[karen5]

Hi, I posted about the my sons dog Sam that has a breathing and coughing problen. The vet said his heartworms disapeared on their own.
well last Saturday she took sam to a different vet and first thing he did was feel all of his gland which were swollen and he was on medication for that.
He did pull some fluid from them and it showed he has lymphoma. He also ran a heartworm check and it came back negative. Vet says he will call today and discuss treatment options . He wanted to research the best affordable way to treat him. He says its not to late to treat him, but he has been sick for awhile while the other vet could not find his problem.
He has lost a lot of weight and does not eat much. He also has some spotting of blood coming from his bottom. It is hard to know the right thing to do. We do not want him to suffer. Does anyone have experience with this illness? Vet says treatment will improve his quality of life for about a year, maybe 18 months. Any knowledge on this subject will be greatly appreciated. thanks Karen

[maryellen]

heartworms do not go away on their own, you need to get another vet that knows what he is doing, the dog must be on heartworm medication or he will die..

as far as the lymphoma, it can be treated, you need to find a specialist

[Miakoda]

I will admit that I'm baffled by this heartworm issue. Heartworms do NOT go away on their own, so either a) you're vet misdiagnosed his heartworms in the 1st place (which I cannot undersand b/c a snap test doesn't give false positives nor are microfilarae hard to see on a direct slide) or b) this dog still has heartowrms. Did the vet actually do a snap test to check for heartworms? Did he do a direct blood smear?

I had a Lab/Rottweiler mix with Lymphoma.

I wish I could give you some better advice, or some advice on how to beat this, but I cannot. Bascially lymphoma spreads the cancer cells to every organ and every lymph node throughout the body.

Before doing anything else, set this dog up for some x-rays. X-ray his heart and his liver & kidneys especially. From your description of his labored breathing & coughing, I would venture to say that his hear, lungs, & other organs are already infected.

Also, does he have fluid in his abdomen? Did the vet insert a needle into the abdoemen to see if he could drain anything?

Personally, I'm not a fan of treating dogs with cancer in terms of chemotherapy. The treatment is extremely expensive, it makes the dogs horribly ill, and it only prolongs the inevitable....and at what cost?

With Bob, my dog, we just opted for pain relieving medications and lasix to help with keeping fluid off of the heart muscle. He lived an extra 2 weeks (he was diagnosed late due to an idiotic vet), but at least I can honestly say that his quality of life those last 2 weeks we better than his previous 4 months. He let me know when his time had come, so on a Sunday afternoon, I took him to a friend (& fellow vet) and we released him from his pain & suffering.

Also, if you're in doubt, get a 2nd opinion. And also talk to Patch-O-Pits as she recently lost a dog to cancer as well. I know she did chemo with this dog and she might be willing to discuss it some with you.

[Envy's Mom]

It sounds like that later stages of Cancer to me. I am sorry that you are going through this, but if the dogs quality of life is altered I would let it go. I lost my Envy to Lymphoma last year and I had to make the decision to let her go. It was the hardest thing I've ever done and I miss her greatly. I could not let her suffer and her zest for life was gone. RIP sweet Envy.

[demo-dog]

Karen,

I'm so sorry to hear you're dealing with such bad news.

Are they sure it's lymphoma? Have they aspirated or done biopsies of the lymph nodes? I ask because my Demo fell incredibly ill about 5 years ago. His jaw became paralyzed, he dropped 10lbs in one week, couldn't walk well and seemed certain to die. He went to the top medical facility in NYC and at first they were leaning heavily on the diagnosis of Lymphoma. They did 3 biopsies liver (which was inflamed as livers are during illnesses), lymph, spleen), a spinal tap (because of the facial paralysis) and an MRI (of the facial nerve responsible for jaw paralysis). They were a bit confused because as they did more tests, the less they thought it was lymphoma. It was a long painful process. One thing that helped dramatically was prednisone. Once that process began, his physical symptoms improved. His balance came back, slowly his use of his face came back. Ultimately, his problems ended up being related to Hypothyroidism, but that diagnosis was still not obvious or agreed upon by all the doctors that saw him. He takes thyroid medicine every day now. If your dog is over 8 years old, his thyroid levels should also be checked.

