "dirty look" when I even look at his leg. Thanks for the laugh. I haven't done much of that these days.

Keep in touch. Laurie

[MonicaBH]

Jlaack:
With your OSa dog, did you amputate or do chemo? I am astonished that your pup is still with you after two years. That's nearly unheard of!!

To the others, I hate that you're going through this. I dread the day that one of my "kids" gets ill. I went through losing my babydog two years ago, and it's a pain that I don't want to revisit. Positive energies and thoughts to you and your beloved puppers!

[jlaack]

Jlaack:
With your OSa dog, did you amputate or do chemo? I am astonished that your pup is still with you after two years. That's nearly unheard of!!

Harley had 15 weeks of chemotherapy and ultimately we amputated 9 months out. We initially performed the limb spare but it in the end it did not work out for him. I know it is amazing. He was diagnosed officially 2 years ago on March 31. However, I don't think that removing the primary mass and then doing chemo is the answer. There are lots of people who go that route and get weeks or months and of course many make it further out than Harley. I wish that the vets knew what made the difference in his case (and dogs like him). While a cure for Osteo is a dream that I doubt I'll see in my lifetime, I wish that vets could truly saw if you do x, y, z you'll probably have another two years with quality of life additionally. He has chest xrays scheduled for April 1 and I am a little nervous if his lungs will be clear or not. He is acting fine, but we haven't had them done in a while. They are recommended every 2 months but I decided the benefit wasn't worth the ordeal for him.