Need advice– Osteosarcoma

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  • #8840
    adriennez
    Member

    Hello Lena/and others, my boxer Lola was diagnosed with stage 1 osteosarcoma in her lower jaw back in June of this year. Before we did anything her oncologist recommended that she do a chest x ray to check for spread and also a cat scan of the jaw to see where to direct the surgery. She said the chest x ray showed no spread of the cancer so removal of half of the lower jaw would be the best fit.

    I did that and when Lola got out, she said that they got it all out, the margins were clean and there was no need for chemo. I was very worried about not doing chemo but she said that her and a group of 4 other doctors all felt the same. She got an infection about 2 months later and had to be rushed in where they treated her with a strong dose of antibiotic etc. She recovered and has been fine since, eating well, drinking, full of energy and life.

    The Dr did no follow up with any blood-work, a chest x ray or bone scan as it’s mentioned on so may sites. This has a high incidence of spread and I am shocked by her lack of follow up with such a serious cancer. She said see you in 6 months for a chest x ray just to be sure, so that;s what I did. I took her in last night for her 6 month follow up and had a chest x ray done. The dr said her lymph nodes felt good and were not swollen and the surgery site looked wonderful. She came out from the chest x ray and sai there were 3 concerning spots on her lungs. I immediately froze and said but you told me not to do the chemo. She said I would have made the same decision based on what we knew of the tumor then. I am getting the official results from the radiologist today but I know it’s metastasis.

    She said it could be age spots but that’s highly unlikely I feel. I am unsure what to do at this point. She is 8 yrs old and health otherwise except for hypothyroidism which she takes a pill for. She also said that the chemo would not work at this point but that there are other ‘therapies’ available to shrink it. I feel she should have done the chemo back then but she insisted there was no reason to put her through it.

    My question is what do I do now? get a 2nd opinion if it did mets or start your 2 drugs mentioned or both? Also possibly acupuncture? I just want to save my baby.

    I’m referring to the : Artemisinin and Sanshedan Chuanbeiye

    Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

    Adrienne and Lola

    #11466
    Lena
    Keymaster

    Hi Adrienne,

    I would highly recommend you set up a consultation with a veterinary oncologist even if you have to travel to find one. From my experience most osteosarcoma will spread if not treated either holistically or with chemo so I agree that it is highly possible that the spots are lung mets, although I hope with all my heart they are not. Once you have lung mets it becomes much more difficult to treat, the protocol I talk about for osteosarcoma may help slow things down by you need something stronger. While I have treated dogs holistically for lung mets see http://pathwithpaws.com/blog/2011/04/26/breathing-through-cancer-holistic-herbal-therapies-to-control-lung-metastasis-in-cancer-in-dogs-and-cats/ and http://pathwithpaws.com/blog/2011/04/06/prognoses-are-only-as-good-as-the-paper-they-are-printed-on-lous-story/ (Lou is still with us and going strong) it is a very serious condition. I would also strongly recommend finding a holistic vet to work with who does acupuncture and herbs http://pathwithpaws.com/blog/2011/12/11/how-to-find-a-good-holistic-vet-to-work-with/ . In Lola’s case it might be worth working with an integrative approach between an oncologist and a holistic vet if these are lung mets they are seeing. If you can find a good acupuncturist but they are not an herbalist by all means bring them my article on lung mets and hopefully you can work together to come up with a good holistic protocol for Lola.

    best wishes,

    Lena

    #11467
    adriennez
    Member

    Thanks so much Lena, it turns out unfortunately they were lung mets. I am devastated but made an appt with a vet oncologist for a 2nd opinion on Monday. I also am taking steps that you mention in your diet section to feed her more natural/antioxidant type foods. I have one question.. I bought some broccoli, sweet potatoes and mushrooms. Lola is on no chemo right now or any meds besides hypothyroid meds. Can I feed these veggies to her raw or must they be cooked? I always heard it’s better to eat them raw b/c you get the most vitamins etc. Thanks

    #11468
    Lena
    Keymaster

    The sweet potato is better cooked for any dog or human as you get more of the effect to help with digestion and you still get all the vit A (however it isn’t harmful if it is not), I actually like using the big cans that you buy for pies (pumpkin is also fine).

    Mushrooms should be cooked – you get more of the medicinal and immune stimulant effect (you get very little if they are not) and mushrooms have mild toxic properties if eaten raw. Actually a very good question that I should add to the article.

    All other veggies are fine raw or cooked – if you cook them steaming lightly is the way to go because you don’t loss as much of the vits. You are right that raw you get even more vits but they are not always as tasty.

    If she is on chemo then any meat should be cooked but the veggies are fine either way. If she isn’t on chemo raw meat is fine (except pork or fish) as long as it has been frozen first.

    I hope the oncologist is able to help you with a good plan for Lola on Monday and I am sorry they are mets.

    #11469
    adriennez
    Member

    Thanks so much, this helps.. she ate everything I gave after I wrapped it in turkey lol. I am going to try cooking the sweet potatoes and mushrooms but she seemed to like the broocoli raw.. thanks so much. I want to do all I can to help her naturally and holistically while she is so healthy and full of energy.. I also ordered that snake medicine (forgot the name) in the vials that you mention. I will also be reaching out to an acupuncturist. Will let you know after Monday thanks!

    #11470
    adriennez
    Member

    Lena, I confirmed that she now has mets on the lungs there are 5 small spots. Her oncologist yeserday reccomended the use of Palladia. I know Palladia is for mast cell tumnors and I’m not sure if I should try this or not with the Osteosarcoma. All of her bloodwork came back good so they say we can try but I feel as if it prob won’t work. Right now she is so lively and vibrant and i hate to ruin her spirit and make her sick for no reason. Any help would be appreciated. Are you familair at al with Palladia? thanks

    #11471
    Lena
    Keymaster

    I haven’t had experience with Palladia for osteosarcoma however my assistant Diane’s sister used it for her cat with squamous cell carcinoma and it greatly extended her cat’s life and quality of life. She also had no side effects from it. It is a fairly new drug so not a lot of info out there but it seems to treat more than mast cell.

    You could try it and see how she does on it. If she gets sick then you can stop it. But go with your gut. If it doesn’t feel right listen to that.

    #11472
    adriennez
    Member

    Hello Lena, need some advice… I decided to skip the Palladia and go the natural route with Lola. There were too many uncertainties and I don’t want to experiment with Lola. I have started Lola on vegetables and ordered the below herbs you recommended… can she take all of these together? Also, are there any side effects to the herbs? thanks for any guidance.

    Herbs I bought:

    Sanshedan Chuanbeiae

    Artemisinin

    Xiao Chai Hu Tang

    Xue Fu Zhu Yu Tang

    #11473
    Lena
    Keymaster

    I have used those four herbals together and there should be no interactions between them. While I usually do not see side effects with any of these four I always recommend to start no more than two at a time and then wait three days to start the two more. Any herbal has potential for side effects although they are rare with these four.

    I hope she does well!

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