This is Oscar, he is five years old, and today he is going in to have his right front leg removed. Oscar was diagnosed 2 1/2 years ago with Canine Osteosarcoma at Tufts Veterinary Hospital in Grafton, MA, after developing a severe limp and swelling above his right wrist. At the time, the vets at Tufts wanted to amputate Oscar’s leg and begin chemotherapy immediately. They said that the treatment would give Oscar another year, maybe 18 months. After getting his prognosis and treatment, we met with our veterinarian and decided that we would not pursue the course of treatment and keep Oscar as comfortable as possible. Over the next couple of months, Oscar became lame and began to lose weight. We were getting to the point of having to make some dire decisions regarding Oscar and were very concerned about his pain and suffering. But then, miraculously, Oscar began putting on weight, eating more, and putting weight back on his right leg. The swelling went down, and Oscar has been thriving for the past couple of years. His chest x-rays and blood work have been clear, needless to say, we have witnessed a miracle. He has had a couple of flare-ups but each time he bounced back. However, over the last couple of weeks the growth on his leg has doubled and he is in pain. We decided that he is not going to bounce back and wanted to end his pain once and for all. I wanted to start a blog/diary for Oscar so his circle of friends can track his recovery from the amputation. We love you Oscar and we know you are going to do great today.
Hang in there Oscar and Good Luck today!
Prayers for Oscar’s big day. Amazing story about the progression. Raven was limping and the xray showed a lesion that they were sure was osteosarcoma last April. But the biopsy was neg back then. So, we just watched it closely. He’d continue to limp, good days and bad days. But it suddenly got worse 5 weeks ago and he had it amputated and the biopsy showed cancer this time. So, maybe Oscar didn’t have cancer back then, just a benign bone lesion? And since we are so aware and always watching, you hopefully caught it early like we did. 🙂 I am looking forward to reading more about Oscar.
Wow! That was truly a miracle that Oscar lived so long after being diagnosed with osteosarcoma without any kind of treatment! I’m sorry that the cancer finally took its toll and you have to amputate… But now Oscar has another chance at beating the odds again!!
I hope that everything went well with his surgery today. I’m looking forward to reading all your posts (and hopefully alot of pictures) about Oscar’s recovery… and I hope and pray that he will live for many more months… hopefully years!!!
Angel Jake’s Mom
This is a tough day for you and Oscar, we all have been there.
Please take full advantage of this site- check out the forums, there is great information and support to be found here.
Ask lots of questions- chances are someone here has the answer- or knows where to send you for more information.
Good luck over the next couple of weeks. Many of us found that there were lots of ups and downs during the initial healing process, but at least in my case Maggie surprised me everyday, and still does sometimes, with her adaptability.
Karen and the pug girls.
Good luck Oscar! We are thinking about you! The first two weeks are the hardest, but you will get through them no problem! I too am a young golden retriever. I will be five on Christmas day. My right front leg was amputated 13 weeks ago due to Osteosarcoma too. We have a lot in common. I don’t even miss my leg!
We are sending you happy thoughts! Tell your pawrents to stay strong because we know when they are scared or nervous! We are goldens!!!
Make sure you ask for a lot of treats. You will be amazed with how many treats your pawrents give you and it can be for the littlest things! Just smile and they will give you treats 🙂 !
Keep us posted.
Hi Oscar,
Glad to meet you, though wish it wasn’t under these circumstances. You will do terrific. It will be hard at first and it will be a little like a roller coaster, but you will get a little better each day and will find yourself chasing balls and running after just a few weeks.
We really like to see photos on this website so post some more. I really like tennis balls too! and I love to swim in the river. Hang in there! Opie