Today Newton had an appointment up at CSU. He had the following done:

• Physical Examination and some blood work
• Tumor Measurement - Dr. Perry indicated that the tumor hadn't grown in size since the last set of X-Rays taken on September 3rd. He also mentioned that the team thought they saw something on an X-Ray of his right leg, so they took some additional X-Rays to make sure that it wasn't an area of concern as well.
• Gene Therapy Administration - They also injected the tumor with a gene therapy that has demonstrated anti-tumor responses in rodents and in canine oral melanoma. As I understand it, the gene is carried to the tumor cells by an adenovirus vector with the intent to induce apoptosis (programmed cell death).

During his appointment, they also did a Jamshidi bone biopsy under fluoroscopic guidance. Dr. Perry indicated that the collected specimen may only contain reactive bone. Due to the specimen consistency (if that makes sense), they collected multiple biopsy specimens to improve the changes of making a diagnosis.

Newton was in quite a bit of pain coming home. Mary let me borrow her mini-van. THANK YOU MARY! The mini-van was a life savor. He is on 2.5 chewable tablets of Deracoxib (100 MG) a day and 3 tablets of Tramadol (50 MG) twice a day.

Throughout the weekend, I spent a lot of time researching canine bone cancer and the various treatment options. This weekend made me appreciate the value the Internet provides. Ten years ago, information would have be a lot less assessable. I found a ton of awesome sites and Yahoo! groups. You can find the links on Newton's "Links" page.

We caught Newton's cancer very early. According to Dr. Ehrhart, it is a Stage II. Stage II means that the cancer has not spread, but can be seen coming through the bone cortex. Based on the X-Rays, that he is giant breed, and the location of the tumor, it sounds like it is most likely Osteosarcoma. Although unlikely, I am told that there is a possibility of other kinds of bone cancer (Fibrosarcoma, Hemangiosarcoma, etc.). Dr. Ehrhart said treatment is very similar for the other tumor types. Armed with this information, I decided that we would pursue the "gold standard" of treatment: Amputation followed by Chemotherapy.

After much discussion, Mary and I decided that the "Gene Therapy for Canine Osteosarcoma" clinical trial would be the one that I would pursue.

I have pet insurance with a cancer rider on Newton. So cost was not really a factor in my decision to pursue a clinical trial. Since the cause of cancer in dogs is largely unknown, I feel that it is important (given the opportunity) to contribute to finding the cause and more effective treatment.