Dog lymphoma (update)

[simpsongal]

I saw a post on this from years ago, figured I could solicit feedback and experiences from posters who have gone through this since.  You all were so helpful when my dog hurt his leg a few years ago.

Vet called this morning to say the hard lump on our dog's neck is lymphoma.  It popped up very quickly - he's had a few health issues for the past few months that he seemed to overcome but she fears they're related.  He's a 13.5 yr old mutt (55 lb. lab/GSD mix?), and our first baby - we adopted him at 6.5 weeks old.  We're meeting with an oncologist just to do some scans and see how things look.  DH is concerned b/c our pup hates the vet (though she said we could medicate him).

Vet said we could choose to keep him comfortable w/steroids (I saw posters mention CBD oil too?), we might have a month or up to 4 months.  She thought he could live up to a year longer w/chemo and she encouraged us to explore that option.  We're hoping the oncology appointment provides some more concrete answers.

Right now he's fine, but I know that won't last.  We'll tell the kids (7 & 10) tonight and keep them in the loop.

In closing, fvck cancer.     

Update: We went to the oncologist, decided not to do scans and tests b/c the doc said the treatment would be the same regardless, it just impacts prognosis which is a bit of a crapshoot anyway (chest xray would have been $600, ultrasound would have been $900, and the test for B vs T type lymphoma was $800).  And she thought it was stage 5 based on his physical exam.  We opted for the middle-of-the-road approach, lomustine chemo (pill every 3 weeks administered by the vet).  The CHOP approach is the gold std but it's 19 weeks, every week at the vet and a lot (cost wise too) and our pup really does hate the vet.  The chemo pill didn't seem that different than steroids - we'll monitor him and keep him on steroids too.  She thought he could have a few good months with this, we thought it was worth a try.  If he doesn't handle the chemo well, we won't keep up with it.

For other's benefits - the CHOP course would have been between $11-12K, and the lomustine is more like $5-6K (it requires blood testing every 3 weeks, that's part of the cost.  One reason we skipped the tests, we're trying to the chemo and putting the money there.

[deadwing]

I'm very sorry to hear about your dog's diagnosis. If the dog hates the vet, I would probably try to chose the course of treatment that will minimize vet time. That way your dog is able to enjoy the most of his time left. I know it's easier to recommend this to someone than to actually choose.

[lessel]

My ~12-13yo mix Friday (sounds like similar maybe lab/terrier/GSD/? mix) had a similar diagnosis. Sudden swelling at the neck that we/the vet thought was a bee sting on a Thursday that progressed to a lot of swelling by Saturday and was pretty obviously lymphoma. We decided to go with the steroid route. She was really healthy otherwise--some arthritis though. So we did a steroid/rimadyl combo for about 5 months. I think diagnosis was June and we let her go in Nov. They were good months. She had a little incontinence at the end, but really just the last couple weeks... nothing really bad. She was pretty active, happy, normal goofy self. Then it turned one day... she was obviously in pain and couldn't walk. We gave it 24 hours with extra pain meds and no improvement... that was when we made the decision.

I say that not to bring you down but just to share that those months we had with her were really great, happy months. I worried that if we went the chemo route it would be not-so-good time for all of us.

That said, I have a friend who is doing the chemo with her dog right now and the dog is responding really well. It's early days with the treatment though, so I'm not sure what the longer term looks like for them.

All of the hugs.

[wildrice]

I am so sorry!

I probably posted in the old thread, but I lost a dog to lymphoma 8 years ago. I did do chemo and he did fine with it - his first session or two was tougher but they adjusted his dose and he was fine after that. Maybe a little tired.

But chemo is also expensive and for a 13.5 year old dog that size, I don't know if I would go that route. Chemo only bought us 6 months or so and I had insurance, so it was only 2k or so. Full price may have been 4-5x that much. It also was many vet visits so a big time commitment. I think 13.5 years is already the upper end of a life expectancy, so as difficult as it is I think I personally would choose steroids in this situation.

[sadlebred]

I'm really sorry to hear about your dog!!

[Susie]

I'm sorry to hear.  We went through doggo lymphoma in 2018, and my brother's fam just did in 2023-24.  It sucks.

Neither of us opted to do chemo.  Speaking to our reasons, I was pregnant at the time with kid #2, and chemo would have made his excretions unsafe for me to handle.  He was a lifelong bilious vomiter, plus whatever accidents he might have while not feeling his best.  We just didn't think that was the right call.  I'm not as sure about my brother's fam's reasons, but they have a toddler in the mix which may have been a factor.

We both did steroid treatment for our dogs, with divergent results.  We had 4 good months with our boy, who was 11 at the time.  After that, his health went south in a weekend and we euthanized him ASAP once that happened so as not to prolong it.  At the end his lymph nodes got so enlarged that he wasn't able to breathe easily, and he was scared.  However, he died on Oct 23, and two weeks before that he was swimming in the back bays in South Jersey, happy as ... well as a golden retriever swimming around the bay.  There isn't much that's happier than that.

In contrast, my brother's dog made a year after diagnosis.  She just died last month at 10.  I would say her average quality of life was lower over the year than our boy's was over the 4 months though.  She lost sight in one eye around 9 months in, and the other eye a month or two later, had various digestive issues, significant uptick in house soiling (which they feel bad about in addition to being a pain for the people), etc. etc.

You still have good time life, so enjoy it with him as much as you can.  Make those memories and take those photos while he's feeling good.  <3

Eventually, when the time comes, it will be better to risk calling the vet a few days too soon, than a day too late.

[AAM2012]

I am sorry for what you’re going through.

We lost our first born (a chihuahua) at an early age (compared to normal life span for small dogs), due to a tumor in his nose. Surgery ($5k) bought us another ~1 year before he started to struggle again, we could have done a repeat surgery but likely wouldn’t buy us anywhere near the same results and we could tell, even at his young age, it was taking its toll on him already.

I recommend you cherish every moment you have and do NOT second guess the decisions you make. Even if your dog loved going to the vet, treatment is hard on dogs, people, family, etc.

[puppyluv]

This is such a hard topic. Back in 2017, the first dog we had together was diagnosed with lymphoma at the age of 12. We spent a lot on CHOP which bought us about another year with her before the lymphoma came back.

The second round we did steroids and Vet CBD. She responded very well to that also and lived another 6 months on that set of drugs. The CBD and steroids kept her very happy. The lymphoma became huge by the end but she was eating and playing right up until the week before she passed. And she passed very peacefully at home on her own. I truly believe the Vet CBD did wonders for her and would recommend it to anyone. It made everything so much easier knowing she was happy during those last few months.

[scout8]

I'm so sorry. We lost a dog to lymphoma several years ago. We started chemo, but he had a lot of side effects so we stopped it.

[simpsongal]

Apr 19, 2024 14:52:38 GMT -5 scout8 said:

I'm so sorry. We lost a dog to lymphoma several years ago. We started chemo, but he had a lot of side effects so we stopped it.

I'm sorry and to everyone else too.  He gets the first pill Tuesday, we'll keep a close eye on how he feels.  I know there's no point going forward if he's in pain or sick from the treatment.  

Susie, that's understandable w/the pregnancy, I know how much you cherish your pups (doggie derkins [heart]). I have the info for a highly regarded at home euthanasia service and I asked our vet about their services too, so we're ready.  

[Jalapeñomel]

I’m so sorry.

[honeydew1894]

I am so sorry. I hope you have the most good days with your pup as possible.