Lymphoma

[Cool Running]

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My dog Joy has proberly got Lymphoma, this will be confirmed tommorow after tests. I so hope the Vet is wrong.

My question is - Has anyone any experiance dealing with this? I don't know if I should put her through Chemo as I although it may prolong her life would her life be happy and pain free. Or do I say goodbye and save her the torment. I am in such a frenzy. I don't think that there is a right and wrong here. Has anyone had Chemo for their dogs and how do they feel about the decisions they made.

Please help.

 

[Hula]

I have a whippet with lymphoma . I was given options but I chose to just bring her home and enjoy what time she had left . She is 14 years old and as she is currently quite happy this is the course of action I chose . If she had been younger I would have considered other options . My daughter is a vet and has had great succss with chemotherapy in dogs with lymphoma . She has several dogs who are still fine a year after diagnosis . Also dogs do not get the terrible side effects humans do . My daughter would not have reccommended chemo for our dog . Another option is steriods which is a middle of the road option .

My whipppet was diagnosed almost 7 weeks ago and given 4-6 weeks to live . She is still here and enjoying life , still managing a little walk and some food so she still has some quality of life . If she was no longer happy then I would have to take the terrible decision to have her PTS as I would not allow her to suffer .

I hope your dog continues to be well for a long time yet :huggles:

 

[jinnyfizz]

How heartbreaking for you I am so sorry.

I have no direct experience so I feel unable to make any suggestions but I am sure there are many people here on K9 who will be able to help and support you and Joy through your decisions :huggles:

 

[Silverpeacock]

I'm so sorry to here this, my thoughts are with you and your hound...

Fingers crossed that it isn't this but worst case, I personally would be guided by my vet and my knowledge of my hounds and how they cope (for example I have one that's a real trooper and would cope with a certain amount of medical treatment, the other I'd be unlikely to want to put through major treatements he wouldn't deal with it at all). I guess what I'm saying is that you have to do the best by your hound and you (and your family) a poorly dog can be a big strain and often we look back and wish we had made that important decision sooner, but hounds can be hardier than they look and may well respond very well to treatement and go on to live a long and happy life....

There is lots of info on the internet about Lymphoma in greyhounds (google it) but this is one that looks helpful: http://www.greyhoundsascompanions.com/medical.htm

Best of luck

xx

 

[Cool Running]

I have a whippet with lymphoma . I was given options but I chose to just bring her home and enjoy what time she had left . She is 14 years old and as she is currently quite happy this is the course of action I chose . If she had been younger I would have considered other options . My daughter is a vet and has had great succss with chemotherapy in dogs with lymphoma . She has several dogs who are still fine a year after diagnosis . Also dogs do not get the terrible side effects humans do . My daughter would not have reccommended chemo for our dog . Another option is steriods which is a middle of the road option .My whipppet was diagnosed almost 7 weeks ago and given 4-6 weeks to live . She is still here and enjoying life , still managing a little walk and some food so she still has some quality of life . If she was no longer happy then I would have to take the terrible decision to have her PTS as I would not allow her to suffer .

I hope your dog continues to be well for a long time yet :huggles:

Thank you, Joy is 10years old, she is a retired racer and came to us when her previous foster home could not keep her, we have now enjoyed her company for 4yrs. Although thin she still has plenty of energy. I noticed a slow decline in her health over the past couple of months but at first put it down to age. I know Greyhounds have trouble keeping weight on later in life, and she has always been very slim. Joy is very sensitive and I must take this into concideration before I make my decision.

 

[dolly]

I have a whippet with lymphona, we didnt give her chemoas the outlook wasnt very good. However we did see a homepathic vet, who gave Katie some tablets. She led a very comfortable 10 months on those, where the vet gave her 3 weeks.

Please pm if you would like details

http://esse-ltd.com/index.htm the link to his website

 

[Hula]

Once you have got over the shock of this you will be able to sit down and consider your options . I feel quite comfortable with the decision I have made and my daughter does too . We have enjoyed this time with Scout , some days she is quite perky and occasionally she has a bit of an off day and won't eat .

