Sindri's in Surgery

You wouldn't believe how much we debated the issue of whether or not to amputate Sindri's leg. It's all we talked about and thought about for the past week. We talked to people on both sides of the issue, read article after article on the web, and even called our doctor multiple times to ask a million questions.

In the end, we thought it was the best thing for him. His pain is noticeably worse, to the point that running is no longer even an option. And for hanging around inside the house and being spoiled rotten for his remaining months, he doesn't necessarily need to be a four-legged animal. Amputation means a recovery time and learning to walk again. But the consensus seems to be that Sindri will adapt quickly to this new state and will recover just fine from the surgery. And not operating meant keeping him in constant pain that not even his medications could stave off. Every step would be difficult, playing would've been agony, and even sleeping would be uncomfortable.

After going back and forth a million times on the issue, we finally made the decision last night around midnight--just hours away from when he was scheduled to go in. One of the factors in our final decision was the passage below, which Alecia uncovered on a site devoted to bone cancer in dogs:

Amputation provides permanent, definitive pain relief. It does not cure the cancer, except in extremely rare cases. The first way to attack this disease is to address the pain. In many cases amputation actually prolongs life, because without it, the pain will eventually become unbearable and lead to a very difficult and final decision.

This disease is aggressive and ruthless. The pain of bone cancer is probably the worst pain ever. Many dogs are stoic, and don't show how much pain they really have. Others will stop doing their favorite things, develop a limp, sleep more or show a change in appetite. The pain from bone cancer will whittle away at your dog's spirit, while the cancer whittles away at the bone. There is a risk of fracture through the cancerous bone which is excruciatingly painful. The quality of your dog's life will slowly decline due to pain.

Pain medications are very commonly used and may help for a while. Pain medications alone are just temporary until the pain becomes too strong or you decide on an alternate plan. There are several options for pain medications which should be discussed with your veterinarian. Amputation alone can bring back "quality of life".

Fighting cancer is not about "how much time" will my dog have.....it is about "how much quality time will my dog enjoy".

Bonecancerdogs.org

We're hoping all goes well with Sindri today. We've already all said our goodbyes--and we've sort of been mourning for a week already--but it will still be tough if he doesn't make it through the surgery. But assuming he does, we'll have a couple of weeks of recovery ahead of us, and then a bunch of wrestling, walking, playing and visiting new locations while we can. We plan to get rid of any guilt we have over being neglectful by overdoing it a little once his pain is gone. :)

We'll post an update when we find out how the surgery went.

UPDATE: I found another site today that had actual statistics for life expectancy of dogs with osteosarcoma. While 90% of dogs treated with amputation alone die within a year, the average life expectancy for dogs who combine amputation with chemotherapy is 8-10 months, with less than fifty percent lasting past 12 months. See how this is a no-win situation? If we don't do chemo, we know we're putting a death sentence on him. But if we do chemo, we'd have to go into heavy debt and sacrifice much of his quality of life, and the odds still say we'll be lucky to make it past a year with him. What would you do?