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Canine Osteosarcoma
and the Irish Setter
by Jan Ziech

Continued from page four...

Cruiser Starts to Limp Again

In mid-January, a full three months after the completion of radiation, Cruiser started to limp more again. The tumor looked bigger again and actually appeared to be pushing his hip out of the socket. The radiation therapy could be repeated if necessary for additional pain control, but now chest radiographs showed significant mets in his lungs. I was devastated and spent the day moping in my corner of the clinic. I had lulled myself into thinking maybe Cruiser could beat this disease - he had beaten everything else!

I contacted the original oncologist with a list of questions about pain control, and what to expect as far as disease progression. My concern was keeping Cruise as comfortable as possible. At this point, he wasn't acting 'sick' at all - in fact he was kind of driving me crazy! He was trying my patience with practically non-stop barking and romancing of the 'eligible girls' in the household. Dogs with cancer don't stop to feel sorry for themselves, they continue to live life as normal as long as they're not in pain. And Cruiser certainly didn't seem to be feeling any pain.

Cruiser started chemo at the end of January. At this point, I felt that he was nearing the end of his life and if the drug therapy further damaged his immune system, the exchange for better pain control would be worth it. The goal was to slow the progression of the metastasis and the original tumor. Since the original tumor was still present, there was only a small possibility that chemo would work on the mets. Adriamycin was the drug of choice at this point. The drug was given IV over several hours. Cruiser didn't have any trouble with it. He also went home with oral Cytoxan, another chemo drug, to start in several days. (Cytoxan is given in the morning; it is very irritating to the bladder so it is very important that the dog is able to urinate frequently during the day.) If all went well, Cruiser would receive another treatment in 3 weeks.

Cruiser had started being picky about his food a few days before he started chemotherapy. N/D was no longer a favorite food, nor were the chicken necks that I had stockpiled in the freezer. He would eat hard-boiled eggs and some dry dog food (a high protein, high fat competition sled dog diet) and dog biscuits. I tried all kinds of concoctions and recipes, different serving temperatures, dining in different areas of the house - sometimes he would eat, sometimes he wouldn't. He was still playful and didn't seem to be in any distress.

Another chest radiograph in 3 weeks showed an increase in the size and the number of the mets. The Adriamycin did not work. Bloodwork was still very normal so the decision was made to try another chemotherapy drug, Mitoxantrone. Again, Cruiser tolerated the drug very well. Three weeks later, the chest films looked even worse. Cruise was beginning to lose a little weight and his eyes were beginning to look sunken. He was still acting pretty normal though. He was actually now running the house. He destroyed his third doggie waterbed. He no longer liked to spend any time in his crate; he preferred a rug between the dining and living rooms.

The oncologist offered one more treatment that might possibly work, carboplatin, but cautioned that the odds were not good. I decided to try it despite the poor chances and expense.

Twelve days after the carboplatin treatment, Cruiser seemed to be doing pretty good. It was a Monday night. He ate dinner and tried to pick a fight with his half brother. He also tried to flirt with one of the old girls without success. During the night, he coughed a few times. Near morning, he either got up and fell down or rolled over really hard as only an Irish Setter can. I checked him and he was breathing hard, his color was bad and his legs were cool. I put him on the bed, covered him up and just held him for a while knowing that his life was drawing to an end. His breathing evened out and I got ready to take him to the emergency clinic.

At the clinic, chest films looked terrible and indicated that Cruiser was bleeding into his lungs. I decided enough was enough, Cruiser was now suffering and the time had come to humanely end his life. Cruise died in my arms on March 21st.

So, would I do it again? Yes. I truly feel that Cruiser had a very good quality of life until his last few hours. Going into this, I was unaware that a dog with bone cancer could live fairly normally and relatively pain free. Not everyone would make the same choices as I did. And initially I would have probably made different, more aggressive treatment choices if Cruiser hadn't had previous health problems. I'm glad that I had the extra time with him. And I hope that by sharing his story, other pet owners will realize that although osteosarcoma is a terrible disease, progess is being made toward more successful and life lengthening treatments.

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