Well tomorrow is the day

[dillsandwitch]

When my 5 year old Rotti gets his biopsy done to see if he had bone cancer or not. I'm so nervous and worried but kind of resolved at the same time. Its an odd feeling. I'm hoping that the vet is wrong about what was on the xrays and its just a weird spot caused by rapid growth when he was a pup or arthritis or something but I have this gut feeling that the vet is right and the news isn't going to be good. I mean after being a vet for 30odd years as a vet he's gonna have a strong inkling of whats going on when he looks at things.

Fingers crossed and thanks to anyone who sees this. I needed to get this off my chest.

Dill

 

[Relle]

Crossing my fingers all goes well.

They are not always right with their diagnosis, as I have realized numerous times in the past with the buns and pigs.

 

[janzo]

Hoping it's good news, our fur babies mean so much to us

 

[Sonya-m]

Really hoping it's not the worst.

I will keep everything crossed for you

 

[Susie]

Praying for good news!

 

[shunt2011]

Praying you get good new and all is well.

 

[navigator9]

Sending lots of good energy your way. My heart goes out to you.

 

[Donna]

I've been through this with a positive outcome. Sending all that good luck your way and adding a little prayer!

 

[traderbren]

Fingers crossed for good news for your furry friend.

 

[lenarenee]

I'm sorry this is happening - I'll be thinking of you.

 

[CaraBou]

I hope they got the cells they needed and positive results will come soon. Sometimes the wait is the worst part. No matter what, finding the truth is the best because then it becomes clearer how to proceed in the interest of our sweethearts. Kudos to you for taking this hard step.

 

[dillsandwitch]

Okay heres an update. The biopsy went well. The vet is confident that they got some really good samples and have sent them off to be tested. We should hear back on the results next Wednesday. Right now Axle is still dopey as and snoring his head off on his bed. He has been given some pretty heavy duty pain killers so I'm hoping that tomorrow he will be up and bouncing around again. He was actually using his leg today which he hasn't done in almost 2 weeks.

I had had a brief chat with the vet last week about the possible treatments that usually happens with bone cancer in dogs. I was advised that the usual way is to amputate the leg and then chemo. I wasn't too thrilled to hear this as you can imagine but after having a week to mull all this info over and with my chat to the vet today we both feel that taking his leg wont be a good idea. Hes too big and bulky and the vet feels he would struggle too much only having 3. So once the tests come back and we know what we are dealing with we can then decide on how to proceed.

I'll update again once we know whats going on and thank you to everyone and the well wishes. Fingers crossed and toes and everything else that can be crossed

Dill

 

[Sonya-m]

I'm glad the tests went ok, I will keep everything I can crossed for good news next week

Reading what you're going through makes me sad - I've just given my dog a huge cuddle

They really are a part of the family aren't they

 

[dillsandwitch]

So I got a call from the vet this morning. The test results came back really quickly. Unfortunately it is not the news we wanted and Axle does have cancer. A cancer called Osteosarcoma. She also told me that because this is a particularly nasty cancer Axle's life expectancy after diagnosis isn't all that good either. He may make it till Christmas he may not. She told me of another Rotti that has the same cancer as Axle that was diagnosed in August and she told me that if he was her dog she would have had him put to sleep by now but the owners aren't ready to let him go yet. Thats the tough thing I'm not even close to being ready to let him go but I know that soon I'm going to have to make the hard decision to let him go. Right now it will be one day at a time and lots of cuddles and treats and as much of my food as he wants (within reason)

 

[gigisiguenza]

Awww ok.so sorry to hear this.

 

[janzo]

So very sorry to hear this. I think you have the right mindset. Just make every day count, he will let you know when it's time and the hard decision will have to be made. We put our dog down a couple of months ago, I have to confess that I kept putting it off, purely selfish of course cos I did not want her to go or to make that final decision. My heart goes out to you. Your dog is lucky to have such a caring owner, so many are not so fortunate. Xx

 

[Susie]

So sorry to hear that! My heart breaks for you!

Just remember that osteosarcoma is a very painful cancer in humans. One of the worst, IMHO. When I worked Hospice, we had a few patients that we almost could not control their pain from day to day. And dogs don't have the ability to tell you their pain is a 10 on a 0-10 scale. You are going to have to be very alert to subtle behavior changes to gauge his pain levels, and act accordingly.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Really sorry to hear this. A really horrible situation and I understand the dilemma. Regardless, there are so many happy memories, I am sure.

 

[shunt2011]

I'm so very sorry! They are family members. Enjoy what time you have. He may not have much time but you'll have lots of memories.

 

[houseofwool]

I'm so sorry.

Bone cancers are so very painful.

Try and make as many good memories as possible. And talk to your vet to see if he would be willing to make a house call when it is time.