Labrador Retriever Forum
One of the dogs that I have bred has been diagnosed with lymphoma at 12 years old. Her veterinarian wants to start chemo. I know what my feelings are but I would appreciate a consensus of opinions from those of you who have been in the situation of deciding whether or not to go forward with chemotherapy
Thanks
Wouldn't do it. Too much done to the dog for only a little bit of extra time. And most times, the extra is only weeks.
After consulting with canine oncologists across the country, including some conducting trials on lymphoma, I elected NOT to pursue chemo with my beloved labrador. There are some things those same vets recommended to help make his remaining days at home easier and did not rob him of his dignity, which we did. All those experts were very informative and quite willing to share their expertise, and my local vet was good to use their advice as I recommended. My dog had massive lymphoma throughout his system while in some cases it is less pervasive. I would recommend they talk with the experts rather than jump on the bandwagon before they are fully informed.
I elected to treat my 7 year old black labrador who had T-cell lymphoma. As oppposed to the usual lymphoma, T-cell is quite deadly, quite fast.
She did very well with the chemotherapy and had only a few side effects - she peed more often from the steroids, we had to watch her food intake more carefully as she did tend to lose her appetite but overall only lost about 5 lbs as we kept her diet filled with good foods for her, and her fur turned red!
Instead of losing her in a few weeks, we had 10 more months of good quality time with her as she continued to do her favorite things like swimming, playing and going for walks.
When the end came it was quite obvious and it was quite fast - she came out of remission, got very, very sick within a day and we elected to ease her pain and send her on to the bridge.
I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Bonnie
One of our dogs living in a pet home developed Lymphoma when he was 3 yrs old. His owners put their boy through 2 rounds of chemo and in the middle of their 3rd round when their boy's heart and liver gave out due to all the chemicals. He had problems with his 2nd round of treatments where he almost died of liver failure but he managed to pull through. Each remission only lasted 3 months. Their cancer specialist told them the average remission time is only 3 months.
This same boy's mother who we had for 9 year died of T-cell Lymphoma herself. We opted for surgery, not knowing what her big lump was until after it was sent to the lab. She had that lump for a good 9 months and it was slow growing during this time but I feel had we just left it alone, she could have lived another year possibly. After her botched surgery job, she was gone in 3 weeks. That leads me to my next suggestion for people whose dog is diagnosed with cancer...get a 2nd opinion as to what the best choice of treatment should be or if there should be any treatment.
Didn't do it with out boy who was 11 yrs old when diagnosed and lived almost another year in great health and wouldn't do it after seeing what a friend and her dog went thru when she elected to go forward with it on a 7 yr old dog. It's an individual decision - no right or wrong here. JMO
My twelve year old lab was diagnosed with lymphoma last september, it took me a month to decide what to do. In the end we did the treatment combined with holistic treatments and suppliments (these helped greatly with side effects). She is now 13 1/2 - we greatful to have done the treatment. We went to new england veterinary oncology group - they have a formative website. I also received funding from Canine cancer awareness, another informative website. The type of protocol can make a difference, there are several, something to talk with your oncologist about.
We had our bumps, but I really had to be on top of things and in close communication with the oncologist and holistic vet over every little thing. All situations are different, I can share more if you wish to email me privately mgw9labs@yahoo.com
There is no right or wrong answer on this. Each case is a little different and folks have different views and desires. Unfortunately there are a lot of misconceptions out there about "chemo" in dogs. There is really no comparison to chemo in dogs vs in people. The goals are not the same, nor are the side effects, etc. In general dogs don't tend to act sick from the treatments (ie, they eat well and are active) nor do they lose their hair.
I have had a number of clients choose to treat lymphoma with traditional chemotherapy. One young Rottie did well for about 3 weeks and then came out of remission and did poorly. A young GSD went through the full round of the 'Modified Madision-Wisconsin' protocol and currently is 5 years POST chemo and doing fabulous. *Most* cases are probably somewhere in between those. I have had most cases go through the full protocol (takes about 6 months)and then they tend to come out of remission over the next 6-12 months. *HOWEVER* EACH of these dogs (except the Rottie) did very well on the drugs and did not have side effects - and in fact once we started chemo the dogs felt much better.
Also, there are several options on how to treat. I had a client who didn't want to do the full protocol but we used an alternative where the dog only came in every 21 days for a treatment. She understood the choice and the dog did very well for > 6months.
There are options where the "chemo" is an oral medication that the owner can pick up at the pharmacy and give at home.
There are certainly Oncology centers and teaching hospitals, as well as local referral centers with Internal medicine specialists who primarily deal with cancer treatment. For lymphoma most of my clients opt to forgo referral- as many general practitioners are comfortable and capable of treating lymphoma.
You are probably most likely to hear from those who have had either very good results or very poor results-- while most cases are likely somewhere in between. Your regular veterinarian should either be able to fill you in on the various treatment options or be able to refer you to a specialist.
Just out of curiosity, how much does it cost to treat a dog with chemo/radiation, etc...?
Chemo treatments for lymphoma cost me about $675./month when I was having my beloved dog treated. Sadly, despite the chemo treatments he died shortly after his fourth birthday, and only six months after being diagnosed. His death was a tremendous loss to me and my husband.
I know each dog's experience is different, but from my perspective, chemo did affect my boy's stamina. The first week following chemo he would be lethargic and somewhat apathetic, but he'd bounce back by the second week. Unfortunately, at the end of his good week he'd have to go back for another treatment and the cycle would repeat itself.
DH and I are not sure we would go the same route again. God willing, we won't ever be put in that same position. It's a heartbreaker.
I'm not sure what i would do as far as chemo but I would get off carbs as much as possible and give Essiac and Alfalfa.
Prayers for these people in this difficult personal decision and for their dog.
I think it is important to note that there is more than one type of lymphoma and, therefore, a single oncologist's treatment decisions may vary according to the type and structure and pervasiveness of the lymphoma in a dog.
