[pyrnet] A serious cancer question...please help!

[D3melza@aol.com]

Hello All,
   I'm afraid tomorrow is not going to be a fun day for us or our 7.5 year-old female Pyr, Zuni. She is going in for a bone scan following suspicious-looking x-rays of her right front leg after limping for over a month. At first we thought it was just arthritis, but nothing seemed to be helping the limp and then the x-rays showed some "lytic" areas in her bone, which, translated to layman's terms I guess means there's a good chance she is developing bone cancer. 
   Unfortunately, we are no strangers to this disease, as she had a rather odd early case of it when she was 18 months old. At that time it was in her ribs and we did not hesitate to remove the huge tumor, four ribs, and undergo chemotherapy. She has been a "miracle-dog" for five years, but now we are faced with something a little different. 
   What I wanted to ask of those of you who have been faced with this is, what did you do? Depending on what the vet says tomorrow, Zuni may be faced with losing her leg. The first time she went through this, taking away four ribs did not have a huge negative effect on her life other than having to undergo the surgery, pain, and discomfort associated with recovery. This is her front right leg and it seems that it would be so difficult for her to cope without it. I know people say dogs can bounce back like rubber from something like this, but I wanted to know if any of you had actually had to do this and how well your dogs did with it. I'm also concerned about making her go through chemo again. Again, the first time she was still just a pup. However, she dropped from 90 to 72 pounds, lost most of her hair, and had some very bad days. How do older Pyrs do with chemo?
    I really appreciate anything anyone can offer. We've known from the beginning that we might be faced with this again, but even tomorrow I am praying for a miracle. Thanks for your advice and support.

Emily Martorano
D3melza@aol.com