We get quite worried , then the next day she bounces back ( long may it continue )

She eats exactly what she wants and I put different dishes of food down and she chooses what she wants . She has enjoyed cooked chicken breast but just recently has decided she wants dog food . I also get her small tins of prescription food from my vet called AD which she likes . She has become a junk food fan and seems to enjoy kitkats ! Yes I know chocolate is bad for dogs ! In the evening she lies on the settee and eats hula hoops .

Every day with her is special and I hope she will prove the vets all wrong .

 

[kirsty]

Don't have any suggestions Just want to wish you all the best :huggles:

 

[Cool Running]

I have just been looking on the web and found several helpful sites, including the links on your replies. Thank you.

Now I just have to wait for the results of the tests tommorow, I will then be able to make an informed decision. All these years of sharing my life with dogs. Over the years I have only lost my babes through old age and one suddenly after an attack by another dog broke her back. I think that is why it has hit me so hard.

 

[stormydog]

Hi and really sorry to hear of your dogs illness. Most on here will be familiar with my dog Storms long fight against Lymphoma...cancer, just over a year ago. To cut a long story short he went thru extensive surgery.."Penile amputation" to begin with then a few minor ops. The Chemo debate goes on and on and ive heard so many arguments and debates for the pros and cons regarding Chemo. I have absolutely no regrets in having Storm treated with the drug. he was with me for almost a year to the day after his first session and had treatment every 2 weeks and blood tests taken inbetween. He was brilliant the whole time and was never sick were the 3 other dogs who were also being treated by my vet lost their fight within 3 months.

Im not saying that your Joy will last a year or 3 months but who knows ?

Dont let the "Cut n Dry" brigade tell you Chemos its not worth it..believe me it is. Dont get me wrong if my lad hadve been suffering i wouldve ended it instantly, he was lucky enuff to have the heart and courage of a lion and fought bravely throughout.

Sadly within the space of 3 days he deteriorated ....the rests history.

If i have to be blunt at all i can only add that the battle youll both fight comes to an end no matter how long the fight lasts. Maybe another may to put it is that youre actually being granted more time to get use to the inevitable.

I hope you get a very, very, very, long and happy time with Joy.

 

[lou lou]

Hi Sorry to hear that,it was what our Lou Lou had(though steroids masked her illness).Are any other of her glands swollen?Lou Lou's did not until we tried to get her of the steroids by this time it was really to late for treatment.

The reason no biopsy was taken from start was for this very reason(glands not swollen enough).

Hope this helps a bit.

Chris.

 

[dizzyliz]

My dog Joy has proberly got Lymphoma, this will be confirmed tommorow after tests. I so hope the Vet is wrong. My question is - Has anyone any experiance dealing with this? I don't know if I should put her through Chemo as I although it may prolong her life would her life be happy and pain free. Or do I say goodbye and save her the torment. I am in such a frenzy. I don't think that there is a right and wrong here. Has anyone had Chemo for their dogs and how do they feel about the decisions they made.

Please help.

 

[dizzyliz]

Hi there,

Firstly may I say How sorry I am that you have had this news.

My thoughts are verymuch with you on this one and judging by all the other replies, I can agree with so much that has been said.

