Can't afford vet bills!

lauzjp

yes, I have to say - although of course they don't advertise the fact, most vets will come to an arrangement with you.

simontheiceman

lauzjp wrote: »

yes, I have to say - although of course they don't advertise the fact, most vets will come to an arrangement with you.

I used to think that clients would pay once they had entered an "agreement" but I have been made very aware that the majority of "agreements" end up in the small claims court. am now very reluctant to do this apart from by Direct Debit.

In the case of Lymphoma I would almost certainly avoid chemotherapy as my experiences have been very negative. Lymph node needle aspirate will diagnose this without anaesthetic for about £60. You can then treat with steroids which hold most of the symptoms at bay for less than a pound a day..

mirrorimage0

hence the reason you should have pet insurance (insurance incase anything goes wrong)
sorry to hear your dog is in this situation though, hopefully you can find the money to treat him

lowis

simon - are your experiences negative with both cats and dogs? as you may know, my experience was pretty good (she lived twice as long as predicted with next to no side effects), and I have read many success stories on various lymphoma forums that i joined. i am also aware that some pets do not get on so well with chemo too and can have a horrible time on it.

i guess i was lucky in that my vet 'specialises' in lymphoma, not quite sure how he does that (are there specific exams for this?) but he was always up to speed with the latest knowledge and studies coming out of the major universities (Cambridge Cancer Clinic) both in the UK and the USA, and i believe has had a lot of success with his patients.

stevetodd

Sorry if anyone has already suggested this I only quickly glanced over the posts. But could the Blue Cross help in this case, afterall I belive that's excatly what they are there for, ie a charity to support pets where their owners can't afford vets bills (or am I wrong?)

simontheiceman

lowis wrote: »

simon - are your experiences negative with both cats and dogs? as you may know, my experience was pretty good (she lived twice as long as predicted with next to no side effects), and I have read many success stories on various lymphoma forums that i joined. i am also aware that some pets do not get on so well with chemo too and can have a horrible time on it.

i guess i was lucky in that my vet 'specialises' in lymphoma, not quite sure how he does that (are there specific exams for this?) but he was always up to speed with the latest knowledge and studies coming out of the major universities (Cambridge Cancer Clinic) both in the UK and the USA, and i believe has had a lot of success with his patients.

Sad story really, and recently mostly to do with a large Great Dane which I treated for 6 months with a COAP protocol. I played by the book and failed to get any kind of remission. This was quickly followed by a Boxer which got 8 days into chemotherapy and fell over dead, just like that.

I am staggered just how many cases of lymphoma we see. Most cases are uninsured and in these I will offer steroids (which do help reduce the symptoms for a few months in most cases). Most of my clients are financially challenged which can be unhelpful but you get used to that after a time and develop ways of doing things a bit more cheaply (there are often ways of working which work but are not necessarily perfect). For instance I mentioned above that needle aspirate will diagnose lymphoma for a fraction of a biopsy.

In cats renal lymphoma (a sequel to Felv infection (keep up vaccination)) is very common as is intestinal lymphoma. If only one kidney is affected a good period of remission can be achieved by unilateral nephrectomy but secondaries are common. Intestinal lymphoma recurs really quickly after resecton and I have stopped operating on these as I feel it offers false hope for clients.

Partcularly disturbing is the recent rise in leukaemia - have seen 4 cases in the last few months. All have been euthanased shortly after diagnosis.

Interestingly a vet with a "specialism" in anything cannot advertise that they are a specialist unless they are registered as such with the Royal College. Your vet may of course be a specialist oncologist / internal medicine specialist but t would not be as specific as one type of tumor. For instance I am a surgeon with additional qualification but I am not classed as a "specialist".

lowis

thanks for the clarification simon, my vet is quite young so i think i may be confused...he doesn't advertise as a specialist, but i believe is aiming to make oncology his specialism hence his always being up to date with the latest developments and treatments - it is part of his career training and progression I suppose.

my cat had intestinal lymphoma...it was an inoperable lymphoma so was treated purely with chemo - Madison Wisconsin protocol for 26 weeks. she went into clinical remission after about 6 weeks and stayed there for about 17 months - she was supposed to take leukeran as her maintenance protocol after the Mad Wis had finished but it made her poorly so we we stopped it after 2 pills. anyhow her lymphoma came back and we then tried the CHOP protocol, her tumours disappeared again but her general state of being declined and we couldn't get her to eat for love nor money, so we did the right thing before her quality of life was affected.

my vet has also expressed concern at the rise of lymphoma cases he is seeing...it is very worrying.

igorsvksv

Free vet student cannot afford blue cross unemployed vet treatment benefit vet veterinary
Hi everybody, maybe my answer does not directly relate to the topic, but I want to let everybody know that there is a chance to
get free vet care for your cat or dog (any pet)
in all countries there are pet charities that provide vet care for people with low income or on benefits. But only a few people know that even if you are not taking government benefits and cannot afford to pay for a vet you (your pet ) still can be eligible to get a free veterinary treatment. If you are a student, unemployed, have low income and can prove it with any official paper you should try to contact a charity and explain your circumstances. In UK it is a Blue Cross - I just called them and explained that I am a full time student and have no income and they agreed to take my cat into their hospital. Unfortunately it was too late for my poor cat and they had to put him to sleep. I spent too much time looking for the information I am giving you now and trying to cure him myself. If only I knew it a bit earlier =(.
These charities were founded to help sick pets, and even despite official requirements (proof of benefits, some other papers) they are really interested in helping ill animals so there always should be a way to get help from them for free.