What would you do? Lymphoma question
Submitted by Beth Maya and D... on December 3, 2010 - 11:04pmI have a 10 or 11 year old female bulldog (she was a rescue so we are not sure how old she is). She was just diagnosed with Lymphoma last Sunday and she was very, very sick and anemic all week. To the point where I thought I might lose her. The steroids finally started kicking in and she is so much better. She is walking, eating, drinking, going outside. Obviously she's not 100%, but I am so happy to not see her so sick and miserable.
Maya is my heart and I am still trying to figure out what type of treatment I should do. I am leaning towards just doing the steroids because of her age. She would have about 2 months. If I do chemo, I was told maybe 10 months. She has no other health problems. The doctor is supporting my decision, but sometimes I am second guessing it and I thought I would ask other bulldog owners what they would do.
Thanks in advance.
Leroy my first bulldog was diagnosed with lymphnoma when he was
11 1/2 years old. I did not choose to do chemo because of his age and I did not want him to suffer being sick from the drugs so that he could be around longer for me. I had 2 1/2 months to love and spoil him before I had to let him go. He was an amazing dog and was the center of my world. I have no regrets for my decision. It is a hard choice to make. Everyone is different. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Just do what you think is best and hopefully you can find peace in that.
I'm so sorry about your girl...
lymphoma is a tough diagnosis. Our boy Oscar got it when he was 5. Since he was so young, we decided to do chemo for him and he did pretty well, not sick too often but vomiting was one of the side effects. He was on the Madison Wisconsin protocol which is 25 weeks. He went into remission right away and stayed there until week 24, right before the end of his treatment. They changed the drugs and we did get a second remission, but it didn't last as long as the first. We ended up buying him 8 months and it was hard on him and us - although we wouldn't give up a minute of the time we had with him we always knew our time was limited. And it was very expensive. Some dogs do have longer remissions, but your girl is older and it might be harder on her. I don't envy you the choice you have to make, I'm sure you will choose whatever is best for your girl. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at Edd4iron@aol.com.
I'm sorry
The others with experience have given you the best advice I believe you can get with 2 different sides. I think age has a lot to do with the decision.
Norbert was diagnosed with cancer at age 11. We didn't have a choice in treatment but If we had because of his age I would have made his life as comfortable as possible and not opted for treated like chemo.
Whatever choice you make will be the right one for your girl because you know her best.
Best Wishes.
Deb
i would just do the
i would just do the steriods. Higgy is the same age and he is having on going issues. I would not do anything that has to do with anesthisia.
another vote for no chemo
at that age it would not be a viable option for me. I had a female, age 2 when she was diagnosed so we tried the chemo. She went so fast we barely made it two months. It ripped us apart and her last few days were hellish at the vet. Extremely expensive as well. I am SO SORRY for you and your bulldog. It really stinks.
If there is improvement with the steroids I would stick with that.
Hugs,
Barbara
If I were in your shoes
I would not do the chemo. I would do what was neccessary to keep her comfortable and love her to pieces.
I'm sorry you are going through this
Lynn King CPDT-KA
Thank you for all of your help and advice
It will be a hard decision, but I know what I need to do. I just need to make sure not to let her go too soon or let her get too sick. One of the things that crushed me this week when she was so sick was she seemed not to have any recognition of who I was. That seriously killed me. I have informed my family that it is all about Maya. She will be spoiled. Want soft dog food? You got it. Want to lay on my pillow? You got it. She came from such a bad beginning that I will make sure her end is wonderful. Thanks to everyone again.