K9 Osteosarcoma - Do Not Waste a Minute
by Ilmarie Lloyd
(Devon, United Kingdom)
Velvet
My heart-felt sympathy to all who have lost a much loved pet to cancer - it is devastating.
We had to euthanize our beloved Velvet (a Rhodesian Ridgeback) on Saturday 8 October 2011 after a three-month battle with osteosarcoma.
This cancer gives you only a very small window of opportunity as it is extremely aggressive. I urge all owners with dogs diagnosed with osteosarcoma, who are willing to spend the time and money to give him/her a longer life, not to hesitate like we did. Amputate the limb immediately and start chemotherapy. Our human considerations about losing a leg are unimportant to dogs.
We had the leg amputated two months after her diagnosis due to the pain. She did VERY well on three legs, but we had waited too long. By then, she had developed a stomach ulcer from the non-steroidal anti-inflammatary medications and the cancer had spread to her spine. The pain became too much for her and we had to euthanize her three weeks after the amputation.
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