Today is Newton's big day. I got a bit choked up as we drove up to CSU. I can't help but hope that I am doing the right thing.

While Newton and I were waiting for Dr. Perry and Dr. Culp, I met a girl named Lisa Hunter. Lisa is with the Argus Institute. The mission of the Argus Institute is to strengthen veterinarian-client-patient communication and support relationships between people and their companion animals.

Although she didn't get into the technical details of Newton's amputation, she did describe the care that Newton would be receiving before, during, and after his surgery.

I came straight home after dropping Newton off. Oh my gosh, I feel so un-prepared. I just hope that my house is ready for Newton to come home to.

Dr. Culp mentioned in the morning that they would give me a call before Newton went into surgery and after his surgery. Needless to say, I didn't get a call until after 4 pm. The 4th year vet student, Juli Peters, apologized for not calling before the surgery. Things were running so smoothly that they went into surgery early. She indicated that Newton did great and was recovering well.

I was originally planning on going out and hanging with friends to get my mind off of things. I'm too tired. I just want to stay home and get the house ready for Newton.

To help me prepare myself for seeing Newton for the first time, Lisa sent me pictures of Newton after his surgery. You can find the pictures in Newton's photo gallery in "Newton's Bone Cancer Treatment" album. Note: The images in this album may be a big graphic. The intension of this album is to help others as they research the treatment options that they may want to pursue. Lisa also included the following in her email:

Newton did great! He has been getting all kinds of love from the gals in CCU. He is such a sweet boy :)

Attached are the pictures taken during recovery. We could not remove the bandage to get a picture of the incision, but I hope that these help to prepare you for tomorrow. He is doing great and such a love.

Take care and please let me know if there is anything I can do to be helpful during this time.

My boy only has 3 legs :-( My stomach was not feeling so fabulous so I ended up skipping dinner and just going to bed. All night I could have sworn I heard Newton scratching at the back door. This is only the second night since I have gotten Newton that he has not been home with me. I don't like being in the house all alone.

Recover quickly my boy!!!

Today Newton had a physical examination and some blood work done. His limp is almost gone and he seems to be in pretty good spirits. He is eating like a rock star and his energy level is up.

Newton's big day is coming up soon.

Today Newton had a physical examination and some blood work done.

The results from the bone biopsies came back inconclusive. A histologic examination of the amputated leg will tell us what type of cancer it is. This will aide us in determining which Chemotherapy treatment option will be pursued.

I must say that I am very proud of Newton. At each visit, Newton is the rock star of the hospital. He did not bark at a single dog, man, woman, or child. He has been on his best behavior. I would like to say it is a result of his neuter ;-) although I'm guessing his limp plays a little bit of a role there too. Everybody wanted to meet him and he was wagging his tail the entire time. I think he enjoys the attention.

Newton is back to his spunky self post-biopsy. With the exception of the limp, which seems to get less each day, bone cancer is not effectly his lively spirit.

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.