Edit/Update Sept 16:

Let me start by saying we will not let her suffer. I wanted to update this in case it could help anyone else.

Thanks again for all the well wishes. Our pup has been off for a few days so back to vet for a checkup as we’d also noticed some swelling in the lymph nodes. Unfortunately but somehow fitting, we got the news on Friday the 13th that the Lymphoma is back. We new it was remission and not cured but that 9 months went by fast. She started chemo last year at the end of August and finished mid December.

She’s back on the Prednisone, which I think bothers her more than the chemo, while the vet talks with an oncologist. We’re going to try a round and see how she tolerates it this time. We learned some tricks that will help and CBD will be a big part again.

She’s still very active, seems happy and enjoying her food and treats and bossing the two males around.






Edit: Confirmed, large cell type B Lymphoma. More blood work and a biopsy to follow. Started a course of Prednisone to help with appetite and such, which it seems to. We new something was up when she was hesitant to eat all of the sudden.

She’s about 8, maybe 10 years old. We never can tell for sure with rescues. She’s had dual TIPO surgery’s on her hind legs 2 years ago and made a big improvement.

After the biopsy comes back, we’ll start a course of chemo to see how she does and go from there. She’s mostly my wife’s dog, though she hides by me during fireworks and thunder storms.

I’d welcome any advice or expertise or experiences.

EDIT: GOOD NEWS!

Thank you for the good words and links!

We have good news!

With the third treatment of the nasty drug doxorubicin, and the weekly doses of lessor drugs, she's doing very well. The vet is moving her to every other week treatments and believes she's in remission. After the next three treatments, we'll discuss attempting the nasty drug again. If she's doing well, maybe even discontinuing treatment!

Thanks again to Jeff for his help with some supplies! They helped tremendously!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Riley,

Sending good thoughts your way, we lost our Catahoula, Luke, to cancer earlier this year.

His was really aggressive, splenic & possibly liver as well, he had very little appetite & dropped weight pretty quickly.

Vet advised us that they couldn't give an estimate until after surgery, if we'd get 6 months or 3 years. Was an extremely hard decision.

Hoping yours has a better outlook.

Good luck, it is so difficult to watch them go through this.

You might want to consider adding Turkey Tail mushroom supplements to aid the natural immune system. You don't have anything to lose and studies have shown them to be effective.

https://penntoday.upenn.edu/ne...penn-vet-study-finds

I am sorry you are going through this with your pup. I hope she gets well and you have many more memories with her.

So sorry for the bad news. Prayers that you experience a good outcome and many more years together.

Thank for doing right by your Rescued friend. You and your Family will be in my prayers tonight.

I hope she will be ok. We have rescues and they are the greatest of dogs.

Sending positive thoughts to you and your pup. Hopefully it will turn out to be something that can be successfully addressed.

Prayers sent for your family and your fur baby.

Prayers Sent

Prayers for your pup.

We put down our pup yesterday, he was a 16+ year old terrier mix and was losing weight. Wife does back office paperwork for a veterinarian so she took him for bloodwork. Only benefit is vet care at cost. Came back with lymphoma and leukemia. We waited for the kids to get back from church camp on Saturday so they could say good bye and we put him down yesterday. On my birthday. What a Downer. Our redbone is kinda sad her buddy is gone

I lost my little bud “Sunny” a couple of years ago to carcinoma. I went to the vet with him on a Thursday when the illness was discovered . The vet said he will make it through the winter. Nope, no such luck. Sunday, we took him and the other dog “Peanut” for a ride in the car. Later that evening I found him in the entry way. Gone at 4 years of age. I was surprised how depressed and lonely I became. Our previous dog “Willy” made it 14 years; growing up with kids. I was ready when he died because he had a full life. Now it’s just Peanut.

I must say, I know how you feel. This cancer thing is really a blight: it causes pain and suffering not only on the victim, but also on those close to the sick one. I was really down when the vet said just a few more months. It was devastation when the end for him was 3 days later. It was suggested we could try some treatments that might give the little guy a few more months, but it would be with a high pain level. And also the procedure was very expensive, and not a cure; just basically buying time. Enjoy every minute you have with your little friend. We are lucky to have them and their unconditional love for the short time they are in our lives. Our prayers to you.

Cancer in pets -- I know how much it sucks, it's killed several of our cats, and each one takes a part of me with him or her.

As a practical piece of advice, watch out for personality issues due to the prednisone. Ask the vet in advance if there's anything you can administer that will help with the negative effects, though with my cats nothing helped. As an anti-inflammatory, it helps with the pain they suffer, but it has emotional costs which don't necessarily go away after you've finished using it.

Best of luck - so hard when you dog is hurting. We lost our 8-year old Ridgeback to cancer. Just one suggestion, before going into any more complex treatments get a scan / confirmation that the cancer has not spread. Depending on how far it is has traveled and any other tumors you cannot see, more complex treatment may not be advised.

A lot of people worry that treating the cancer will hurt the dog, but dogs actually handle chemotherapy much better than people. So if the doctor says the cancer is treatable, then don't worry about putting her through it. She can handle it.

Thanks all! The vet said the same thing about dogs ability to handle chemo.

Best of luck to you and the pup. I’ll say a prayer for you.

Our last Bernese Mountain Dog suffered from hystiocytic sarcoma. Chemo extended his life by six months. Quality months, where he had a good time with us and we enjoyed the time with him.

Chemo’s hard, though... I won’t lie. It’s expensive, and it takes an emotional toll on you. But, for us, it was very much worth it.

My only advice is to stay focused on the quality of life of your pup. Make sure you’re extending her life for HER... because she’s still enjoying life... not just for you, because you don’t want to say goodbye.

It’s an awesome responsibility.

Sorry to hear about the diagnosis. A family member had a dog go through chemo. She would not do it again. The dog was not keeping food down and did not act herself.

quote:

Originally posted by PeterGV:
...Make sure you’re extending her life for HER... because she’s still enjoying life... not just for you, because you don’t want to say goodbye...

The first one who got cancer hated chemo. She cried all the way to the vet (a long trip each way, over an hour), foamed at the mouth from fear before each treatment, and was exhausted by the whole ordeal. When she was finished, though, she perked up and nearly became her old self.

The cancer recurred within a couple months. She had another surgery, but didn't really recover enough to allow chemo. It spread and killed her.

All through this time, as hard as it was on her, she fought to survive. She loved life, the other cats, and us. She made it plain that she wanted to live. When we thought it was time and took her on the final trip, she convinced everybody that she'd make it, so we took her home. She died in my arms 1-1/2 hours later, and it was a hard death to watch.

When the next one (her niece) got the same cancer, I called the vet and asked if there had been any improvement in treatments, and was told there was not. We decided to make her as comfortable as we could, but not put her through the surgeries and chemo. She lived approximately as long after the diagnosis as the earlier one did.

If I ever have to consider putting a pet through this again, I'm starting with a hard and frank talk with the vet about survival odds. If the odds are good, we'll do it.

Sorry to be bleak, but as PeterGV said, we have to make sure we're extending her life for her sake, and not because it's so hard to lose her.

No advise really, but praying for your pup and your family