Possible Lymphoma

Caro said:
My heart goes out to you, I do hope it isn't bad news. So much sad news atm.

A friend's Sheltie was dx with Lymphoma 18mths ago - he was extremely sick by then. He has been on steroids all this time and, other than losing a lot of his coat, he is managing pretty well. Not a cure, but it has brought her a lot longer with him.
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Thank you for the input. Wow, I’ve been doing a lot of reading and have heard about treating with steroids but hear it only lasts a couple of months, if that. How great that she is able to have more time with her pup. Just curious, what were his symptoms upon dx and was he a candidate for chemo at all? Thanks so much
 
I wasn't here when he was diagnosed (interstate having cancer treatment myself), and I can't remember what she said about the signs, just remember that he was a very, very sick dog and she was away on a ski trip when he went downhill pretty quickly. Not sure why the Pred instead of chemo - it may be an MDR1 thing, but I can ask her. Atm we are both seeing the same IMS and both our dogs are on steroids (and both were in hospital together recently).
 
LolasMommy said:
Thank you so much. So glad to hear your pup is still with you post diagnosis. Just curious, what were her symptoms upon diagnosis? Did you do any certain treatments (chemo, steroid, etc)?
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She was just not herself (stoic Sheltie thing). We didn't treat it because there really wasn't much option. Bitsy takes Gabapentin for her arthritis; that seems to do her just fine. Yesterday she walked all the way to the stream by herself!
 
The friend's Sheltie I mentioned that had the cancer died last night, very sad. However, FYI he was on both a chemo drug and pred and had been on them for 18mths before he passed.
 
Caro said:
Have you gotten any results back?
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So sorry on the delay, yes, got the results on Tuesday and unfortunately it is indeed lymphoma. The oncologist was able to squeeze her in that day and we began treatments, an injection of elspar and a prescription for prednisone (tapering off gradually) which both seem to be doing wonders. Have seen lots of improvement and her nodes are completely down. We will be starting the CHOP protocol Friday (May have to be modified if she has the mdr1 mutation but we’re waiting on results for that). I’ve admittedly been a mess and haven’t been taking this well, but Lola so far seems pretty unphased and happy as a clam. Just can’t believe this is happening to my sweet girl :(
 
Amy, I am so sorry the dx came back positive for lymphoma...getting a cancer dx for a little one we love is always crushing emotionally. But remember that Lola has no idea what the dx was and is still the happy little girl she has always been and with her being started immediately on treatment you are doing everything possible to get a good outcome and many more years with your sweet Lola. We will all be keeping you and Lola in our thoughts and prayers.
Trini
 
trini said:
Amy, I am so sorry the dx came back positive for lymphoma...getting a cancer dx for a little one we love is always crushing emotionally. But remember that Lola has no idea what the dx was and is still the happy little girl she has always been and with her being started immediately on treatment you are doing everything possible to get a good outcome and many more years with your sweet Lola. We will all be keeping you and Lola in our thoughts and prayers.
Trini
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Thank you so much. That’s one thing that has definitely brought me some comfort through this all, her not knowing and just being able to be her happy lil self. My last sheltie before lola was a family dog and ended up dying at 15 1/2 due to complications from old age.. I guess in my head I always thought I’d have lola for that long too. Never thought I’d facing this with her being 8 years old... I know it’s not necessarily an immediate death sentence but still definitely a lot to process. I think the not knowing is the part that gets me the most. Until then I will just enjoy her and love her and fight this fight for as long as we can. Thank you so much for your kind words.
 
Lola is the same dog she was yesterday and last week.
What changes is how you treat her.
I made sure, after Gavin's radiation treatment was over and he had healed up, to take him on a road trip up the CA/OR coast.
He loved it :) An I am so happy to have the memories. (yes, we went lots of places before he got cancer, but this was a celebration of life and an ending to the heavy nursing I was doing on a dog with daily treatments for a month)
We also went to the Grand Canyon one Christmas (I was visiting a relative and it was on the way home).
Gavin probably doesn't appreciate it beyond being with me and going to a new place, but I have the memories of him happy and active before he got hurt this time around and has mobility problems (we had less than 2 years before he went lame).
If I hadn't done those things, I would question if (treatment) it was all worth it for a reduced quality of life :(
 
Archie never made it onto elspar, they were actually planning on putting him and were waiting on his MDR1 test to come back. He was on another chemo drug starting with 'M' and Pred, he went into remission but unfortunately later had issues with his bone marrow and couldn't handle the transfusions. Like I mentioned, Archie was very, very sick when he was diagnosed so the prognosis was guarded at the start, but he was actually active and happy for another 18mths.
 
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