Bone Cancer...

I had a really sad case today.  A great dog with a great owner with a bad disease.  It seems like this is generally how life happens.  Like pediatric cancer, life is just not fair.

For those of you who aren't aware, a dog that's limping can be something really serious.  The owner and patient I saw today came in as soon as they saw a symptom, which is the best thing to do.  I have seen some dogs, though, that have had a chronic limp, even for months and by the time they were brought in, their disease was so severe and the bone so eaten with cancer that it actually breaks.

In some cases, amputation is curative and the dog can go on to live a happy, three-legged life (they do far better than humans with amputations).  A lot of times their recovery is great.  I would consider amputating my dog's leg even though I live in a townhouse, if he developed bone cancer.  However, I also keep him a great weight and he doesn't have any arthritis.  Sometimes our hands are tied and the treatment of choice is not an option.  Some people will elect radiation therapy, which can help alleviate the pain and even shrink the tumor.  I've had some patients do well with this- but their owner's pocketbooks don't.

Cancer can happen for many reasons, sometimes genetics, sometimes environmental, sometimes we think even secondary to trauma.  As scientists try to discover the underlying cause to try to prevent and help with the cure, it can be frustrating.  There are some articles that "broccoli cures cancer" and some that say, "it can predispose you to cancer."  The truth is somewhere in between and sometimes the more research and information we have, the more frustrating it can be.  I actually found out that I have a toxic level of a heavy metal that is probably secondary to our water filter (now former water filter).  In an effort to be healthy and drink lots of water I instead gave myself heavy metal poisoning. That's not frustrating at all.

I think that was probably the most important part of the conversation I had with the owner today, "No- there's not anything you could have done.  This is NOT your fault."  We can always look for causes and beat ourself over the head of things we could have done, should have done or didn't do as well as we like.  Truth is- there's so many factors, genetic expression, genes and exposure to things we don't have any control of.  I think I read somewhere that they found evidence of pesticides from Mexico near the Canadian border.  So- even putting yourself on an organic desert island is not enough to prevent things.  I think the answer is- you do the best you can, you walk a path of moderation not putting all your eggs in the basket and you pray.  Pray that bad things won't happen and if they do, you have the wisdom and grace to get through it and are grateful for the time you do have.  Not sure if that's the answer we all want to hear.  But that's the only answer I got.