Carly's Story

So, we took Carly and had her blood work done to make sure the chemo was at the right amount and was not affecting her white cell count or her liver. All looks great. We go back in 2 weeks for round 2 of chemo. We got a little frustrated at this visit because they were talking about Carly’s weight, and suggested that she lose some weight. So, we have basically did our own “diet” since she was diagnosed. It has mainly consisted of chicken breast, brown rice, broccoli, an occasional serving of cottage cheese or yogurt, and her kibble as well as oats. She has not wanted to eat much kibble, and that might be because we have her spoiled. So, they basically told us today, with Carly’s weight at 60 kg. (132 pounds), they would like her on a 1,600 calorie diet. Now, before she went into surgery, she was 156. So she has lost about 6 pounds with the leg, and the rest has been weight loss. I didn’t think that was too bad, and Carly looks good. I realize it’s more about muscle mass and getting that back. What we are running into is, with the food we have switched her too, Whole Earth Farms Chicken and Turkey Grain Free, she gets one cup of that (348 calories), one cup of chicken breast (231 calories), one cup of brown rice (320 calories) or broccoli and one cup of cottage cheese (210 calories) or a couple tablespoons of yogurt, she is getting about 1100 calories IN ONE MEAL! And we have noticed, the last 3 or 4 days, she has been acting like she is starving, eating her food faster, and starting to beg again.  So basically we are going to have to cut that one meal in half. So we want her to be able to move around easier and lessen the pressure on her other joints, although she is having no problems getting around now, she does tend to tire easy. Anyone else have any suggestions or dealt with this kind of calorie restriction with their Tripawd with Osteosarcoma? Other than the weight, Carly is doing amazing! Spending a lot of time on her hill, just watching, and we are enjoying our time outside as much as possible while the weather permits us!