Today was a bad day. Took our soon to be 8yr old Saint Bernard Chloe to the vet for a limp that developed the middle of last week in her left front leg. There was some localized swelling (hard) but she had good movement in the joint. She only seemed uncomfortable when she tried walking and put pressure on the leg. Would still get around, just slowly.
Was hoping for a sprain, bone bruise and figured worst case would be a stress fracture or some sort of soft tissue damage.
I couldn't have been more wrong.
Our vet took a look at the bump, felt it, ran the joint through the range of motion, Chloe was a trooper, not even a wince. Then Dr. Mak looks up at me and says "I think she might have bone cancer, are you in a hurry, I want to see if we can get a quick X-Ray."
So, ten long minutes later he comes back and shows me how the bone is nice and dense and even, along with the periostium, right up until the end of the radius where the bump is. I can see the change in color tone on the x-ray and the slightly mottled look. The periostium is smooth and even, looks like uniform thickness up the this point as well.
The look on his face says it all. We talk about why it can't be an infection, and the what are the next steps. I wasn't prepared for this.
She's going for more x-rays on Thursday to see if anything shows up in her chest cavity, etc. I think that will determine the next steps, which may include a bone biopsy at Tufts or New England Veterinary Medicine.
Have to tell the wife when she gets home from work this afternoon, not looking forward to that conversation.
I am going to spend the afternoon searching the internet for whatever I can find.
Any word of advice? Options? Experience treating and beating this?