How well the doctors read the blood work is important. Another opinion by a specialist is important. A biopsy of lymph glands is important yet difficult because they are very small. Demo did want to eat, which is important. You should give your dog a high calorie formula food, which most vets have for dogs with dibilitating conditions that drain weight.

If it definitely is cancer, and they want to do Chemo, you will have to think long and hard about whether to do it. A dog doesn't understand the process like a human does. They can't 'buck up' and put on a positive attitude and gear up for the whole ordeal. Most dogs just feel like crap on it and don't know why. Most dog's lives are not very enjoyable while they're on it and it doesn't extend they're living for more than 6 months. That being said, supposedly, Lymphoma is one of the most successfully treated forms of cancer in dogs. http://www.dogcancerinfo.com/Dog-Lymphoma-s/4.htm

Still, it can be very disapointing, as I've known friends to try it on their pet only to got through a painful rollercoaster of good news, to bad news to good news, etc..

Demo was given the option to have chemo. Luckily, I did a ton of homework, saw a bunch of doctors and the Lymphoma diagnosis was proven wrong. I had many people tell me to put him down back then, but his eyes were bright, and he still wanted to eat. Some of those people have actually passed-on, themselves and today, Demo is still alive. It was about 2 months after his initial ordeal began that he began to make his recovery.

Prednisone is a good thing to try. It tackles the problem and you can ween the animal off if they start to stabilized and it isn't a deadly condition.

There really isn't any affordable ways to deal with a major illness regarding tests, MRIs and biopsies. They all cost money. MRIs are $1,500. We spent more than we could afford, and honestly, if he didn't make it, I would have felt like an idiot. You have to consider these things.

It's not easy facing the choices and responsibilities that you are right now. I feel for you. You must make sure that you've given yourself and your dog the opportunity to see the best medical opinions you can. That way you can know that you've made the right choices. Google search 'lymphoma in dogs', 'lymphoma dogs treatments', 'lymphoma dogs symptoms' and lymphoma dogs misdiagnosis' and read, read, read.

[Renee750il]

Any form of cancer in our animals is tough to face.

I've seen some very good results treating various tumors and cancers with Essiac tea. When used in conjunction with more conventional treatments, it also seems to lessen the detrimental impact of the treatments.

I used it on my Bear (the GSD/Akita rescue I had until he passed away at 14+ years old) when he had tumorous growths in his hindquarters. The vet surgically cleared what he could, but couldn't get them entirely. He was amazed when, less than six months later they had disappeared completely.

[demo-dog]

Originally Posted by Renee750il Any form of cancer in our animals is tough to face. I've seen some very good results treating various tumors and cancers with Essiac tea. When used in conjunction with more conventional treatments, it also seems to lessen the detrimental impact of the treatments. I used it on my Bear (the GSD/Akita rescue I had until he passed away at 14+ years old) when he had tumorous growths in his hindquarters. The vet surgically cleared what he could, but couldn't get them entirely. He was amazed when, less than six months later they had disappeared completely.

Essiac is purportedly a powerful alternative that has a proven track record with cancer.

[karen5]

Hi, Thanks For All The Advice. This New Vet That Diagnosed Sam Took Fluid Out Of His Gland And Put It Under The Microscope. All Of His Glands Are Swollen. He Is Suppose To Call First Thing In The Morning With An Estimate On Treatment And To Discuss Options. One Thing Is Not Knowing If The Cancer Is To Advanced For Treatment To Help Or Not. The Doctor Says It Is Not, But He Has Been Sick For Quite A While Before Getting This Diagnosis. Dont Want To Put Him Through This If It Will Not Help Him. Can Not Tell If The Vets Are Honest About How Bad He Is. Hard Decisions. Thanks. Karen