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Update - Dog has been diagnosed with Lymphoma!

13K views 36 replies 21 participants last post by  Andy Carlson 
#1 · (Edited)
**Update 10/21 in 1st post** Update - Dog has been diagnosed with Lymphoma!

***Update***

well, we treated him for the liver flukes, which I mentioned further back in this thread, it was a gamble but worth trying. They put him on phenbezdinal and biltricide for a week. Since then , he has had diarrhea and vomited once, both on the same day.

he started the treatment on Wednesday 10/3.

No more blood in his stool

Solid stool

no vomitting

he is now eating again - 4 cups a day since approximately 10/9.

he runs to his food bowl and devours his food. and has put some noticeable weight back on. his ribs are starting to fill out again.

his attitude is much much better.


I spoke with my vet again yesterday, and although we are by no means out of the woods on this, as he could still have cancer, but also had a parasite on top of that. My vet is going to check with the specialist, and see if we should treat again at the three week mark, and then again at three months, if we are still progressing.

This has been an up and down roller coaster the past few weeks, but it has had some good outcomes so far, and i'm going to hang onto that while I can.

*******





This is a follow up to a couple threads i started over the past year. This is the most recent one:

http://www.retrievertraining.net/fo...ill-won-t-eat-vets-can-t-figure-it-out-either


Well, he has continued to drop weight, and then had some spouts of diarrhea with blood in it sunday and yesterday. so I talked to my vet and got referred to an internal medicine specialist in the Metro.

I went there today, they did another battery of tests and an ultrasound, and on the ultrasound they found lymphoma all over and attacking his liver and intestines (which is what caused the bloody stool).

basically, he told me my only option is to give him chemo, or put him down soon (he recommended less then a week) due to the fact that his organs could shut down overnight, or his intestine could tear open due to the inflammation and disease.

I am very torn here, part of me is relieved to know what is actually wrong with him, but he is only 6 years old, and he "is not supposed to get cancer this young"...

when i left the vet I was convinced that I was going to take him hunting this weekend, so he can enjoy the field one last time and then have him put down early next week.


But......here is what is killing me right now. He actually ate today, has not had diarrhea since yesterday afternoon, and myself, my wife and daughter went on a long walk in the woods with him today. He is not slowing down, and acts happy and normal when outside.

It is killing me inside now to put him down, because i feel guilty that i'm possibly taking 2 weeks, 2 months, time unknown, from him, before he truly needs to go down. But on the other hand, I do not want him suffering at all, and would rather him go out happy.

They gave me a prescription of prednisone for him, which they said could make him better in the short term.


Any members out there that have dealt with Lymphoma in their dog, can you please give me some insight here, and your experiences, so I can make this decision easier. I do not want to take any good days from him, but at the same time, I do not want him to experience even one "bad day".

I'm really at a loss right now..... i'm looking at my best friend laying at my feet right now, and I want nothing but the best for him, whichever option that is.



and for those of you that see these symptoms in your dog, see an internal medicine specialist ASAP, do not wait a year like I did. I could have helped him, and I didn't.
 
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#29 ·
well, we got all of the pathology reports back, and what got sent in, does not have lymphoma, but they said this can happen and want to do a full biopsy of his liver. I am not going to do chemo, so i am not going to do a full biopsy.

The only other thing but cancer he could have (according to my vet, the internal specialist, and pathologist) is a liver fluke/parasite, which is not ever seen in this part of the country. but it is only $150 for meds to treat this, so we are taking him off of the prednisone, and trying this treatment.

I know it is a .000000005% chance of actually being something other than cancer, but I owe it to him and myself to at least try it for the 7 days and see what happens. I've seen weirder things happen in my life...

If there is no change in his diet, and stool/vomiting, then we will put him back on the prednisone and then take things day by day, part ways when it is the proper time.

I am taking him out west hunting this weekend, even though we probably should take it easy, but I think he deserves to get some ducks in his mouth, since this could be his last trip ever.

Thank you all for your support and recommendations through this trying time for my family and I.
 
#30 ·
Best of luck to you and enjoy every moment you have with him. Good thoughts coming your way.
 
#32 ·
I hope he continues to improve!!
 
#33 ·
Enjoy every day you have together. Every day matters!

Glad he is feeling so much better.
 
#34 ·
Just read your update... cautiously optimistic for you! At least he's feeling better RIGHT NOW. Enjoy every day with him, I hope there are many more.
 
#35 ·
finished the "3 week cycle" of wormer a week ago. still eating, still gaining weight... :-D


I know i'm still just going day by day, and have come to terms he may crash hard one day if it is still cancer, but every day I see improvement makes me hope for the best.
 
#36 ·
In some ways, going day by day is a gift that makes us appreciate every single day we have with our dogs.

Glad he is doing better so far, and that today was a good day.
 
#37 ·
Treasure each and every day. Glad he is doing better.
 
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