Yesterday was a pretty great day for our family. We received the pathology results from Rusty’s amputation and it turns out that he has chondrosarcoma, grade 1, well-differentiated and not present in the lymph node. As far as cancer diagnoses go this is what we were hoping for Rusty. The results of his pre-surgery blood aspirate had shown “consistent with chondrosarcoma but osteosarcoma cannot be ruled out”. We made an appointment with the oncology department at UW Madison and had prepared ourselves for chemo but it isn’t recommended for chondrosarcoma so we cancelled the appointment. We had just gone through an 18 month battle with hemangiosarcoma with our sweet Lucy and are very glad that Rusty’s amputation has been successful and that he has a good prognosis. I imagine there aren’t a lot of people who are cheering when they learn they have chondrosarcoma but under these circumstances we are counting ourselves very lucky indeed.
Resting Easy
On the amputation recovery front, Rusty is continuing to do very well and is learning to balance on three legs. He would really like to get at his incision so he has to wear the fancy pants Mom made for him! His can-do attitude is contagious and we are so proud of his progress.
Rusty’s fancy German lederhosen pants!
Oh Rusty that look on your face is priceless! “Mom, WHY do you make me wear these silly pants?” I can hear you saying. Well buddy, they’re for your own good. I know it’s hard to wrap your pretty head around but I promise that’s the truth.
Glad to hear you have the lesser of two evils when it comes to cancer. It’s funny how once you deal with this disease, if you have to deal with it again you start to cheer on with a “well at least it’s not ___ cancer”. I’m glad too that you have the less nasty type of cancer.
Ha Ha – Yes, that is exactly what I try to explain to him – pants are better than cone – I’m just not sure he sees it as an either or situation!
You’re exactly right, phrases like “better cancer” had never been in our vernacular. There are still moments when I look at Rusty and think “Whoa they actually took your whole leg right off” but those moments are becoming less frequent as he just makes it all seem so easy. What a truly amazing lesson in life, it sure puts “problems” in perspective! I can’t tell you how much your site has meant to us during this process, we are so thankful to have this incredible resource. Love – Amy & Rusty