Quick Update

I'm teaching class in Chicago this week, so just a quick update.

The Adorable husband took Rukh to the oncologist in Ft. Collins yesterday, and spent quite a bit of time talking through the options. The upside? He strongly recommended that we talk to CSU and the vet practice there, as they have a number of ongoing clinical trials that look very promising. Rukh would get state-of-the-art care, which hopefully have a better track record than the 'standard' treatment for cancer, and he would probably get that care for free. We have a higher commitment for tests and such, but we'll manage.

My only concern is that a) he is not in a trial that would risk him getting the 'no treatment/control group' option and that b) we always have the option to withdraw and end it when he is suffering. I don't think that either of these options is going to be a problem, but we're going in to talk to the docs on Monday to see if we qualify for any of the studies and if they actually do offer a better option.

Most still include amputation -- we're not sure that he'll be able to get around afterwards, but we've been assured by both our vet and the oncologist that it is the only surefire way to control pain, and that dogs are amazingly adaptable. I might not be so adaptable, but if it's the best option, we'll go for it. I just don't want him to go through surgery to amputate and then have weeks of recovery if the final prognosis is only a few months anyways. That seems unfair. But -- some of the trials are reporting early results of 1-2 years in remission. We don't know if any are appropriate, but we can hope. Our primary concern is that we control any pain. If we can do that and he's comfortable and happy enough laying on the couch watching TV with us, we'll do it.

More as I get more info. You can see the synopses of the trials at the Colorado State University site.