HELP - My best friend has osteosarcoma

[lucasmom]

My 7.5 year old rottie has just been diagnosed with osteosarcoma of his left front leg. He has a large bump near his radial bone and I thought it was from chasing some deer in our backyard. He just developed this over one week. How can a cancerous tumor develop and grow so fast? The vet took x-rays and based his diagnosis on this alone. No biopsy or bloodwork. He said it wasn't necessary and that my dog only has 3 weeks to live!! What the heck is this??? How can this be?? He is acting just fine, eating well, feels fine, except he walks with his paw elevated. I thought he sprained his leg after jumping off the deck last week. Does this cancer grow this quickly? I had the vet send the x-rays off to Cornell Veterinary University to get a radiologist's interpretation. I am praying for a miracle. Please join me in praying for "Lucas"...my best friend. Dear God, I do not know what I will do without him. My world is falling apart.

[warrior1]

I am so sorry. Osteo is a terrible and painful cancer. My boy had it in the front leg as well and yes, the tumor seemed to come out of no where. Please think hard before having a biopsy. Have you had a chest x-ray? That will tell if it has spread to his lungs. Monitor his activity very closely as he run's the risk of fracturing that leg. Sadly enough, many of us here have lost our dogs to this awful disease. I am glad you have sent off your x-rays for a second opinion. Best of luck to you and your boy. Please keep us posted.

[lucasmom]

Thanks so much for your well wishes. Believe it or not, that leg fractured on 8/9/07 after a 16 y/o kid swiped him with his car while Lucas was urinating in our front lawn! The poor dog had a cast on for 12 weeks and was finally doing really well at Christmas. I thanked God that he was okay. Now this... I will not have his leg amputated or give him chemo. It would not be fair to him. He takes Tramadol at bedtime to sleep and I sent away for some supplements to help boost his immune system. I also have a call into Ohio State University where they are doing clinical trials using Ramamycin. Say a little prayer for my boy. Thanks so much.

[AngelBunny]

I am so saddened to read this post. My heart is breaking for you. The terrible, heartbreaking, awful fact of the matter is that osteo is a scourge in our breed. It is a terrible, huge problem for which there is no cure.

Please do a search thru this forum. You'll find many postings on osteo. Perhaps some of them will help you.

I'll say a prayer for you and your boy.

[chivas]

Yes, as terrible as it is, OS is EXTREMELY fast. No matter which way you go- get him on pain meds NOW, he IS in pain, they are stoic and OS is extremely painful. Dont waste your time with rimadyl - try tramadol or piroxicam NOW!

[Anne]

I have my osteo girl on both Tramadol and Piroxicam. She is seeing an oncologist and is on a metronomic protocol. I decided against surgery or chemo but she has one chemo drug amongst all the others on this protocol.

As for a biopsy, once the osteo is obvious on xray there is no need to do a painful bone biopsy. You already have the evidence.

They advised me at the end of December that my dog would probably only live for another couple of weeks. She is still going, still happy and enjoying life. My priority is to keep her pain free.

I know how devastating it is to find out your dog has osteo, my heart goes out to you. There are a few of us on here with osteo dogs. I understand your world is falling apart, so is mine. Stay strong and enjoy every moment you have left with your boy. Take pics and spoil him for the time he has left with you.

[Sheenagirl]

I am so sorry you are going through this with your Lucas.
I know that disease often settles in the most weakest part of the body. Lucas might have gotten OS anyway but it does make a person wonder - being the OS is in that leg??
Do the best you can for him - that is what you will remember years from now and you will have no guilt.
My prayers go out for Lucas...

[Jaan]

Your post brings back to me the grief I felt last year when I lost both of my best friends,
one to lymphoma and one to osteosarcoma. In 'Kyrie's case, we did not know she had osteo until the night her leg fractured while she was chasing a rabbit. We said our final goodbyes the next day.

