Lymphoma

[Guest Dazygrey]

Just days after loosing Daytona (1 week today), our 9 yo. male greyhound to an unknown auto immune disease, I felt lumps under Joey's throat. My worst fear.....pathology report shows lymphoma. Joey is the type of grey that panics at everything and has to be carried into the vet, so chemo consisting of 1 day a week, hooked up to an IV for hours at a time for 4 months would surely do him in. The vet has started him on predisone and is talking to an oconlogist today for protocal.

 

I also started Joey on large doses of C, lymph cleanser by azmira, IP6, flo essence tea for cancer and artemisinin. He has been off his food for some time but he always was a fussy eater and the last 4 months Daytona was sick there is no schedule left. We also have a 14 yo. girl-Daisy, that we have to keep eating, so we feed them anything we can. Baby food and ensure has kept them alive so far. Hills ID has been working for daisy but not the boys. They used to get only the best organic dog foods and now they won't even eat $10.00 worth of baked cod.

 

This has been a nightmare.....Daytona has had test after test, 4 different antibiotics, x-rays, 4 way tick titer tests, MRI's and a spleen aspiration but he kept getting worse, until he was skin and bone and needed a blood tranfusion. He was on predisone and winstrol V(end of life steriod). Actually it all started with a head tilt in June which the vets could not seem to address.

 

I am hoping someone might have some experience with lymphoma in a greyhound.....a skitish greyhound. The vet says 3 months on predisone or 6-12 months on chemo and predisone. Everything I read says keep the stress level down. Leaving the house stresses Joey out.

 

Thanks All.

 

 

[Burpdog]

Can you find a clinic that can administer the chemo and has an acupuncture vet on staff? It will get him through the treatments. There are chinese herbs that can be given also before he leaves the house to calm him. If you want a particular clinic and they don't have an acupuncture vet on staff, perhaps they will let one come in and treat him.

[Guest argolola]

I will pray.

[Guest SusanP]

I'm so sorry you're going through this! Another hound on this board has recently begun chemo for lymphoma. You might check the medical posts going back a week or so.

[Guest LovesDoggies]

Hi There,

 

I'm sorry for your loss of Daytona, and really sorry that about Joey's diagnosis. My first greyhound was diagnosed with Lymphoma, very early on, and her prognosis with chemo treatment was excellent (mostly due to the early diagnosis.) I decided to see how Sally did with a 6 month protocol, only because her prognosis was so good if she started the treatment. She did very, very well. She was a nervous nellie every time we went to the veterinary oncologist for treatment. Some office visits were very short, just a check-up (I think blood was drawn at every, or nearly every, visit) and then we were sent home with medication. Other times, she was hooked up to an IV, but it was never for longer than an hour, that I recall.

 

She did extraordinarily well with her treatment. She went into complete remission. I lost her about 11 months after her initial diagnosis, although it was never clear why. It was not the lymphoma, but the chemo may have broken down her systems (for lack of a better way to explain), and she had what they thought was pancreatitis.

 

I was of course glad to have the extra time with her, but this is a very personal decision. It is so hard to stay reasonable when your emotions are so deeply tied to the decision. See what the oncologist says about Joey's potential to achieve remission and talk with him or her about your concerns re: Joey's fear of the vet's office.

 

I would also highly, highly recommend that you discuss your decision with your regular vet as he or she may be able to provide a different point of view for you.

 

Best wishes to you and Joey. I hope he's feeling ok. The prednisone should work right away.

[Guest Hollys2hounds]

Prayers to you all.

[Guest greybookends]

:hope :hope :hope

[Guest Annie]

I am so sorry. What a difficult time for you.

[Guest LolasMom]

[Guest boondog]

I'm so sorry that you're having such a difficult time. You and Joey will be in my prayers. I'm sorry you joined GT under such sad circumstances, but the people here are absolutely wonderful. I hope you find the help you need.

[Guest ss556]

Sending prayers.

[greysandmollie]

I went through Lymphoma with Rascal. We did chemo and it bought us 15 months. He was not a nervous dog so going to the vet was never an issue for us. The treatment is a pretty quick and easy thing but I don't know if you could get someone to come out to your car or house to administor the drugs. In my area there was only one oncologist for dogs. And she was very busy. If you think your dog can handle the vets the side effects were minimal and IMO very worth it.

 

to you

Edited September 18, 2007 by greysandmollie

[Guest twilliams]

So Sorry. Our dog Skipper has lymphoma. He had 3 chemo treatments. The first time he did well, the second time he was sick for about 3 days. The third time he was so sick for about 8 - 9 days. He lost about 20 pounds and had an incredibly tough time. He was not able to take his 4th treatment. Our vet said it is entirely possible that the lymphoma may had spread to his stomach or intestines. His bloodwork looked good but sometimes that does not show where the cancer may have spread to. I do not think Skip's reaction was typical. I understand many dogs do well with chemo and some may go into remission. I am glad we tried. His nodes have shrunk and the vet thinks we have bought him more time. He is currently on pred. We plan to spoil him rotten for as long as we can.

 

I wish you lots of luck. Cancer is devestating for our pets and for the family that loves them so.

[patricia]

Sending my many prayers. I know your heartache. Our LaceyLaine age 13 was just diagnosed with Lymphoma. We started Prednisone and she has been on it for 11 days. We noticed no change. Last Wednesday she had her first chemo and her huge lymph nodes are 80% reduced after 1 chemo treatment. She is a very nervous little gal but she did very well. I pray that she continues to do well. Know that my heart is with you.

[Guest snowberry]

I'm going through this at the moment with Herbie - the list of things he's scared of would fill several pages, and going to the vets is near the top. Despite that, he's on a chemo protocol that involves weekly intravenous drugs, and it does seem to set him back for a day or two each time (he just had his third treatment this morning). My vets are aware, and are very understanding, but it's still a worry.

 

It is hard to know what to do for the best, but when Herbie is over the vet visits, he is so happy running through the woods - I want him to have as many happy days as possible. The thing to remember with chemo is, you can stop at any time.

[nyGreys]

Sending many prayers for you and Joey.

[Guest charmsmom]

My mom uses a housecall vet for her cat because he always was terrified to go to a clinic. You might be able to find a home-visit vet willing to perform the chemo.

 

When we did chemo for my kitty, part of the protocol was home injections.

[turbotaina]

Can you find a clinic that can administer the chemo and has an acupuncture vet on staff? It will get him through the treatments. There are chinese herbs that can be given also before he leaves the house to calm him. If you want a particular clinic and they don't have an acupuncture vet on staff, perhaps they will let one come in and treat him.

 

This is a really good suggestion - acupuncture can really, really relax a dog.

[Greytlady94]

Sending prayers for Joey.