We are 17 days post-surgery. The biopsy came back positive for osteosarcoma… just as we suspected. :::Sigh::: Now we can consider doing chemo, not doing anything, or trying something else.
I spoke with Dr. Rinaldi after the biopsy report confirmed cancer and he said he recommended six treatments of chemo for her which would occur every three weeks. The cost is roughly $920 per treatment. Her insurance covers $2400/year for chemo. This basically means that insurance would cover about half the cost which is much better than nothing. Side effects of chemo are minimal for dogs because they use a much lower dose of chemo in dogs as compared to humans. The reason for the lower dosage is because chemo for dogs is used as palliative care and not to cure the cancer. He said roughly 10% of dogs experience side effects but generally most do well. Occasionally they feel crummy the next day but after that they are good. They continue to eat normally and live normal lives. Halfway through the chemo treatment they do a full chest X-ray to see if the cancer has metastasized. If it has then they adjust the treatment. In fact, we could start chemo as soon as this week. Sessions take roughly an hour, although, sometimes a bit longer. The car ride up to the clinic is a little over an hour and, unfortunately, I don’t have the most comfortable car for my sweet beast. Regardless, it’s something to consider.
Interestingly, as I’ve gone down this road, I’ve realized we have options. Yes, Maggie has cancer, however, I’m not stuck with one option for her care. I decided to research holistic vets in my area and to my amazement I found Dr. Sharon Doolittle who practices about 10 minutes from where we live. Yes, Dr. Doolittle. That is her given name. I decided to give her office a call and see if she treats osteosarcoma. They called me back shortly after I left my message and she does treat osteosarcoma with pretty promising results. I scheduled an appointment. The first appointment available was Jan 23, although, I was put on the cancellation list. This morning after our walk I got a call from her office. They had a cancellation this morning and wondered if we could come in. YES, OF COURSE!
Let me tell you… normally when we walk into a vet office Maggie starts shaking like a leaf and clambers as far onto my lap as she can. Her tail goes between her legs, she starts flaking dandruff and pants nervously. When we walked into Dr. Doolittle’s office she was immediately curious and began sniffing everything. Then she laid down and fell asleep. Never in a million years did I ever think I’d see that.
Dr. Doolittle and her staff are incredible. Maggie slept pretty much the entire time even during the examination. This is how comfortable she was there. It was unbelievable.
So, I’ve made a decision. We will not be doing chemo. We are going to treat her holistically. This means changing her diet to a keto like diet: protein, vegetables, fruit and fat. We are cutting out carbohydrates (aka grains). Cancer cells love sugar. Kibble is mostly grain which essentially means I’m feeding her cancer. She is going on some approved proteins, veggies, fruits and fat. I will rotate them throughout the next six weeks until we go back to Dr. Doolittle. In addition to transitioning her to this diet she will start taking a handful of supplements. All of this is eased into her diet.
As I was there I knew I was in the right place. Maggie is going to eat well, get some good supplements for her overall health (including the cancer), and she will enjoy going to the doctor.
I’ll write more later about exactly how the diet and supplement transition is working but for now I’m thrilled. Tonight, was her first meal into the transition: kibble, sardines, cauliflower, turnip greens, butternut squash, and blueberries (and, of course, her new supplement regime combined with her current pain/nerve meds).
I’m happy with the choice I’ve made. The next step will be transitioning her diet and looking into getting her a brace for her front leg.
Thanks again for everyone who has asked about her. It means the world to us.
Maggie and me 