Canine osteosarcoma chemo survey

[CarolC]

This is a question for people who have had dogs that underwent chemotherapy treatment for osteosarcoma. I'd like to know how many days or weeks or months it was between treatments for your dog. How many treatments did you do, and what kind of chemo did you use? Any other comments you want to add would be of interest. Thanks!

[tessa]

xena had six chemo sessions all up.
the first two were of doxyrubicin and were meant to be admisitered two weeks apart, ideally. (poor white cell count made it three weeks between first and second treatment).
this was followed by four treatments of carboplatin scheduled at three week intervals (again...white cell counts extended this by one week on two occasions).

she had the most ill effects from the doxyrubicin...which only meant that she was lethargic for the day following chemo.
carboplatin had no visible effect on her mood or energy.
now...six months later...the bald patches in the lawn are finally beginning to recover. my advise: train your dog exactly where it is okay to pee for the first three days post-chemo...or suffer the consequences!

[CarolC]

now...six months later...the bald patches in the lawn are finally beginning to recover. my advise: train your dog exactly where it is okay to pee for the first three days post-chemo...or suffer the consequences!

Whoa! You mean the chemicals in the chemo killed your grass--for 6 whole months? Any clue if it was the doxyrubicin or just the carboplatin or both? I think if anybody else is going to do the same kind of chemo, it would be nice to warn them.

[tessa]

i think both drugs caused grass killing. they are very very toxic drugs....and the patient expresses them in their urine and feces for approx. 48 hours post-treatment...although it is recommended to double-bag (for the purposes of picking up poop) for the entire week following treatment.

it should also be noted that while chemo is very expensive...it does not impinge on the patient's quality of life. it is not the same in dogs as it is in humans...because they look to cure humans, while they only look for clinical remission in dogs. this is because of the differing age expectations of dogs vs. humans. (ten years remission in a dog is a lifetime...while for a person...it simply wouldn't be enough).

[andieopie]

breeze is going to have 5 treatments of adriamycin. they will be every other week. she will need an echocardiograph of her heart after 3 treatments as it can be harmful.
she has had one treatment with no ill side effects. this was more cost effective than the othe treatments. she is also taking deramaxx daily.
andie

[CarolC]

Thanks for the helpful information about cost. Here is some important information on side effects of adriamycin (doxorubicin).

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/doxorubicin.html

Cisplatin is cheaper than carboplatin but can cause side effects in the kidneys.

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/cisplatin.html

[andieopie]

http://www.caninecancerawareness.org/

this site has been great for me. it lists treatments, effects of treatment, options, hollistic treatments etc.
andie

[andieopie]

breeze's pee has always been toxic. if she pees on the grass we get a dead patch. gosh, i wonder what her pee will do after chemo!!
andie