We’re almost an “official” member of the Tripawd crew! I can’t say it’s a club that we were planning on joining, but it’s a club that we are proud to join because it means we are amongst other huge pet lovers who want nothing but pain-free time for their dogs (and cats)!
Molly is our 7 year old golden retriever and she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in her left distal femur on Monday, June 1, 2015. A few weeks before that, she stopped putting weight on her knee altogether so we took her for a few rounds of x-rays at our local vet’s office. Right away, our vet warned us that it could be a bone tumor and we are so grateful she acted with urgency. I have read so many stories about misdiagnoses and/or suspicion that the animal’s behavior was due to muscle tweaks or tears. We sent Molly’s x-rays to a radiology lab right away, and they recommended that we do a second round with Molly under sedation so that they could review different angles of her knee, as well as get a shot of her chest. In the meantime, we made an appointment with the Colorado State University Animal Cancer Center, which is luckily only about an hour’s drive from us! Their first available appointment was more than a week out, so we kept Molly on a pain pill regimen (Rimadyl and Tramadol) and waited impatiently.
On June 1, we took Molly to the Cancer Center for a full day evaluation that included physical exams, more x-rays, an abdominal ultrasound, and a fine needle aspirate. Molly was beat by the end of the day and we were too. We found out that the tumor on her knee was definitely osteosarcoma, although it was slightly unusual in that her bone walls had not been “infiltrated” by the cancer yet. Her leg was still very strong in structure. Most importantly, we were so hopeful that the films of her chest would not indicate pulmonary metastastis, but we were crushed to hear that there were at least two solid black nodules displaying in the films.
(I have to pause for a brief moment to sing the praises of the staff at CSU. O M G. They are just amazing. So kind, knowledgeable, informative, gentle… Just fabulous. The facility itself is incredible, too. I brought work down with me and was able to be relatively productive thanks to their wifi, mobile workstations, volunteers who brought around coffee and cups of M&Ms… Working was actually a much-needed distraction, so I was grateful to have all those tools available.)
We received four options for treatment, classified into Definitive Intent and Palliative Treatment:
Definitive Intent – Amputation of the left hind limb and chemotherapy, or stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT). SRT is very highly focused radiation therapy that would help alleviate the pain in Molly’s leg.
Palliative Treatment – Palliative radiation therapy (+/- chemotherapy) or simple pain management.
Obviously, we decided to move forward with amputation. Molly is an adequate candidate for amputation — not “good” because she has a partial tear in her right ACL that has resulted in some scar tissue and arthritis. We were a little concerned about how this leg will hold up, but all four vets we have spoken with (including the surgeon who will perform Molly’s amputation) have advised us that with physical therapy and close care, her right leg should be strong enough. Our surgeon actually made a really great point in that Molly has already started her own physical therapy over the past few weeks because she has been putting little to no weight on her left knee, so her right knee is getting stronger and she is already in the mindset of being a tripaw!
Her surgery is tomorrow at the CSU Cancer Center, and we’ll be able to pick her up on Saturday morning. We’re nervous but hopeful that this will offer Molly the pain relief we know she needs and deserves. Please send good thoughts and wishes our way!
Kirby, Jordan, and Molly
We recently underwent LPL amputation on our 11 year old viszla at CSU. Dr Boostrum is our oncologist and I could not agree more that CSU is AH*MAZING! They are so caring and professional in their attention to detail (including other nurses and students remembering our dogs name after only 1 visit). You are in such good hands. I know how scary amputation is. The first week post op was rough ( more on me than Zeb) but KNOW Molly will be chasing pain relief versus before. We are 3 weeks post op and Zeb is running like the wind and strong as ever. Each day is a gift with my fur baby and each one of us in the tripawd community is here to support. Hang in there, be strong for Molly! ❤️?❤️
Krista! Thank you so much for your comment — seriously, the words of encouragement from this community are incredibly soothing. We are very nervous about tomorrow (umm, hello, not a reversible procedure!) but we keep telling ourselves, the absence of pain for Molly will be worth it! I’m so glad, too, to hear that you had a good experience with CSU. Everyone I’ve talked to about this process has told me that CSU is the “platinum” in dog cancer care, so we feel really lucky that they’re just a short drive away. We have Dr. Pollman as our radiologist and Dr. Kennedy as our surgeon, and both women have just been the best. Hugs to your viszla (my old neighbors had two – great dogs!) 🙂