I know only too well how you feel. The suddeness of being told that your beloved pet will soon be taking the next step of the journey without you leaves you stunned. It is too much to take in and saying goodbye is one of the hardest things you will ever have to do. Be strong for Lucas, keep him as pain free as possible and, as warrior1 mentioned, do not let him run. He will tell you when it is time for him to go. I am praying for Lucas and for you---God Bless both of you in this time of trial.

[observer]

I hate hearing this. This miserable disease causes so much real pain to our dogs and emotional pain for us humans. Do keep him quiet, spoil him, love him, and watch him carefully for signs that he is suffering. Do get good pain medication to help keep him comfortable. DO NOT bother with a biopsy. They are incredibly painful and will only spread the cancer. The diagnosis is there already.

I'm so sorry.

[Jaidann]

*sighs*

Yes, unfortunately it comes on extremely fast. And yes, as others have stated it is plainly visible in an x-ray so no biopsy needed. I don't think we'd ever received such a shock in our life when the vet came back in to tell us the news. There were options given to us, Chemo, removal of her leg. None of it a guarantee. We were reeling. Just to be sure, we had her lungs x-rayed before we made our final decision. There were some small black spots on the x-ray that the vet told us he couldn't determine what they were, but he didn't feel it looked good.

My heart breaks for you. My husband and I know this pain ALL too well. Our Mattie lived for about another month after her diagnosis. We kept her as pain free as we could and when her eyes told us she was tired, we let her go.

This had to be one of the hardest decisions we ever made, but we had to make it for her. I know you are in shock. I know it's unbelievable. And I know it's unfair.

Stay strong, as he needs you now more than ever. And please know, as is evident from all these other posts, you have strong support and aren't alone even though it feels very much that way right now.

[jlaack]

Yes the tumor can grow that quickly. Osteosarcoma is a very aggressive cancer. It concerned me a bit that your vet gave you a 3 week timeline on his life. While it can be that quick or quicker it can also be longer. On average dogs with OS live 3-6 months without any treatment. Did he xray the lungs as well? If the answer was yes and the disease is in the lungs than I would agree that you won't have much time left with Lucas.

OS is very characteristic and can be dx by xray alone. I wouldn't do the biopsy because it probably isn't warranted and it can actually cause the cancer to spread. If you are at all uncertain about the dx having a radiologist at Cornell view the xrays would be a great way to obtain confirmation.

[paiton]

i really feel for you and your sweet dog. one of my males had that and it just tore me apart. he was limping on his left front leg, and his knee was partially swollen. i got him in to the vet and xrays done immediately. the vet showed me the xrays, and i also did get another opinion. i had him started on metacam. he lived an extra 3 months until he passed away at home.....

[harleydv]

I am so sad for you and your beloved boy. I know just how fast it can be. It just seems to pop up out of nowhere. My vet told me it was nothing , I took my girl for a second opinion, and they found the OS. We were able to keep her comfortable for 3 months, with pain meds. My heart goes out to you!!

[frontierrots]

Yes this can indeed be very fast. As I all too recently know

My Bea started limping on 12/11/07, though only a little. Like just a twist or her Lyme arthritis bothering her.

By 12/26 it was a bit worse and on 1/2 she was diagnosed by x ray with the very beginnings of osteo. The earliest case my vet has seen in years.

On 2/20/08 we sent her on her journey to the bridge to establish "her rules" over the other Frontier dogs that are already there waiting for me. 9 weeks from the first limp. 7 weeks post diagnosis..... Time was far too short

May you have a longer quality time than we

[TrinaJ]

My heart really IS breaking for you, i too have been down this road and i choose the biopsy because i just didn't want to believe it was cancer. His leg broke a week after the biospy so i urge you not to do it, i felt like it was my fault his leg broke, if he didn't have the biopsy his leg woudl have been stronger etc...

Just love Lucas and make the time he has left with you a specail one, pain free and spoil him rotten.

I will say a prayer for your boy.

Trina ~*sending you a hug*~