My Jake has Ostersarcoma (HELP)

[Jake3 mom]

Well jake (6 1/2) went to the vet because he was favouring his right hind leg.
After xrays a lesion was seen on his distal femur. also the outside edge of the bone is ragged and decaying. The vet said it is early stages.
We are not going to amputate and Radiation is not available here.
We are just waiting for the biopsy results to be 100%.

Right now he is on 1/2 tab deramaxx a day and walking ok, favouring his leg some whan standing still.

So the question is what should I expect!!!
How fast will he get lame and in pain?
How fragial is his leg..the vet said to be careful as it could fracture.
How careful?

Thanks Megan

[jakesfostermom]

Megan - I'm so sorry - we too are facing the same diagnosis - just confirmed yesterday.....Our Jake is a bit older than yours - and having his leg break at the site of the obvious tumor is probably our greatest concern, because if that happens, we will have our answer to the awful question of 'when'. We're hoping to keep his activity level 'on the ground' and avoid that....but we know it can happen.

We're giving Jake Tramadol for his pain and will make our decision when he indicates to us that it's time.

Love on your boy....and good thoughts to you in the coming weeks. Let's hope we BOTH have multiple good weeks ahead with our Jakes!

[observer]

I'm so sorry you and Jake are going through this.

Sorry he went through the biopsy, too...very painful.

Spoil him rotten, and be kind to yourself, too, in the coming days. This is a club no one joins willingly.

[poohbearsdad]

You might want to try artemisinin and/or avemar and a low carb diet. There are groups for both of these on yahoo. You might be interested in the bone cancer group on yahoo as well. Apparently they have lots of good info.

[targonrotts]

so sorry to hear...i have done both routes...amputation and chemo only bought me 6 months with kelly.
hailey is almost at 14 months(no chemo or amputation) and doing great.
look at Bone Cancer Dogs
try fosamax, artemisim, doxy, metacam and vitamin/diet route.
all dogs respond differently, but worth the try.

[Jake3 mom]

has anone used any type of brace,splint,wrap to prevent fracture at the lesion site?

[Jake3 mom]

Also i would like some input as to what to expect...how fast he will go down hill , what his actions will be.
how will i know he is in pain..right now 1/2 tab deramaxx and he walks fine, gets up fine and just shifts his weight of that leg when standing still.
I dont want to start the pain meds to early so that he gets used to them and they wont work when he needs them

[jakesfostermom]

Megan - we are just starting the OS slope.....but based on all the reading we have done, and the discussions with our vet - we expect we have as little as 2 weeks with our Jake - and likely not more than 2 months or so - because we have opted to only manage his pain, and not opt for any other treatments.

We came home after the confirmation of OS and immediately gave the pain meds - as we believe that this is a PAINFUL cancer - since the tumor is basically exploding the bone (sorry) and we can associate bone pain in humans, which can be extreme. Our vet has given us additional dosing instructions as the days pass, as she expects his level of pain to become more challenging to manage. We will make our 'when' decision, if we can avoid a break, by his pain level in the days to come, I'm sure....

I can't comment on the use of braces, splints or wraps - but I will tell you my husband wanted to do the same - in an effort to protect Jake's left front leg.....but I have sort of vetoed that, because I'm not convinced it will make much of a difference and I don't want Jake having to adjust to some odd contraption on his leg at this stage we are in. Best to you - doesn't this just feel like the most 'unknown' place to be?.......we can relate....

[Marley55]

I too faced this horrible diagnose with my beloved Jaxx. He was dx'ed on April the 1st and I let him go on May 27th.

It is hard to say how fast the OS will progress as each dog is different. Some have had 6+ months, some 6 weeks.

Please do not delay the pain meds. Rotties are stoic and suffer pain with no complaints and honestly if the meds he is on are no longer keeping the pain in check then in my humble opinion the time has come. Jaxx's meds were changed, tweeked and up'ed 3-4 times but again there is just a point when there is nothing more to be done. Make his last days as comfy as possible by using meds, diet and all the TLC you can offer.

What his actions will be again is hard to say. Jaxx slept more and more, ate less and had to be coaxed with really tasty foods to eat enough towards the end. You will know when it is time. Jaxx told me one day with just a look, he was so very tired and he was ready.

My thoughts and prayers are with you.

[Jake3 mom]

jakesfostermom,
what were ur jakes actions when you discovered he had OS?
What is he doing now?

