Sirus'osteosarcoma diary (written by his mum) |
One of the delights of Sirus has always been to watch him run, with his fluid, powerful
motion. He always moved as though there could be judges watching - unlike
Bedlam, who rarely looks elegant. Week 1 Towards the end of the week Sirus started limping slightly. It was hard to detect when he walked, but he began lifting the leg to avoid putting his full weight on it when standing. We watched him, thinking he had banged it on our back steps - elegant though he is, he has never worked out that going upstairs is easier if you put your feet on the steps instead of charging up at full speed! Week 2 We went to the vet for a check-up. Our vet couldn't even find a sore spot and declared Sirus only 10% lame, but the more he walked the worse it became. So back we went, leaving with painkillers, but a baffled vet. Week 3 Still a bit lame. We returned to the vet, and x-rays were suggested to check for non-scary, but possibly difficult to treat, knee problems. Although our vet thought it unlikely I was keen to be reassured that there was no cancer . . . Sirus was x-rayed on the Thursday - and the results showed bone cancer (osteosarcoma). Biopsy confirmed this on the Saturday. The intervening days gave us time to think about what to do. Initially, I thought we would put him to sleep when the pain got too much, but my most trusted vet changed my perspective on amputation by pointing out that I would have a lame dog either way, and that amputation was the best form of pain management. I read that dogs vary in how well they adapt but wasn't sure what that meant - did some never master walking? In my nightmares I imagined a dog that could never support its own weight or move. Kindly, (without telling me I am an idiot!) my vet explained that three-legged dogs vary in walk speed, distance and ease of movement, but that they all walk. I visited internet sites about three-legged dogs and was encouraged by the stories of quick recovery. Indeed most owners seemed relaxed about the post-operative demands and their dogs' responses. By now, I believed amputation to be justified for pain management, but I was even more encouraged by Sirus' lack of visible lung tumours, and the fact that it was a rear leg which was affected. Finding out that chemo shouldn't make him poorly also helped us decide. Our vets have all been very realistic and honest in telling us that there is no right or wrong choice. You would need a crystal ball to know which is the best option for each dog. So we made the decision, and hope that Sirus will still be around in a year or more. We are happy knowing that he won't have the level of pain he might otherwise have suffered. Week 4 On the Monday, Sirus had his leg amputated. We had arranged to see him in the afternoon but the vets advised us to leave him to rest as he was still in pain and on major pain meds. On Tuesday, he was still having opiates and heavy pain meds, but we saw him and were impressed at his movement, although he was sore and it all felt fairly awful. He came home on Wednesday, managing to jump in our van before we could help him. Despite this, he looked sore and his wound drainage site oozed nastily - so glad we have no carpets and haven't even sanded our floors yet! On Thursday, he escaped outside whilst I put the bins out and fell down the steps - he cried and we cried, but half an hour later he was clearly in little pain and much more comfortable than the night before. He worked out how best to stand to wee and poo, and he could do short walks, very sensibly sitting down if tired. By the weekend, he was nearly back to normal in the house, getting up to look out of the window, to steal food, to block the TV . . . At this point it felt like a good choice as the recovery was going well, although the first few days had been horrible. Week 5 I now understand why other three-legged dog owners are so relaxed about their dogs. Sirus has adjusted and we have adjusted. Whilst not walking him far, I have no problems taking him out with the others as he can get round the park fine. In fact, he is usually in the lead. He is always first up in the morning, wagging his tail at the door in anticipation of his walk. We have made ramps for the steep steps outside, but he gets up our shallow front steps very easily. I am pretty sure that if he had been better at steps in the first place he wouldn't need the ramps. His wound is dry and well healed and no one can believe he has recovered so quickly. He has his first appointment at the Liverpool teaching hospital next week, so his chemo will start soon . . . We have had central heating fitted this week and he has been delighted by the workmen who were delighted with him. I had much fun listening to them deciding on the correct allocation of iced bun for each dog - Sirus did well out of their calculations. When they left yesterday he slept all day and was then full of bounce and up for some cat hunting when it came to walk time. He is moving so well that some people on his right side asked why he was limping! He had his stitches removed by a vet who he doesn't see much of, he said he was being trusting as he sat down and got on with the job and I told him not to worry as Sirus really would be the last dog to snap. Aidan then found some playdough in his pocket and tried to feed it to Sirus who took it enthusiastically, I had a good rummage round his mouth and retrieved the playdough as the vet made impressed noises relating to how good Sirus is . . . of course, he is a wolfhound! Week 5 continued Sirus had his stitches removed eleven days after his surgery. The vet was delighted with his wound and his mobility, and I was reassured by this enthusiastic response. Not particularly used to wounds, I had convinced myself that it was infected, returning to the surgery a few days previously for swabs to be taken as the drainage hole had suddenly expelled a comparative flood of fluid. We think Sirus had slept all night on his left side, compressing his stump and causing the fluid to be retained. He isn't the sharpest when it comes to being careful with himself, but he did seem to learn from this and has