Canine Lymphoma

[Guest AllyYoung]

Hi guys,

 

I'm showing up as new as I had to create a new profile, been off having children and they won't let me back on with my old name! Anyway, to cut a long story short my beautiful baby girl has been diagnosed with canine lymphoma. I took her because she had 2 lumps under her chin. She had a biopsy and now on steroids (prednidale). We decided against chemo for various reasons, all of which resulted in tears so we went with what we thought was best. It's about a month later she's fine, we are getting used to the house being like a laundry although she hasn't soiled her bed for a few days now (we're obviously getting there in time!). What I want to know is what to expect? Don't give it to me soft, I need to know questions like, am I going to have to carry her outside to go? At the mo she is showing no signs of the illness. Thanks guys Ally and Baby Girl xx

[SIGreyLady]

My Fritz had Lymphosarcoma. When first detected I opted for chemo (after consulting with my vet and a canin oncologist). My vet had top order the drugs from a human hospital too. Fritz was wonderful with the chemo - never bothered him except the time it took to administer - but I was with him when he had his treatments and bloodwork every week.

 

He went into remission for over a year!! The cancer then reasserted itself and the consensus of the vets was that chemo would not be that effective again so I just kept him comfortable and hydrated (hospice-type care). He eventually became weak and his appetite dropped but he was a trooper till the very end. He really didn't have a problem going outside until the the weakness started.

 

I don't know if this helps you.

 

Sending gentle hugs and thoughts to you and your girl.

[Guest caelanarcher]

I'm so sorry for your hound's diagnosis. Aaron was diagnosed a little over a week ago, and like you, we opted for just prednisone. My childhood dog went through the same thing as well. Our oncologist's research is in lymphoma, so he did a great job of explaining to us what is happening. I'll try to remember everything he said about it.

 

I'm not sure what stage your hound's cancer is in, but for Aaron, it was stage 3A. Here are the stages:

1: One lymph node affected

2: Multiple lymph nodes, but in the same general location (two under the jaw, one under the jaw and one in the armpit, etc)

3: Multiple lymph nodes, in different areas (groin and jaw, knee and armpit. For Aaron, it was all of them at once)

4: Any of the above, plus organ involvement. Most likely spleen or liver.

5: Any of the above, plus bone marrow.

A: No symptoms other than the swellings.

B: Dog is "sick".

 

From that, you can get a general idea of how the illness will progress. When Aaron first got sick, it was SUDDEN. One day, he was lethargic, in pain. He had problems doing the steps to our apartment (probably because of the enlarged nodes behind his knees). He didn't finish his dinner. After going on the prednisone, he was fine again.

 

From what I understand, the progression on prednisone will not be as sudden. Already, he's a little less peppy. His zoomies don't last as long, and he sleeps a little more. The swellings in his nodes went down when we first started the pred, but are coming back up again. Obviously, the pred gives him increased appetite and thirst. Eventually, his appetite will slack off, at which point, we'll have to find more delicious things for him to eat. My childhood dog ate green beans and boiled chicken in broth.

 

It's entirely possible that you'll have to carry her outside. With her body fighting off this invasion, especially once it gets to her organs, she's not going to have the energy that she used to have. She might have trouble getting up in the morning. Weakness in the back legs.

 

There's an excellent thread on Metafilter about this. I encourage you to read all of the responses there.

 

I'm sorry this went kind of long. Typing it all out helps me get it straight in my head, and it helps me compartmentalize it. I'll be keeping you and your girl in my thoughts. If you ever want to talk about it, please feel free to PM me or email me at kcarnahan10@gmail.com

[fionasmom]

I am so sorry you have to deal with this. Sadly I am something of an expert on the topic. I lost two greys to lymphoma within a year and in October I lost a foster English Pointer to the same cancer.

 

 

With the greys I opted to combine Prednisone with Lukeran administered on alternate days. Fiona was in a very early stage of Lymphoma when diagnosed on April 1, 2009; she was having a dental and the vet noticed a swelling in her groin. I did not have it formally staged because I did not plan to do chemo. I lost her five and a half months later in mid September 2009. Because of the reduced dose of prednisone, the lymph nodes did not reduce in size but because of the Lukeran the overall progression of the disease was very gradual.

 

The foster was in stage 5 when diagnosed; they found lymphoma in his blood smear which meant it was in the bone marrow. The group would only OK prednisone as treatment but he was on a very heavy dosage. The results were immediate and dramatic; the lymph nodes went back to normal and his appetite was voracious. He stayed at that level for almost 2 months but when the prednisone stopped working it was obvious. One morning the lymph nodes under the jaw were swollen again. By lunch time they were draining and forming a sac of fluid under his chin. By evening the sac was so large he had trouble lying his head down. I made the vet appointment that evening because I did not want it to continue to progress at that rate during the night.

 

To be honest, the decision was much easier with the foster because it was obvious when the drugs had stopped working.

 

Please feel free to pm me with any questions.

Edited January 21, 2011 by fionasmom

[Batmom]

Can't advise, just sending prayers for your pupper.

[Guest ChasesMum]

we lost Chase very fast, even though it was never totally diagnosed as lymphoma, that's what they called it. She also had ehrichiosis that we were treating first and she had high doses of pred but was tapered down before we caught the cancer. She was swollen everywhere and had fluid around her heart (they removed over a liter!) and it a bit of a chicken and egg connundrum as to what caused what.

 

another friend caught her girl's lymphoma early and did chemo but she reacted very poorly to the chemo drugs and didnt last long either.

 

Not very uplifting stories I'm afraid but whatever you do, make sure you do something every day to enjoy her and you will know when the time is right.

 

 

I have 3 little kids, so I know too how the logistics of kids and a chemo dog.... don't feel bad that you can't do aggressive treatment of it. We didnt do chemo on either of our cancer dogs, we just couldnt even with free drugs from OSU. I hear ya. I don't think you can PM until you have a certain number of posts but I can give you my email if you wanna chat further on anything.

[Guest K9Cookies]

Welcome back to GT, although I'm sorry you're here under these circumstances. I'm a member of the canine lymphoma club too.

 

We lost Bonnie almost 2 years ago now. We did the whole chemo route with Dr. Couto's guidance and got one extra year with her. I will tell you that it's a bit of a rollercoaster ride, so hang on. You'll adjust and plow through the bad days. When Bonnie was on pred. in the beginning, she was constantly needing to go outside (and sometimes wouldn't make it). Be prepared for that...maybe get some pee pads to have on hand.

 

Check her lymph nodes on a daily or regular basis. I found it helpful to keep a day planner with the meds schedule, appetite level, vet appointment and phone numbers too. It helped me to see patterns and reminded me of things to talk with our vet about.

 

Please don't hesitate to post more questions or concerns. We'll be here to help you.

[EllenEveBaz]

Just sending hugs to you and your girl.

[Guest PhillyPups]

No advice, just

 

You know your Baby Girl best and what she will tolerate and make the best decisions for her.

[Guest Chucko]

Sorry you are going through this Ally and Baby Girl.

 

I lost Sasha to lymphoma, all of her external nodes were swollen, and it can infect internal ones too. She ended up with out bladder control, weakness at times, and inability to get comfortable at times. I did have to carry her up and down the house stairs many times, but others she would walk the stairs, she never had a problem with the deck steps which are wider and not as tall.