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hutchibk · 04-26-2006, 08:02 PM

Hi Lyn - I am new here and I am honored to be speaking to a living legend! My heart and prayers go out to you.

I don't know if it helps at all, but I would like to share a story with you that might help put your mind at ease re:radiation around the spinal cord/spinal column area.

9 years ago my cat, Pizza Pie, was diagnosed with an osteocarcoma in her spinal column, pressing on her spinal cord. We had it surgically removed at a specialty veterinary center in Houston, and then she was put in the care of an oncologist at the same center. He was a wonderful man. He used to be a 'people oncologist' at MD Anderson, and worked in research there. One of his specific areas of expertise was radiation along the spine, which was generally considered a no-no since it was believed that it would do too much damage/disintegrate the spinal cord & column. He did alot of his research on pets whose owners were willing to try anything to save their lives. (That's how he fell in love with veterinary oncology, working with the pets). It turned out that the spine could handle radiation in many/most cases with very little compromise, if any. Pizza had 24 radiation treatments along her spinal column, which was already compromised due to the hole created in surgery to remove the tumor from inside the column. Her spine tolerated it extremely well and she had no issues at all from the radiation. Between the radiation and the chemo (she had adria for 5 treatments) we extended her life for 5 years. She was a living legend, too - what a feisty little girls she was. She is one of my inspirations!

04-26-2006, 08:02 PM	#53
hutchibk Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 3,519	Hi Lyn - I am new here and I am honored to be speaking to a living legend! My heart and prayers go out to you. I don't know if it helps at all, but I would like to share a story with you that might help put your mind at ease re:radiation around the spinal cord/spinal column area. 9 years ago my cat, Pizza Pie, was diagnosed with an osteocarcoma in her spinal column, pressing on her spinal cord. We had it surgically removed at a specialty veterinary center in Houston, and then she was put in the care of an oncologist at the same center. He was a wonderful man. He used to be a 'people oncologist' at MD Anderson, and worked in research there. One of his specific areas of expertise was radiation along the spine, which was generally considered a no-no since it was believed that it would do too much damage/disintegrate the spinal cord & column. He did alot of his research on pets whose owners were willing to try anything to save their lives. (That's how he fell in love with veterinary oncology, working with the pets). It turned out that the spine could handle radiation in many/most cases with very little compromise, if any. Pizza had 24 radiation treatments along her spinal column, which was already compromised due to the hole created in surgery to remove the tumor from inside the column. Her spine tolerated it extremely well and she had no issues at all from the radiation. Between the radiation and the chemo (she had adria for 5 treatments) we extended her life for 5 years. She was a living legend, too - what a feisty little girls she was. She is one of my inspirations!