subsequently favoured his right side when lying down. It has taken two weeks for the drainage hole to close completely. Having appeared to dry up several times, it reopened in response to increases in his exercise, which is apparently normal. Week 6 Sirus now has new hair growth, making him look much less raw and softening the appearance of his stump. Again we are amazed at the speed of his recovery, and whilst we have accepted that he may not have long left his quick return to good spirits has ensured that we do not regret the decision to amputate. Whilst hoping for the best outcome, his remarkable progress has made it easier for us to deal with the amputation and not to feel that it was quite so much of a gamble. Even if he has only a short time left, he is no longer in pain and is demonstrably happy. Our vet cautioned us to make our decision and not to regret it either way as both options were fair, but the progress of the disease might leave anyone regretting either choice. Monday saw us travel to the Liverpool teaching hospital which I had chosen because of its advanced scanning and screening capacities. It was a choice I can recommend, and the staff were professional, personable and really thorough. I knew they would retake Sirus' x-rays and wouldn't offer chemo if they detected any tumours, so we had an anxious wait until the results confirmed his clear x-ray result from three weeks earlier. Knowing how aggressive the cancer is, I was happy that his chemo started in the best possible circumstances for success. The two main drugs used are cisplastin and carboplatin, and the hospital recommends the latter although it is slightly less effective. Cisplastin gives an extra two months on average, but the dog has to stay overnight on a drip to have its kidneys flushed, and even with anti-emetic drugs is likely to be sick and have gastrointestinal problems. Sirus isn't great at staying in, so thinking of quality of life rather than quantity, we chose carboplatin. He is well on it so far, and his only reminder of the day is some new shaved areas where he had ultrasound scans performed. He also set a record as he was the first dog they had ever had to take to the equine department to be weighed! Through the website, Anne was contacted by a thoughtful lady who put us in touch with a couple who have been through this twice, and talking to them was immensely reassuring. Their dogs continued to gain mobility right up to the end, and both had an excellent quantity and quality of life post surgery. It's really great to think that Sirus will keep doing more and become more adapted . . . Week 9 Sirus has grown in strength and moves smoothly although with a different motion than before. As his hair grows back showing less colour variation in the operated area it is less and less obvious that Sirus has three legs. When both wolfhounds are side by side the combination of legs and tails means that very few people spot that Sirus is three legged when they first meet him. Funnily enough quite a few people notice the strange gait and ask if he has a sore leg!? He can now walk far enough to go around the park a few times but we haven't taken him on a long walk yet thinking that it is better to build him up with lots of little walks especially as I don't fancy being stuck miles from the van with the dogs, buggy and a lying down Sirus. Not the most portable of breeds at such times! It is a problem having him off lead but when there are only his dog friends around I take a chance so get to see him run, he is quite fast and although his style is choppy he still looks like he is enjoying himself so it's a pleasure to see. Sirus was due for chemo this week and the last lines of the above paragraph seem quite funny after what happened on chemo day. Suffice to say it is less a pleasure to see your dog running fast when he is running away from you towards a very busy main road. We went to see family who live down the road from the hospital he visits but I hadn't noticed that he had become a bit wound up as he watched the neighbours and their dogs, on exiting the van he short-circuited and shot off at speed. I couldn't catch him, could see he was completely non responsive and went after him in the van. Initial prayers were answered when there was no sign of a traffic accident but actually there was no sign of Sirus at all. Two hours later I had trampled over many strangers' gardens and had run a long way but hadn't seen the beast, nor had anyone I came across. Happily he turned up again and ran towards me delighted to see me, clearly baffled as to where I had been! Three legs but still a loon and still capable of speed and distance when motivated! Week 12 No more dramatic incidents have happened since Sirus' last chemo, he continues to improve and is walked when the others are unless we are off somewhere with many steps. I am really happy with how his ability to cover distance and his mobility has increased without me even noticing any big changes. A weekend ago we went to a big forest and all the dogs had an off lead ramble. I was sure he'd get tired but actually he bounded around for miles and had more desire to keep going than Bedlam did at the end of the walk. It was a delight to see him grinning as he romped along - why did I not take a camera? It feels like his op must have been a year ago as he has seemed so normal for so long. There may be no certainties with this treatment but I am sure it was a good choice for him. He has had his fourth course of chemo now so only has one more to go. We have arranged that he will just have the last treatment and no more scans, he'd need an anaesthetic to be scanned and whilst it might give us a clue to his prognosis it wouldn't actually provide us with any treatment options so we are happy to just see what happens. Currently his bloods are good and he has no outward signs of any health issues - long may this happy state last! Whilst the chemo makes for a busy and chaotic week for us I will miss it when it ends as it seems sad to admit that after our next session there is nothing more that we can do for his health although we will continue to focus on his happiness. |
