The test results are in - early.

And it is cancer. Obviously I pretty much knew this.

But, I was mistaken on the treatment. I thought, since it didn't show up in the lung x-rays, that we would just amputate his leg and go on with life.

Well, this bone cancer is a weird thing. Dr. said that there was a 95% chance that a cancer cell was in the lung. And that as long as the cancer is on the leg, it doesn't manifest in the lung. But, somehow once the cancer is gone from the leg, it grows in the lungs. Very strange.

So, amputation right now it not what needs to be done.

Obviously we still need to think about this, but I think we have our 'plan of attack'.

We need to just let him be. When he starts having pain, we control it with drugs. This will last about 4-8 months. When the drugs stop managing the pain, we do a course of radiation on the leg. That will give us another few months. When that no longer works, we amputate the leg. Within 4-6 months, the cancer will overtake the lungs, causing decreased appetite and other issues.

Here is when the choices start. Do we then put him down? Or do we do chemotherapy? Chemo can add another 10-18 months. And chemo in dogs does not affect them like it does humans, they don't have the bad side effects. Well, we don't have to make a decision now. We have approximately a year before that happens.

And honestly, for his age, once this process is over it will be his time to go.

In all, we are just going to let Sebastian make all the decisions. We will watch him and love him. When he becomes too uncomfortable, we will do the humane thing. I won't let a dog suffer for selfish reasons.