Recovery from Mandibulectomy & The Chemo Treatment Plan

So Logan recovered very well from his surgery. He was such a good boy with the e-collar on all the time even though the healing was starting to make him itch like crazy. All he wanted to do was plunge his face onto our kitchen rug to scratch (like he used to do).


The one issue we ran into though was getting his medication in him! Not good considering one of them was his pain medication! Since he wasn't eating solids, there was no using cheese or deli meat or pill pockets! We tried crushing it into a powder and hiding it in his "flurry", etc. No go! We tried pilling him, and that was a nightmare since we had to be so careful not to tear his stitches and he fought us like a champ!! Finally, our general vet came to the rescue and suggested a pain patch and an injection for the antibiotic! Whew!! This took a huge weight off our shoulders - I can't even explain!


So, when they said "pain patch", I'm thinking...."hmmmm....patch....like a nicotine patch....they'll stick it on his belly where he can't reach it, or up under his front leg or something". Ummmmm....NO! Apparently it's necessary to shave an area the size of Texas right on his back to accommodate the patch! And they staple it to him!! Crazy. But hey...it worked! So, while we were there for the patch and shot, the vet went ahead and removed Logan's drain too (very minor 1 minute procedure).

Two weeks after op day we took him back to the hospital to get his stitches removed and he got to ditch the satellite dish (collar) too!! The surgeon said he looked great and that he could "graduate" to canned food for the next 2 - 3 weeks!

We went back a few days later to discuss next steps with the oncologist. It was explained that with Logan's type of cancer, the best option would be 6 rounds of treatment (3 cisplatin and 3 adriamycin). We were scheduled to drop Logan off the very next morning for his first treatment.

Greetings!

Hi all! Everyone has been suggesting that I start a blog about Logan (our labrador retriever), so I can post updates in one place instead of having to keep up with emails and vmails :) All of the questions, interest, well wishes and support are so appreciated, that I don't want to leave anyone out who has been curious about the latest and greatest.
For those of you who haven't been following the story.....
Logan is our 11-year-old yellow lab. He came to live with us about 3 years ago here in Atlanta and has been nothing but a happy, well-behaved, smart-as-hell, super sweet pup! We adore him and he seems to love us too ;) He has become especially close to my husband.
In May we found a tumor on Logan's gums and to summarize, he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma (bone cancer). Time moved so quickly at that point and Logan has had a partial mandibulectomy (removal of 1/2 of his lower jaw) and has been through his first chemo treatment. I have received so many questions and concerns about this whole process from friends and family, as well as people I don't even know (who have found me online either from my website or from online forums I belong to about dogs with cancer). I'm learning so much and would've loved to have come across a full, detailed blow-by-blow of someone's experience with canine osteosarcoma at the beginning of this whole ordeal. Maybe I would've had something to relate to and perhaps something to help us know what questions to ask, etc. at the very beginning. So - I've decided to take my friends' suggestions, and post a blog! If for no other reason, maybe someday some other animal lover going through this same thing will come across these posts and find them helpful. I'll post the story up to this point later this evening! Thanks again to everyone for your support!