[Dailydrool] Lymphoma advice needed.

[MARY TIPPING]

Tecia, I am all too familiar (unfortunately) with this.  Sorry for the long post but this is just our experience...Otis was diagnosed 11/2/18 at 9 yrs. old with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, found only by chance as I was playing around and kissing him on his snout one morning.  He began to whine and I thought it was teeth problems, though he had a dental that August.  We took him to the vet that morning and they confirmed that his lymph nodes were swollen.  That afternoon he went to the ER vet specialists near me and they confirmed lymphoma.  We were blindsided, and were given several options:  treatment with just prednisone would give him three months (I couldn't bear that, we had just adopted him the previous May and he was still acting like a puppy!); there are other protocols and we wanted the best possible treatment, which they advised was the CHOP protocol. 


He began treatment that day ($1,200-gulp) and he went in every week thereafter for chemo until April 18th of this year.  He has been remission since and has checkups each month.  Chemo was over the top expensive, averaging around $500 a week (sometimes more, sometimes less), which we knew going into it, but we were prepared to move heaven and earth for him.  Chemo is not painful, and is not debilitating as with humans.  Otis came through treatments so well, no side effects except loss of appetite a few days after some treatments, but we worked through that.  He was, and is now a happy, bouncy boy and we are grateful to still have him with us.  We also know that chemo would buy him more time, 1.5 or two years, hopefully more.  The cancer may (doG forbid) come back, but we will do whatever he needs.  If Otis was an older hound we may have gone a different route, who knows.  In July we lost our 15.5 year old gentlehound to osteosarcoma, and that was clearly a hospice situation for him.  


Your pup is only 7 yrs. old, and if she is in otherwise good health, and it's financially viable (this is key), I would not hesitate.  Many people opt for only prednisone and/or holistic meds.  There are many articles on the disease and food recommendations to pursue.  It's a personal decision on how you proceed, but the oncologist will guide you.  I wish you all the best going forward with your sweet girl!


Mary, Otis, and Flynn, with Harley (ATB), Biggs (ATB) and Leo (ATB) 
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