Questions On Lymphoma

[Guest jrl4g]

This may be being posted for a second time because I cannot find my first post. If it is a duplicate, I apologize. If this post comes across cold, it is not meant to, it just is the way I type because of the business I am in. Unfortunately, my business is very fact oriented and I have gotten accustomed to typing that way.

 

My 12.5 year old baby, Charlie, has been diagnosed with stage 3 lymphoma. I am bound and determined to do everything possible for him to stay alive so long as he has a good quality of life.

 

Timeline:

• 4/26/18 - had blood work done and he was in perfect health (including his teeth).
• 6/9/18 - my boyfriend felt some lumps in my baby's neck that were not there a few days before (we check him over as a habit as we are petting him).
• 6/10/18 - took Charlie to the vet had an aspirate done of the lymph nodes behind his knees.
• 6/12/18 - the aspirate comes back as "inconclusive; however, high probability of large cell lymphoma).
• 6/14/18 - went to the oncologist and he has been diagnosed with stage 3 lymphoma and started him on the CHOP treatment with the first chemo treatment 6/14.

 

He had lost 3 pounds between 4/26 and 6/10, but had put them back on as of 6/14.

 

 

I have a some questions that I'm hoping my fellow greyhound owners will be able to help me with.

• Does anyone know of a vet oncologist that is located in the South Florida area and either specializes in greyhounds or is very knowledgeable with greyhounds and cancer treatment?
• I know greyhounds have certain differences from other dogs (i.e. bigger heart, different normal blood level ranges, etc.). Does anyone know if there is a different and more successful treatment when it comes to lymphoma? My research has shown that chemo is the best treatment for lymphoma, but I don't know if there is anything that can be added to the CHOP treatment that can make it more successful in beating lymphoma in greyhounds.
• I want to treat his body as a whole and not just do chemo as treatment and hope for the best. Does anyone have any diet recommendations? I currently have Charlie on Merrick grain free texas beef and sweet potato as a dry food. Meal toppers include turkey, pork, beef and beef hearts (yes, I know that beef hearts are part of the beef category, but they are his favorite, so I felt the need to mention them separately). I make sure that I trim off as much as the fat as I can because I don't want him to have pancreatitis. After dinner desserts are beef marrow bones and either fat free plain yogurt or fat free plain greek yogurt. Treats are either chicken hearts or chicken gizzards (can you tell he's spoiled yet?).
• After my initial vet told me he suspected lymphoma, I started Charlie on vitamin c (500 mg 2x daily), b complex (1 daily) and fish oil (1 daily). Does anyone have any other ideas for supplements? I've seen some comments on websites saying turmeric helps as well; however, my current oncologist doesn't want to give him too may antioxidants because of the chemo.
• Anyone have any other ideas?

 

My baby and I have been through a lot and I refuse to give up without a fight. Any ideas to fight this horrible cancer would be most appreciated.

 

 

 

 

[Hubcitypam]

All I know is when Buddy had it we started him on drugs but his lymph nodes in his neck swelled to where he was having a hard time and it spread like wildfire to all the others. My elder vet said the prognosis was two weeks to two months. I had to let him go after 16 days so he was spot on. Honestly don't know if it is beatable...and that was sort of what two vets and the surgical specialty center said.

Edited June 15, 2018 by Hubcitypam

[robinw]

I'm so sorry to read this. Please keep in mind that our main goal is to keep our family painfree and happy.

[Time4ANap]

Where in South Florida?

 

I will let Mark (GT Member Beachbum1) know about your post. He can give you the info for the oncology group that he used when Taylor had osteosarcoma. Taylor had wonderful care from an oncology practice that had multiple locations in Florida.

[MaryJane]

I did hospice care for a greyhound that had lymphoma and the owners were not going to pursue any treatments. The diagnosis was for less than a month. She was with me almost 6 months and the only thing that I changed was doing a cooked home-made diet which was easier to swallow so, I would be very careful changing the diet. She was not in any pain during this time and she was happy. She loved sitting outside on my porch watching the world go by. The last few days, the lymphoma caused neurological issues where she would suddenly fall to the side but this was very infrequent and there was no pain associated with this. After the incident, she would be confused for a few minutes and then be OK. I have a seizure dog so this was not necessarily alarming to me. However, the incidents increased and the owner made the painful decision that it was time.

 

I got a bit wordy but, my intent was to convey that she was not in any pain and she was happy until the last day - her quality of life was good. Her owner continued to visit frequently which made her even happier. This greyhound was a very pretty little girl. You can check with the oncologist but, this type of cancer is not like osteo which is extremely painful.

 

There is a database that has all the clinical trials that are currently going on - that would be new treatments that they are testing. I will see if I can dig up a link on it.

 

The link is

 

https://ebusiness.avma.org/aahsd/study_search.aspx

Edited June 15, 2018 by MaryJane

[Beachbum1]

Where in South Florida?

 

I will let Mark (GT Member Beachbum1) know about your post. He can give you the info for the oncology group that he used when Taylor had osteosarcoma. Taylor had wonderful care from an oncology practice that had multiple locations in Florida.

Animal Cancer Care Clinic, with the main office in Fort Lauderdale.

They are Greyhound savvy. Upon diagnosis of Osteo, Taylor's care was turned over to Dr. Sones out of the Melbourne office.

I had many dealings with the Foirt Lauderdale main office, too.

Excellent group. They kept my hound happy for 3 years, 2 months, and 13 days after diagnosis.

http://www.animalcancercareclinic.com/index.php/locations

Edited June 15, 2018 by Beachbum1

[Guest jrl4g]

Beachbum1:

 

What doctor did you see at Animal Cancer Care Clinic? That is the clinic that we are going to, but I am very concerned that they don't know too much about greyhounds. Since Charlie also has corns in all 4 paws that don't seem to respond to any type of treatment, I have him on tramadol 2x daily due to the pain (that's a whole other story, but yes, I have tried Murrays, hulling, surgery, Burt's Bees, etc. and they always come back - I hull them every couple of weeks, but that only gives him very temporary relief). When the vet tech asked why he was on tramadol, I told her and then after the tech took Charlie to the back, I heard both her and the vet speaking about Charlie's corns and the vet saying she had never heard of a dog having corns. I didn't get a warm, happy feeling with the vet I saw and I got the impression that they were more interested in me spending my money than making Charlie better.

MayJane:

 

Thanks for the link! I'm going to check it out right now!

[Beachbum1]

Beachbum1:

 

What doctor did you see at Animal Cancer Care Clinic? That is the clinic that we are going to, but I am very concerned that they don't know too much about greyhounds. Since Charlie also has corns in all 4 paws that don't seem to respond to any type of treatment, I have him on tramadol 2x daily due to the pain (that's a whole other story, but yes, I have tried Murrays, hulling, surgery, Burt's Bees, etc. and they always come back - I hull them every couple of weeks, but that only gives him very temporary relief). When the vet tech asked why he was on tramadol, I told her and then after the tech took Charlie to the back, I heard both her and the vet speaking about Charlie's corns and the vet saying she had never heard of a dog having corns. I didn't get a warm, happy feeling with the vet I saw and I got the impression that they were more interested in me spending my money than making Charlie better.

MayJane:

 

Thanks for the link! I'm going to check it out right now!

 

Taylor saw Dr. Evan Sones at the Melbourne office of the Animal Cancer Care Clinic, ONLY for for the treatment of his Osteosarcoma and the metastasis that followed.