Lymphoma in dogs

BleepinHell

My Golden Retriever has been diagnosed with lymphoma.
She is insured. Is it worth putting her through the lengthy chemo treatment.
If she just has steroids she will live 2months.
I would hate to see her suffer.
Has anyone had a pet go through it?
What can I expect?

con1888

What age is she ?

krlyr

I think it's a decision you have to make yourself, with your vet's advice. Can you get a referal to a specialist just to have a chat about it?
I believe pets don't go through the sickness and so on like humans with chemo as a lower dose is used in comparison to in humans - but this can make treatment less effective than in humans. I would want to know how much longer the chemo would give her - I know that sometimes it can only add a few months and IMO I'm not sure it's worth it for relatively little time.

BleepinHell

con1888 wrote: »

What age is she ?

8yrs old. If she was older would let her go

BleepinHell

krlyr wrote: »

I think it's a decision you have to make yourself, with your vet's advice. Can you get a referal to a specialist just to have a chat about it?
I believe pets don't go through the sickness and so on like humans with chemo as a lower dose is used in comparison to in humans - but this can make treatment less effective than in humans. I would want to know how much longer the chemo would give her - I know that sometimes it can only add a few months and IMO I'm not sure it's worth it for relatively little time.

Thanks the Vet suggested steroids.
But gave us a referral to specialist.
Its just i had a cat that had cancer and I put her thru a lot of treatment that made her very ill.
Said I never do it again. But her I am And love her so much

tankgirl1

Hi
It all depends on quality of life - some respond really well to chemo, take the treatment well, and suffer few side effects, but gain a few months. Steroids tend to make a sudden improvement as they mask rather than treat symptoms..... Seriously though, the best advice I can give you is to talk to your vet, and monitor your pooches quality of life.... which is all that matters in the end IMHO

Your vets and nurses will know best, and will know better than us - this pet forum... sad but true

faerie~spangles

BleepinHell wrote: »

My Golden Retriever has been diagnosed with lymphoma.
She is insured. Is it worth putting her through the lengthy chemo treatment.
If she just has steroids she will live 2months.
I would hate to see her suffer.
Has anyone had a pet go through it?
What can I expect?

Oh for goodness sake do the right thing!

I really can't bear the thought of putting a pet through multiple medical intervention procedures.

FWIW, My last dog was approx' 14yr's old when she collapsed whilst out for a walk. She had never been near a vet until that awful day I took her to be pts


My 12yr old Lab' is starting to show his age and as soon as he cannot cope with the stairs I will have him pts.


My old cat was in her 20's and had never been near a vet. she died peacefully at home.

krlyr

faerie~spangles wrote: »

Oh for goodness sake do the right thing!

The right thing for you may not be the right thing for everyone else or their dog. I know of someone who decided to go for the aggressive treatment route for osteosarcoma in their dog and had the leg amputated fully. Gave them many happy years with their dog. My last dog had terrible hip dysplasia and due to behavioural issues I decided not to put her through hip dysplasia and she was euthanised just 4 years old. If either of my current dogs were to get the same condition, I wouldn't hesitate to have hip replacements done because their temperaments would make this so much more feasible.
The last thing OP needs is someone attacking her when she's trying to make a difficult decision.

hotcookie101

faerie~spangles wrote: »

Oh for goodness sake do the right thing!

I really can't bear the thought of putting a pet through multiple medical intervention procedures.

FWIW, My last dog was approx' 14yr's old when she collapsed whilst out for a walk. She had never been near a vet until that awful day I took her to be pts


My 12yr old Lab' is starting to show his age and as soon as he cannot cope with the stairs I will have him pts.

.

I HATE it when clients feel this way. Medications can make a massive difference to dogs "feeling their age" (in other words, usually osteoarthritis, a condition causing chronic pain, which NSAIDs can hugely improve quality of life, and prolong it, but so many owners think "oh he's not in pain, just a bit old":mad::mad:)

OP-with regards to lymphoma, I have treated a number of dogs with a COP protocol (so strong chemo, but very well tolerated) and a few cats also, and I can honestly say they have all coped incredibly well with it, with a number being in remission for 2 years or so, and they all still like(-d for the deceased ones ) coming in to see us. I would do a COP protocol on my own dog, not my cat though, as he finds visits more stressful. Speak to the specialist, see what they say, and ignore people telling you to "do the right thing" when they have no experience of what you are talking about.

hotcookie101

krlyr wrote: »

The right thing for you may not be the right thing for everyone else or their dog. I know of someone who decided to go for the aggressive treatment route for osteosarcoma in their dog and had the leg amputated fully..

Wow, they were really lucky. Most survival times of osteosarcoma are quoted as 6-9 months with amputation AND follow up chemo. Osteosarc is one I wouldn't treat my own dog for (with amputation, maybe palliative radiotherapy for analgesia) Lymphoma I would treat my own with COP protocol in a heart beat, but my cat-I'm not so sure, would have to see how he liked the IVs Hopefully I never have to try it.

Katiehound

I am so sorry to hear your dog has lymphoma.

My beautiful hound was diagnosed with that at aged 9 and the lump was on her neck. My vet suggested chemo but I decided that I didn't want to pump her full of chemicals. I had read about a non invasive treatment called CV247 which is licensed for use with dogs and is mainly based on natural diet. My vet got me all the info etc from Richard Allport.
She loved her new dietary regime but sadly the lymphoma was 'spectacular' in it's progress and she was pts less than a month after diagnosis- before she choked. Nearly 3 years on and I am still upset.

I hope that things work well for you and your dog.