Bone cancer. Broken elbow.

[DaisyB]

Dear friends. We are waiting in our car at the vets right now. Our Hintza dog went lame last night. The vet suspects osteosarcoma - bone cancer. They are doing a chest X ray right now to determine if it has spread to the lungs. If so, they are recommending euthanasia.
please send your thoughts.
is there something better than euthanasia?

if not in lungs. We can amputate and care for her as best we can.

advice please.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Oh no Daisy, I'm so sorry to hear this. ?

How has Hintza been doing otherwise? Even if it is in her lungs, or elsewhere in her body, her quality of life and BEAM is the most important factor when determining euthanasia.

Yes, there are lots of other ways to support her.

How old is Hintza? Has she had any health challenges throughout life?

 

[DaisyB]

Dear Dr. Jeff,

I'm sorry for the delay in responding. We brought Hintza home and are waiting on bone biopsy results to come back. There was no visible metastasis on the Xray of the Lungs.
Hintza is 11 years old. She has had a persnickety belly and she has "arthritis." She has had periods in her life of not wanting to walk energetically and periods of wanting to walk energetically. My daughter commented earlier in the week that although Hintza had a swollen foreleg, her BEAM was very good. And I concurred. (We had already made an appointment with a new vet but didn't get an appointment time until after the dramatic break of her humerus above her elbow happened.)

She's doing very well with one of us next to her 24/7.

We've been giving her Gabapentin at about 1/2 the dose, Tramadol at less than 1/4 the dose, and Remadill (full dose) for the swelling. And supplementing with CBD oil (from a local organic farm), arnica, and acupuncture (I'm a person acupuncturist.) For the swelling, we've used a topical called Resinall K, which is a Chinese herbal remedy for moving blood and lymph after an injury.

Our questions now are:

1. She seems to get a little agitated right after she gets the Tramadol. Would that likely happen?

2. I believe I have seen that Bryonia is another homeopathic that might help. Can you confirm?

3. If the diagnosis is osterosarcoma, which we suspect, we will need to make choices about A. Amputation and B. how we care for her. Any suggestions are welcome.

In the meantime, we'll review the information on the forum/website about cancer.
Thank you so much.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hi Daisy-

Thanks for the reply. Before I answer your questions, I would like to mention determining the relative risk:= vs. the potential benefit of any drug.

IMO, there's a hierarchy of drugs with highly toxic drugs on one end of the spectrum and relatively benign ones at the other end.

Rimadyl is pretty high up on the potential harm scale and can cause some pretty serious problems. Whereas gabapentin and Tramadol are safer to use (gabapentin is safer than Tramadol). You might want to consider alternatives to using the full dose of Rimadyl such as higher doses of the others, supplements, acupuncture, homeopathy, etc.

1. It's possible, yes. This drug works by stimulating the same receptors as narcotics so can have similar side-effects. Typically, though, the drug's side effects include sedation so the excitement may be a paradoxical effect possibly related to lower dose.

2. The choice of a homeopathic medicine will depend on the totality of symptoms. Bryonia *might* be indicated if you see symptoms like her preferring to lay on the painful side, or not wanting to move, or drinking large amounts, or...

Regarding remedy selection for pups with cancer, I usually advise to work 1:1 with a vet homeopath.

3. I suggest gathering as much information as possible, like seeing what the biopsy shows before making your decision.

I'd also advise you to consult with an oncologist, even if chemo, radiation or surgery are not options for you.

Please keep us updated on her progress as you continue giving her your love and nurturing.