(Showing off his new dog tag he got for xmas)
I am crying as I write this but this week has been hard. We have had set backs. Titan will no longer put weight on the leg and there is swelling again in his hock (ankle) area. He still won't eat and we are continuing to force feed him. He doesn't seem interested in his activities any more and just wants to be near us to sleep.
We have to go to the vet.
On Christmas day we ended up calling the vet to make an appointment and were able to come in that night. Once again the idea of trying to get Titan into a car while he fights us every step of the way was frustrating so thankfully Mike's sister let us use her van again. I can't thank her enough for this. We helped Titan get outside and around the front of the house and into the van. It took two of us to lift him, but he has lost so much weight now that I can actually pick up his back end on my own. He was 160 lbs and now is at 145 lbs. I climbed into the back with him and we cuddled on the floor because Titan was scared, and off we went on the long trip to Caven Hills. I was so nervous, did the metal plates not take? Has the surgery area collapsed and failed all together? Is there just an infection we can use antibiotics for? Has he broken a bone trying to use the leg too fast? My mind was spinning the whole way there.
When we arrived at the vet Titan was eager to get out of the van and if it wasn't for Mike being there to catch him he would of jumped right down. He hopped on three legs into the clinic and didn't fight us. He even stopped to sniff everything on the way like he was on a walk. And then we waited for our turn, Titan sitting on dad's lap and being a good boy.
The vet came and called us in, a different vet again, and right away noticed how Titan wouldn't use the leg. His first thought was failed surgery. He felt is leg and noticed a swollen lymph node. He told us he was worried about maybe an infection but we should do xrays to be sure. Of course we agreed and once again I had to hand that leash over and watch Titan walk down that hallway with the vet. It makes me sad every time, but he goes like a brave boy. So back to the waiting room to wait....and wait...and wait some more. It seems like forever when your mind is spinning with questions. Finally our names were called in. We had just gotten in the room when the vet met our eyes and said two very scary words. Bone Cancer. I felt like I got slapped in the face and my heart just stopped. I think we were both in shock, how could this happen? His last scans had been fine and it's only just been a month. The vet said that the last xrays were looking at his knee and not lower down so it wasn't seen. Well why didn't they look at the whole leg I wanted to shout. The vet said that he saw lesions in the leg that he thinks might be bone cancer but it wasn't your typical star burst pattern. He would take extra xrays and send them to Titan's Radiologist to get a for sure answer as to what is going on. The vet also told us that he would not sedate Titan this time as he discovered a heart murmur, small but there, perhaps brought on by all the stress of the last month. At this point I just wanted to fall to the floor, my sweet boy in a matter of a month had the worst possible outcome.
We went back to the waiting room and waited for Titan to come out. Another long wait. When he finally came out those doors and saw us that tail started wagging and he was so happy to see us. He is such a good boy and I think he knew he wouldn't have to stay there. We were given two different types of pain meds for Titan to take. Meloxicam (once daily) and Tramadol (once every 8-12 hours). The drugs make Titan drowsy but he isn't in any pain.
The whole ride home Titan just rested on my lap like the first time we brought him home. We just cuddled and the ride was very quiet, both Mike and I lost in thoughts of worry. Once home Titan again got out of the car eagerly and made it into the backyard and up his ramp to his nice warm bed. All that activity made him exhausted and he went right to sleep while we sat with him for the night.
The next day I woke up and went right into researching again. The different websites I looked at are:
http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/musculoskeletal/c_multi_osteosarcoma
http://wearethecure.org/learn-more-about-canince-cancer/canine-cancer-library/osteosarcoma/
http://www.akcchf.org/canine-health/your-dogs-health/bone-cancer-in-dogs.html?referrer=https://www.google.ca/
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2087&aid=465
Every website basically tells you about bone cancer (osteosarcomas), what may have caused it, how to treat it, and about quality of life. I knew before we bought Titan home that large breed dogs are prone to bone cancer, especially Great Danes who are often referred to as the Heartbreak Breed. It's something that was always in the back of my mind but that stupid small part of you always says "it won't happen to me, my dog is too young." Well after reading some of the causes a sentence caught my eye.
"Some studies have shown a slight increase in the development of osteoscarcoma among dogs that have experienced a blunt bone injury."
Titan just had his knee surgery that removed some of the bone, did that set this chain of events into motion? And when I read further, if this is bone cancer, most websites say the best option is amputation. After everything we just did and paid for are we looking at amputation? Quality of life after is about a year, rare cases maybe longer. I am devastated. Heartbroken. I keep going between "Maybe it's good we got the surgery and then saw this and were able to catch the bone cancer early" to "Maybe we should of never got the surgery at all and Titan would be ok, is this our fault?"
Right now all we can do is prepare ourselves for the worst case scenario and wait for the vet to call us in a few days with the results. Until then Titan is resting in his bed of blankets and getting lots of love and attention. We are happy to know that the knee and surgery are itself healed properly and we did everything right with his recovery. If it wasn't for the swelling of the hock area he would most likely be using the leg now. I am hoping with all my heart that this isn't bone cancer and that we can have Titan back to normal again soon. Our very special boy.
Titan's leg week 4:
(The area that is swelling and our concern now)
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