My situation was this. Had a Beautifal active 6 year old lurcher showing no ill signs. In fact running around the woods the day before. Started coughing and a lump under her throat. Took her to the vets the very next day by which time a lump had appeared on the chest under on her front leg. I feared the worst and so did the vet. He did a biopsy on the back lymph gland and we spent an agonising 4 days waiting for the results to come back. Confirmed it was lymphoma, the vet reassured us, that a course of chemo would prolong her life hopefully without detriment to her, for another year to eighteen months and it should be a quallity of life. The alternative would be possibly a maximum of 4-6 weeks she would have with no treatment. I thought very carefully about the treatment and was assured that there were little side effects. I came home and searched the internet for there are many websites about it. I also contacted Dogs today Mag who put me in touch with the vets that write for the mag and I couldnt have wished for a better response from the both of them. So here I was with all this info. I decided to give the chemo a go and the vet worked out the protocol for a year. It meant she had to go every week for a month then every three weeks. The first one we were worried, having had a sleepless night, we took her in and she came bounding out as if nothing had happened. Sadly we lost her after 6 months as the lymph glands came back with severity and it had travelled into her lungs hence the short time. In the time we had with her she had a couple of bouts of diarrohea, one sickness but quite a lot of weeing. She coped brilliantly with the treatment but I wont pretend it wasnt a roller coaster of emotions. When you are dealing with the unknown, any little odd sympton, ie blood in wee, lethargy, is a little worrying. ALso the committment to taking her to the vets every monday as that was her day. If you ask me would I do it again, In Her case I definately would. In hindsight she still had her quality of life for six months, it gave us time to adjust, although I have to say I am still brokenhearted at losing her so young. I think it is a committment but if you can do it, I am sure if you cant, no one would say you havent done the right thing for your dog. Whatever you decide it will be the right decision I am sure for you and your dog.

 

[Debbie b]

Hiya

very sorry to hear your news, one of my greyhounds had lymphoma, i got him at seventeen months, a very expensive buy for a owner only he turned out to be one that didn't want to race, so i got him in a terrible state he weighed 27 kilos should of been near on 40 kilo's after researching his breeding i discovered that his father and grandfather died from testicular cancer so i decided to get him castrated, after nearly three years of putting weight on him and socialising him to people and others dogs he was coming out of his shell, then i was hit with the bomb shell that he had lymphoma, his weight just dropped off within a week, sadly unbeknown to me it was to bad to treat, he was a happy healthy dog up untill then to me it looked like when the diagnosis was given he changed, if i had the option of chemo i would of taken it, each to there own and its your decision, i hope you get loads of quality time with joy

 

[Martin Tucker]

I lost my young dog Nandrolone to at 5 years of age !

http://www.greyhound-data.com/d?d=nandrolo...p;x=29&y=11

Couldn`t believe it when it was diagnosed ! Kept him for a few more weeks and the day I saw him look sick when he couldn`t finish his dinner, I knew the time had come to say good bye before he got any worse ! I owed that to him !

Everyone is different in how they want to deal with it, but I wouldn`t drag it out, it`s not fair on the animal.

PS. His litter sister Waddle Off was mated to the Whippet, Tinkerman and is the dam of Tinkersmill who I see won the CH CH at the Nationals !

 

[jgear]

I have no experience in these matter but can only imagine how I would feel if this happened to one of mine, but wanted to know I am wishing you well and hoping for the best

 

[Cool Running]

I am still waiting for the results of Joys tests. I have called the vets but they have not received them yet. I know what the problem is I just want to know how bad the problem is.

Joy is looking very thin now but she is still eating well. The walks are going slower than usual, we all walk at Joys pace, but she enjoys the beach and is happy although occasionally you can see in her eyes that she knows something is wrong. The other dogs know as well, Joy has always been top bitch, but I noticed that the others did not get off the bed to let her on yesterday. That was a first. I think that nature has told them that she is ill, in the wild the sick animals are left to fend for themselves.

I tried to upload some photos but have been unable to. I will try again soon.

Thank you all for your support. It has been a help to be able to talk to people who love their dogs as I love mine. At work no one else has any pets at all so they have no idea what the problem is. One even asked me if I had decided what type of dog I was going to get to replace Joy. That hurt.

 

[Hula]

Having a dog with lymphoma myself I know how you are feeling :huggles:

 

[Cool Running]

Got results back. Hign grade Lyphoma. Waiting for Chemo vet to contact me for appointment. Scared.

Joy is the Brindle in my pack.

This photo was taken before she showed any signs of illness. As you can see she is slim here. She is now a bit of a stick.

 

[Cool Running]

Having a dog with lymphoma myself I know how you are feeling :huggles:

Hi

How long have you known and is there anything I should be looking out for. Are you treating with Chemo?