Noteworthy Dates Pre- and Post-Dx

11/--/08 - On and off limping with left hind leg. Possible soft tissue trauma from Brian being Brian. Shake it off approach, pain meds. Seems to work, limp goes away.
11/13/08 - Tests for hip dysplasia come back negative.
11/--/08 - Limping shows up again, this time with slight fever, this time on front leg. First test for lyme disease comes back negative, pain meds again.
12/--/08 - Limp goes away.
12/09/08 - Limp comes back, vet visit, more pain meds.
12/18/08 - Proceed with vaccinations, business as usual. Apparently, vaccinating a dog with cancer is very bad, like "pouring gasoline over fire" (we didn't know back then).
12/22/08 - Brian and Comet scheduled for a day of doggy day care. 8am Brian greets me non-weight-bearing on right front leg. Panic ensues. Cancel doggy day care.
12/22/08 - radiograph, complete blood count, chemistry profile, immune and tick panels, pain meds. Diagnosis: negative for lyme disease (second test!) and any other immune-mediated diseases. Refered to a specialist (uh-oh).
12/26/08 - radiograph (2 views). Shows "unusual bone density", whatever that means .
12/29/08 - radiograph before bone and muscle biopsies and joint cytology. Phone rings. "Hi, it's Dr. Berzon. I'm cancelling the muscle biopsy; it's the bone. I see bony lesions, and that's not good." I do a google search for "bony lesions" and finally realize that my vet was trying to drop the "C" word without doing so.
01/06/09 - sutures removed, aspirate/cytology for possible fungal disease, negative for that
01/09/09 - results from pathologist, finally, and inconclusive at that. Shows no suspicious growth. What the *&^% is wrong with my dog! Vet, however, is still suspicious based on radiographs. Suggests a second, more invasive, bone biopsy.
01/12/09 - Fever, swollen lymph nodes, no appetite. Vet visit again. Little blips on the chest xray, possible metastasis to lungs. Bony lesions and lysis' alarming spread since 12/26/08 radiographs.
01/14/09 - Second bone biopsy, larger core taken out. Painful procedure, poor guy practically hallucinating from anesthetic drugs when I picked him up.
01/16-18/09 - In-laws visit with Rocket. Lots of romping in the yard. Brian is 100% perky, no limp. They wouldn't have thought he was sick had we not told them, and if not for the sutures of the biopsy!
01/19/09 - Pathology report comes back. Absence of bacterial or fungal causes, malignant cells definitively confirmed. Most likely osteosarcoma. Prognosis: 3-6 months.
01/22/09 - Visit to a vet oncologist for a second opinion. Chest xrays (3 views) confirmed lung metastasis. Discussed radiation (in Waltham, MA) and chemotherapy (in Norwalk, CT) options for palliative measures. Probably histiocytic sarcoma and not osteogenic sarcoma as initially diagnosed. Doesn't matter, still 3 months.
01/23/09 - Sutures removed at vet-surgeon. Discouraged from radiation and chemo as Brian is not a good candidate, due to diffuse character of cancerous cells (these procedures work best for localized tumors). Phone call from onco-vet confirms spread of bony lesions to ribs.
01/30/09 - Scheduled intravenous pamidronate session for pain management.
02/02/09 - Scheduled visit with acupuncturist for pain management, and also to discuss herbal supplements.

Inspite of all this, Brian is still playing grab-ass with Comet (their favorite game), eating like a horse, and lovin' like a lover! Here he is playing in the snow, with perked-up ears indicating mischief, 01/19/09 -->