Sarcoma & Radiation

Hello My dog had a soft tissue sarcoma tumor removed. electro chemotherapy was performed and she was doing great, & had clean scans 2 months ago. Sadly a new growth appeared and it has tested positive for a reocurrance of the cancer. The oncologist recommended we remove the growth and that radiation would be her best option. Unfortunately, where I live there is not a single facility in the state that does radiation. So I am looking to travel with my dog to get her treatment. Because of all the logistics involved, it's hard to get a lot of information dealing with multiple facilities.  so I'm looking for any information...  I would really appreciate...  On how long after her surgery it is safe to begin radiation? & any insight on if radiation is 3 days a week or 5? and for how long I've been calling different places and I just feel like I get a lot of different answers, in the planning process.  I know there's probably not one definitive answer based on each case, but I'm just trying to set some travel plans and get her situated. 

Hello there and I am sorry for any procrastination in answering this question.  Unfortunately, the answer to one of these questions relies on the answers to the others and, as you suspected, they are all specific to the particular case.  The same is true of cancer medicine in people; each type of tumour can occur in hundreds of subtly different presentations, which directly influence the best way to deal with them.  There is no generalised plan.  I would recommend contacting the specialist who has seen and assessed your particular patient and understands the case in some detail, because they should have the most insight into choosing the correct protocol.  It is not unlikely that different cancer vets have different generalised protocols that work for them, but all specialists should review these protocols with respect to the particular patient and their circumstances.  A breadth of research and experience goes into this, and I certainly do not have the qualifications to predict the decisions of  a specialist in this area.  It would be rather like your GP saying how your orthopaedic surgeon ought to operate, I'm afraid:  as soon as the oncologist sees the case, they are likely to overrule any decisions that your GP has made.

In short, I think it would be unprofessional of me to offer a guess; you could try calling the specialist's receptionist and asking what sort of pattern is typical in dogs with this kind of illness.