[jakesfostermom]

In hindsight - Jake has probably favored his left front leg on/off for a couple of months, but he's a bit dramatic when he steps on anything but soft grass, so we passed it off as his being 'soft' footed. Last weekend, he woke up on Saturday and had an obvious limp. I went over him as I always do and found nothing 'obvious' that would cause/explain the limp, and made a mental note to get him an appt at the vet the following week if it didn't improve. Sunday was the same, but unlike the once over on Satuday, Sunday I found a place above his left 'wrist' that was different from the day before - it was a bit swollen, and I knew almost immediately what this likely was. Of course the ex-ray confirmed it - and since then, he's continued to limp, at times he holds his front leg up like a horse or cow does when resting in the pasture.....

The area on his left front leg is a bit more swollen than it was last week, but tends to swell and ebb at different times depending on his activity level. We have multiple dogs so we notice that Jake is finding quiet places to rest, where he won't be at risk of being bumped and when one of the other dogs gets too close, he is a bit snarkier than usual, making sure they know to give him his space. He still wants to play, but after a couple of attempts, realizes that his leg is just SORE and he stops on his own. We aren't going to restrict him too much - outside of the 'jumping' on/off furniture....because he is on his final run and we want him to do what he feels comfortable doing.

We are feeding him his favorite junky foods - like burgers, ice cream and pancakes....we are spending more time snuggled up with him and we're reflecting a lot with him on his 6.5 years here with us.

He's on 2-3 pills of 50mg of Tramadol twice per day, and that dosage can be increased to every 8 hours as needed. So far, it hasn't zoned him out like we were thinking it might and we're glad for that. Today - he's a smiling happy soul with an obvious limp....and we are treating today, as if it is all we have with him.

How is your Jake?

[Jake3 mom]

Well my Jake is doing fine now. He has no swelling, no limp when walking, no trouble getting up. When he stands still he favours his leg by shifting his weight to the other leg a bit. He is a "lazy" dog anyway so he sleeps alot.
We too are not rectricting him alot. We put our matress on the floor so he can walk on/off the bed. We have been using a ramp for the truck for a while because of his other ortho issues.
He is only on 1/2 tab of Dermaxx a day now, I am just wondering when I will know he needs the Tramadol.
We to were giving all th favourite things until a cheeseburger gave him the runs for 2 days lol i had to laugh when i was out in a blizzard at 3am with him to poop.
I would love to stay in contact with you as you are at the same stage as me, if you would rather email directly my email is megan_adams04@yahoo.com.

[Anne]

My elderly girl Faith also has osteosarcoma. What I'm giving Faith that seems helpful is Avemar and Transfer Factor Plus as well as Doxy, Fosamax and Artemisinin. She has been prescribed Rimadyl and Tramadol for pain relief that I administer as needed
So far Faith is doing very well. She has a great appetite and is on the Budwig diet which she eats with enthusiasm. She has mainly protein and fat, no sugar and as few carbs as possible. Carbs feed cancer. I have Faith on organic fresh food as I did with Sophie.

There is a Yahoo Avemar group for osteosarcoma dogs and I found it very helpful when my younger girl, Sophie, had osteosarcoma. I'm a member of that group and recommend it. There is excellent information to be found there. I would go as far as saying that between Sophie's oncolgist and the Avemar group we were able to extend Sophie's life for a good length of happy time despite her very guarded prognosis.

I wish both Jake's well and hope they have many more happy, pain free days.

[targonrotts]

i keep hailey on 3 tramadols twice a day along with other meds and we are about to hit 14 months survival. ask to try it if dermax not enough. fosamaxx and artemsism did help alot too.

[warrior1]

I am so very sorry to read this thread. Unfortunately, there are so many of us here who have gone through this awful disease with our dogs. Jake3 mom, I used a splint for my Warrior. I had the surgeon make it for him when I took him to a specialist. He was not to happy about it but he got over it and in my opinion, I felt as if it provided at least some support. He was never the type of guy to overexert himself, so his laziness helped as well. As far as longevity goes, nothing is set in stone. It seems every case is different. Some only get a few month's of quality life, some are fortunate enough to get a year or so. My boy went on for 16 months and I was very grateful. After his diagnosis, I read this forum for days and took the advice to get him on or close to a carb free diet as I could get. His meds consisted of Rimadyl and Tramadol as needed. My thoughts are with all of you going through this agony. I wish you well. Remember, to love them lots. And when they tell you it is their time to go, love them even more by setting them free. Best of luck to you.