Lymphoma - Please NEED advice - Page 1

If you have sadly experienced Lymphoma with one of your dogs, did you decide on treatment? - Chemo, or Drugs only, or decide on no treatment.

From that personal experience what advice would you give to someone facing this situation with their dog, and needing to decide what to do?

Thank you (in advance) if you are able to share your experience.

Vixen

I did have a 7 year old male GSD treated for lymphosarc using Ann Jeglum's protocol. Ann was the cancer guru at the University of Pa vet school, is now in private practice in the Phila, PA area. My dog went into remission after the 3 rd treatment, but it only held for less than a month so I opted to not do it again He lived another month.

Personally I would never treat another dog for lymphosarc. The vets tend to overstated the prognosis and say it's the most rewarding cancer to treat and most dogs go into remission. What they don't say is the remissions rarely hold for more than a few months and then it's back to square one. Chemo for lymphosarc is ongoing, it rarely ends.  They will also tell you dogs don't get sick as do humans; not always true either. My dog vomited, had diarrhea and was so weak he could barely walk a block. Vets don't expect a cure for dogs, they can't give them a high enough dosage of the poison drugs, they only hope for a long lasting remission followed by ongoing treatment. Dogs will not fight the side effects of chemo, they will just lie down and die while most humans will fight for their lives.

A friend with a sheltie had her dog treated at the same time using the same protocol and oncologist. Her dog was sick too, only held his remission 2 days. She opted to retreat him, no remission that time and he only lived another 2 weeks. My daughter's cocker was diagnosed with lymphosarc  about 3 weeks after she was bombared with a plethoa of vaccines in one day - lyme, distemper, parvo, rabies, kennel cough. She opted to have her dog treated using only steroids; that dog lived another 7 months and did a lot better than the dogs that had the poison chemo. If I ever had another dog with this disease, I'd opt for the steroids only.

Having said all of this, there are rarely dogs that hold a remission for years, don't get sick and live a long life. Your dog may be one of them, so I don't want to discourage you from trying it. Also be aware that dogs undergoing chemo are immune cripples and should not be exposed to other dogs. They must live almost in a bubble preventing them from being exposed to bacterias and viruses that could be fatal to them.

The cost of chemo is very expensive and is generally based on the weight of the dog and the number of drugs used in the protocol. My dog was very big, 126 lbs. It cost me well over 4K and that was over 10  years ago. Also the dog must be one that will allow the vet and the staff to handle it without being aggressive. It must not try to remove an indwelling catheter that must be kept in place during the entire treatment. You can't always be with the dog during the treatment depending on which drug/s they are using. Some are so dangerous they need to be mixed under a exhaust hood by a vet who is suited up in protective gear.

I'm really sorry that you have to make such a terrible decision about a beloved dog. There really is no right or wrong, it's a matter of doing what you are doing, talking to others who have done it and then deciding what is right for your own dog. Good luck and feel free to contact me privately if you have any questions. There are support groups on the net for owners of dogs with lymphosarc, you might want to think about joining one of them.

Blitzen, I am really grateful for your honest and personal account of your own awful experience of this disease.  I feel people on this Forum will not 'gloss over' .  You didn't - thank you.

greatly appreciated.

Vixen

You're welcome. I meant to say should NOT be exposed to other dogs. I forgot the "not".

It's a horrible, heatbreaking disease that takes way too many dogs of all breeds. It is thought to be genetic in a few breeds - Goldens for example, but the experts dont feel most dogs are predisposed to one of the leukemias - it's pretty random in the GSD I think.The only common factor I see is that some dogs with this disease also suffer from allergies and other autoimmune issues like lupus or chronic bacterial infections and some have received a lot of vaccinations.

My girl had an aggressive adenocarcinoma, I chose just to keep her comfortable. My reasoning was that she was miserable with it already, & I had no way to explain to her that the poison we would have to give her might make her feel better eventually. And as it turned out, her cancer moved so swiftly, we never had a chance.

We can't explain the suffering to them, unless we know there really is a chance for a cure, why subject them to it?

jackie harris

My former female GSD I owned had to be put down at. 4.5 years of age.  She spent a week at OSU Vet Hospital.  We tried everything we could for her, but they said even if we tried cancer treatment, it would only buy us another month or so.  So we took her home with us and kept her comfortable until it was time.  About 2 days later we took her to our local vet.  It was a very tough experience and I hope I never have to go through it again.  Hopefully the outlook for your dog is good bad I wish you the best of luck!  Very tough thing to go through 

Thank you to the three of you for the very helpful input.  (I wish this Post was not necessary to ask). 

Heartbreaking.

Vixen x

My dog with hemangiosarcoma died within a month of diagnosis at age 7. Just gave palliative treatment. Ofcourse, it depends on the type of "lymphoma". Hemangiosarc is nasty.

All forms of lymphatic cancer is nasty business. The only upside is the dog doesn't usually suffer much, if any, pain unless they have developed tumors on  organs such as hearts and lungs. However, they are depressed most of the time.

Thanks to guddu too, and Blitzen for the added information.  The shock is the way it sneaks up completely unexpected, on appearance a very healthy dog.

These personal experiences have helped us - grateful thank you.

Vixen