On January 17 2018, my world was shattered and my heart ripped open. Stella, our 120 lb, 6 yr Rotti, woke us up when she sat up and yelped. I leaped out of bed as lights were turned on, half expecting to see her twisted or a paw caught. She remains sitting on our bed as I gingerly try and fill her paws and legs. Nothing seems to hurt so it’s probably a pulled a muscle. I give her a kiss and a rub on the head and tell her to go back to sleep, all will be better tomorrow. We all woke up on the right side of the grass so I started my morning routine. Bathroom, feed dog, make coffee, take dog outside. Only this morning Stella is holding her right front paw up while see eats, hummmm, she must have really pulled a muscle last night. Our routine stays the same but it is obvious that the pain is not getting better. We see our vet later that day. The physical exam shows all paws are fine, the pain is coming from her shoulder. X-rays are taken and after a 3.5 hr wait and Stella sleeping off the anesthesia, I’m told the vet is ready to talk to me. “I’m concerned it’s bone cancer”. My head is spinning, how do we get from a strain or pulled muscle to CANCER???? X-rays were sent off to be read, Stella still in a drug induced state, slept the whole way home, while I cried. The next day it was confirmed along with the recommendation to manage pain. That’s it, that’s all???? My chest is heavy, my tummy is tight, I can’t stop crying, I almost hyperventilate a few times, I walk around in circles not knowing what to do. At some point, I realize that I may not know what to do but I’m not going to just sit by and manage her pain. I join 4 or 5 support groups for Dogs with Cancer. I can’t read fast enough, information overload, my eyes are burning from trying to read while crying. I look for a Holistic Vet in the region, I have yellow sticky notes all over with the names of supplements, diets, book titles and recipes. I ask our vet to arrange for us to see an Oncologist. A week later we are in the office of the Oncologist. In the mean time the pain has been somewhat managed, the limp slowly getting worse.
I am so sorry to hear about Stella’s diagnosis. This stupid dreaded disease just loves our breed. Sassy was diagnosed at 6 years old as well. She survived almost 10 3/4 months but there have been many dogs who survived longer.
Stats are just that. There is no time stamp on any butts. A good book to check out is The Cancer Survival guide by Dr Demian Dressler.
keep us informed and good luck tomorrow.
Similar to Michell’s Sassy, our boy was diagnosed at six. Thanks to amputation and well managed chemotherapy we were able to spend almost eleven, pain free and happy months with him.
Continue to be strong and know that one of the great miracles of the dog is that they truly live “in the now.” She doesn’t know she’s fighting cancer and so long as you can help keep her feeling good, she’s a happy girl because she’s with you.
So, so sorry.
Stella and family, we hope you are doing well and on the road to recovery. Please keep us posted OK? We are thinking of you.
P.S. information overload can make this journey really, really hard. Try to take things one day at a time, just like Stella, and you can get through this with flying colors.
My heart goes out to you. This is exactly how it started with my rottweiler Odin. He limped for a few days, then we tried several exploratory xrays and a surgery before a mass finally showed up on one of his radiographs. It’s absolutely heart breaking and terrifying when something as simple as a limp turns out to be or potentially be cancer.
I am thinking of you, please keep your blog updated!!! This is a great community that just pours support. We are all here for you.
Our Standard Poodle, Sammy, had just turned 6 and developed a limp. He was super athletic and was jumping off a four foot retaining wall, repeatedly, until we blocked his access. But we took him in for an X-ray, and were told it was just likely a reinjury. He wasn’t getting better on medications so we ended up taking him to CSU (Colorado State University), at the time, rated third in top three Vet. schools. They biopsied his leg and eventually told us it was osteosarcoma. He had his leg amputated the same week and scheduled for one series of four chemo treatments, after he healed. We were told it could buy him at least six months. We were devastated, but went with their recommendations. We had chest X-rays every three to six months as recommended. That was three and a half years ago. CSU’s Oncology Dept. told us this year, he didn’t need chest films done but no more often than ever six months. We know this is unusual for this kind of cancer. But since he’s had all of this, they’ve expanded their Oncology research program and are doing clinical trials for a vaccine for osteosarcoma. There’s so much research being done because humans get osteosarcoma too, and could benefit from the studies. He’s 9.5 years old now, and just getting old like us.
Our hearts break for you, as they still break for our babies who went this route and fought the valiant fight. We went through this last year with our 8 year old Golden – you will learn invaluable lessons from Stella as she recovers from surgery and begins life as a Tripawd. We are forever changed after witnessing our girl’s resilience and determination. Best of luck to you all and please keep us posted.