Millys Journey

So after more talks with the Vet we have officially decided to hold off on the amputation for now. We are going to monitor her regularly ad check her lymph glads weekly if anything seems to change or the tumor shows signs of regrowth then we will go ahead with the amputation but for now she is comfortable and the cancer isnt damaging her muscle tissue. We have also decided to create a Milly fund as out Insurance wont cover her amputation in the future if its related to the same cancer claim as now (ridiculous right!) but to be on the safe side we will put money aside for her to cover the cost of the op, meds and any extra potential bits and bobs she might need. In a way although this is the best path for her at the moment I think its going to take me a while to calm down from all the craziness of canine cancer research and post amputation research. Every time I look at our gorgeous girl I keep thinking that nasty awful stuff is still in there. I know the most important thing is to make sure she is comfortable and pain free as well as acting normal (though the extra cuddles are doing us just as much good as they are her 🙂 ). Anyway best case scenario is the cancer (though highly likely to regrow) grows very slowly and doesnt cause too much of a problem in the future. The worst case is it spreads before we have the chance to do anymore with it. The happy medium is when it does regrow we will have had more time to adapt to the idea of amputation and have more time to prepare everything she will need for it.

So thats it for now. Sending happy get well vibes to all those out there with furry family members going through similar issues. xx

Our lovely girl Milly has recently under gone the removal of a Grade 2 soft tissue sarcoma.

The Cancer is within the muscle so there is no chance of removing the surrounding area in the hopes it will remove all cancer cells.

We are having her Lymphs checked for spreading in which case if it has we have decided not to put her through radiation, or chemo.

If It hasnt spread we have two options

1. Leave her be, keep an eye on the affected area and if it looks like the cancer re-develops re-asses our options.

Pros:- the risk of it spreading to other parts of her body are low (though not impossible)

Cons:- If it does regrow we will most likely have to amputate and there is as above the small risk of it spreading

2. Amputate as long as it hasnt already spread to the Lymphs

Pros:- Then by removing her front right leg we will remove all cancer cells and the chances of her getting it again are very slim.

Cons:- We could potentially be removing a leg that will not cause her any future trouble.

My initial feelings on this (and believe me we have tried looking at it from each angle is to just amputate get her through the recovery process and hope  she adapts well. However I dont know if this is the right thing to do by her and I really dont know enough about dogs with front amputations or muscular cancer to feel confident yet which decision we go with. My main priority is our beautiful girl Milly and her comfort and happiness. So initially ultimately she may never be a tripawd but hopefully with the help from others here we will know what will be facing us and how to deal with it.

So this is where our journey begins.

Milly