I know all too well how supportive this forum is when going through a cancer diagnosis and treatment. I was here in 2014 (hemangio) and 2015 (soft tissue sarcoma). After the deaths of my other GRs I adopted Fionn in 2015. http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...7274-gr-4-rescue-3-hole-my-heart-filling.html
He has been an absolute joy and just a perfect boy. I have a horse and he loves to run like a maniac at the barn and I noticed him limping a little after jumping out of the back seat of my truck. That was end of Aug. I gave him some meloxicam and curtailed the trips to the barn for awhile and he got better. Then, he limped again and I took him to the vet. When he palpated his shoulder he yelped right where the biceps tendon inserts so we thought, yeah, he wrenched his shoulder. More meds and rest, some improvement, a tentative trip to the barn (he really loves it out there so I felt bad) where he took off like a crazy dog and BAM, lots of limping. Back to the vet yesterday and xrays this time. Both of us sure he had a bad shoulder.
Well, it's a bad shoulder all right. Likely osteosarcoma of the humeral head. My vet was shocked and deeply upset. Fionn is only 7. My other 3 GRs lived to 11 and 12 so that was the "number" I had in my head in regards to longevity. God, this sucks. As in the past, this forum was very useful to me last night- between bouts of crying- and now I know a bunch about a FOURTH cancer in dogs (my first died of lymphoma). I spent some time on the Tripaws website in case I choose to do an amputation and that is also an awesome place for cancer information. Especially osteosarcoma as amputation is one of the very few treatments.
We go to UCDavis tomorrow for a consultation. I was there with my Cooper and they were wonderful. They do have 2 clinical trials going on now for osteo and many others for other cancers. Some trials do not require you to get treatment at UCD so it's worth a look even if you don't live in the area. Other vet schools and large vet hospitals also have trials. Google is your friend.
My main concern is his pain level (much, much worse suddenly). Unfortunately, the gold standard is amputation if the dog can tolerate it followed by chemo- a very expensive treatment which I just can't afford. Amputation cures the pain, chemo buys time, but this cancer is fatal eventually. He has no mets in his lungs on the CXR which is good and he's a good candidate for amputation. Bone pain is the worst pain ever. I work in a hospital doing MRI and cancer pts with bone disease are the hardest to manage pain wise. It never really goes away. That part is killing me. He is so uncomfortable even on nsaids and 4 tramadol every 8 hrs. UCD can give him bisphosphonate which is supposed to help with bone pain. FYI-it used to be very expensive because it was a human-only drug, but they told me it was just released for veterinary use and the price is much lower in case anyone is looking into it's use.
One of the trials includes amputation and chemo, one is palliative only (radiation and immunotherapy). Both studies pay for a large portion of the treatments. I will see what seems best after our visit tomorrow and whether he qualifies for either one. I'm worried about the after care from an amputation. I am single and work full time. I would have to take a few weeks off at least and I have the time, I'm not sure my employer will be sympathetic. I think of Fionn as a family member, but employers tend not to. The radiation treatments may not take care of the pain as well and there is risk of fracture. He's so healthy otherwise and the pain hasn't affected his appetite one bit. None of my other dogs had this kind of obvious pain. GAH I hate this! He has too much life in him to not try and give him some more quality time, but I will not let him be in pain like this for long that's for sure.
I would be interested to hear from anyone who went the palliative route with radiation and no amputation. It does require many visits and lots of anesthesia and, since he is naturally active, I'm concerned about the potential for fracture since it is in his front leg where they carry most of their weight.
Why is it always the good dogs? This may sound mean, but there are a number of nasty, snarling little dogs in my neighborhood who lunge, snapping at Fionn even if we are on the other side of the road. Why can't it be one of them and not my sweet, lovable boy? :crying:
He has been an absolute joy and just a perfect boy. I have a horse and he loves to run like a maniac at the barn and I noticed him limping a little after jumping out of the back seat of my truck. That was end of Aug. I gave him some meloxicam and curtailed the trips to the barn for awhile and he got better. Then, he limped again and I took him to the vet. When he palpated his shoulder he yelped right where the biceps tendon inserts so we thought, yeah, he wrenched his shoulder. More meds and rest, some improvement, a tentative trip to the barn (he really loves it out there so I felt bad) where he took off like a crazy dog and BAM, lots of limping. Back to the vet yesterday and xrays this time. Both of us sure he had a bad shoulder.
Well, it's a bad shoulder all right. Likely osteosarcoma of the humeral head. My vet was shocked and deeply upset. Fionn is only 7. My other 3 GRs lived to 11 and 12 so that was the "number" I had in my head in regards to longevity. God, this sucks. As in the past, this forum was very useful to me last night- between bouts of crying- and now I know a bunch about a FOURTH cancer in dogs (my first died of lymphoma). I spent some time on the Tripaws website in case I choose to do an amputation and that is also an awesome place for cancer information. Especially osteosarcoma as amputation is one of the very few treatments.
We go to UCDavis tomorrow for a consultation. I was there with my Cooper and they were wonderful. They do have 2 clinical trials going on now for osteo and many others for other cancers. Some trials do not require you to get treatment at UCD so it's worth a look even if you don't live in the area. Other vet schools and large vet hospitals also have trials. Google is your friend.
My main concern is his pain level (much, much worse suddenly). Unfortunately, the gold standard is amputation if the dog can tolerate it followed by chemo- a very expensive treatment which I just can't afford. Amputation cures the pain, chemo buys time, but this cancer is fatal eventually. He has no mets in his lungs on the CXR which is good and he's a good candidate for amputation. Bone pain is the worst pain ever. I work in a hospital doing MRI and cancer pts with bone disease are the hardest to manage pain wise. It never really goes away. That part is killing me. He is so uncomfortable even on nsaids and 4 tramadol every 8 hrs. UCD can give him bisphosphonate which is supposed to help with bone pain. FYI-it used to be very expensive because it was a human-only drug, but they told me it was just released for veterinary use and the price is much lower in case anyone is looking into it's use.
One of the trials includes amputation and chemo, one is palliative only (radiation and immunotherapy). Both studies pay for a large portion of the treatments. I will see what seems best after our visit tomorrow and whether he qualifies for either one. I'm worried about the after care from an amputation. I am single and work full time. I would have to take a few weeks off at least and I have the time, I'm not sure my employer will be sympathetic. I think of Fionn as a family member, but employers tend not to. The radiation treatments may not take care of the pain as well and there is risk of fracture. He's so healthy otherwise and the pain hasn't affected his appetite one bit. None of my other dogs had this kind of obvious pain. GAH I hate this! He has too much life in him to not try and give him some more quality time, but I will not let him be in pain like this for long that's for sure.
I would be interested to hear from anyone who went the palliative route with radiation and no amputation. It does require many visits and lots of anesthesia and, since he is naturally active, I'm concerned about the potential for fracture since it is in his front leg where they carry most of their weight.
Why is it always the good dogs? This may sound mean, but there are a number of nasty, snarling little dogs in my neighborhood who lunge, snapping at Fionn even if we are on the other side of the road. Why can't it be one of them and not my sweet, lovable boy? :crying: