Hello world!

  Hello, thanks for this great resource.  I sure wish I knew about it when Annie was first facing amputation.  She developed a tumor on her right rear hip in late 2006 – age 7.  My vet did a needle aspirate and it tested as a lipoma – despite the weird location.  It grew HUGE quite quickly and she got uncomfortable lying down.  It was removed in April of 2007, just a few weeks after her 8th birthday.  Surgically it came out looking and acting like a lipoma so my vet saw no need for a biopsy.  We thought we were good to go.  My vet now recommends all lipomas for biopsy after Annie’s experience.   

Nine weeks later, at the end of June, the tumor reappeared.  This time it grew even faster and before long had stretched down and wrapped around her knee. By Labor Day she was hopping on 3 legs.  We did surgery mid September and this time there were fingers and veins everywhere.  My vet knew she didn’t get it all despite almost 3 hours in surgery.  The biopsy came back as a myxosarcoma – a type of soft tissue sarcoma – grade 1 – without clear margins. After a consult with the CSU Vet School, it was determined that while it have may tested as a grade 1 but it sure isn’t acting as one so treatment needed to be aggressive.   We decided to do several things.  She started on the Navy Protocol, we put her on some Chinese Herbs that acted in a similar way to the Navy Protocol and began Bicom resonance therapy.  Annie is allergic to almost everything on the planet – including human dander and Chinese Herbs have been wonderful for her.  This combo worked the longest for her but it didn’t last very long.  We made it about 11 1/2 weeks before the tumor reappeared. 

This time we knew we were dealing with a reoccurring cancer so we acted quickly.  Amputation was given as an option as it had with the second surgery, but I had quickly dismissed it before.  This time we did a consultation with a specialty vet clinic and they thought they could get all the cancer and save the leg by removing the tumor and part of the sartorious muscle.  I decided to make one more attempt at saving her leg.  This surgery was by far her most difficult to recover from to date.  She had a drain and was in quite a bit of pain at first.  The biopsy came back again as a myxosarcoma, grade 1 but this time the margins were clear.  All was good, for 8 weeks!

The tumor was back less than 2 months later and grew with a vengeance.  I had promised Annie I wouldn’t make her go through any more surgeries but the tumor grew and grew and she had just turned 9.  We used to see a Great Dane at the open space where we walk with 3 legs.  They had moved away for a while and I kept thinking of Stella.  It was so helpful in making this decision because I decided that if Stella could run on 3 legs at her size, Annie could do it at 68 lbs!   I finally decided I and to try amputation rather than lose her.   She had her right rear leg amputated on July 7, 2008.

Annie’s immune system was trashed due to the cytoxin of the Navy Protocol.  It didn’t work for her.  She had been taking Tremella, a Chinese Herb, and it didn’t seem like it was working either but in hindsight, the tumor grew much faster without that medicine.  She remains on Tremella to this day.  She got a raging UTI and the tumor began rupturing.  My dad’s surprise 80th birthday party was about to happen outside Boston when we were facing the tumor rupturing.  I had planned to take my labs to Boston with me from Colorado.  The surgery was scheduled for the first day we were back in Colorado.  She had a pretty miserable trip and I think for her, the surgery was a relief.  It was much harder on me, which I hear a lot. 

Annie came home that night as my vet doesn’t have overnight care and I prefer to have her home than go to an emergency clinic.  I slept on the floor the first night next to Annie and my other lab, Abbey.  She ran as I was picking her up!  It was harder for her to figure out a slower gait.  Recovery was fairly quick, except the sutures were not ready to be removed due to her immune system not working effectively.  It took over 3 weeks before all were removed.  Within a few days I wondered if I needed to leash her out front because she was wanting to run around the neighborhood.  As soon as all the sutures were removed, she started walking several days a week and we went a bit further each day.  Within 4-5 weeks she was back to her normal daily walk of about 45 minutes.  She ran happily and without pain and was happy to swim as well. 

Annie just celebrated her 2 year ampuversary and remains clear of the sarcoma.  Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with lymphoma in June, 2010 but I believe her survivor spirit will take her beyond the prognosis she has been given.  She has been a gift for me, my family and friends and a great teaching tool for the elementary aged students I work with and for kids of all ages who we see at the open space where we walk.  Almost daily someone will notice, after seeing her run, jump up steep river banks and often even petting her, that she is a tripawd.  They are always shocked because they hadn’t seen it for several minutes before.  Stella, her Great Dane sister and parents are back in the area and I’ve been able to thank them for allowing me to know her, as it was critical in making this decision.  Thank you for providing this great resource.  I will never fear amputation again.  It has truly extended Annie’s life and given her great quality of life!