My sister has just heard that the results of biopsies have confirmed the diagnosis - her boxer has lymphoma.
She had seen the vet Monday, who thought it was lymphoma, had biopsies taken on Tue, the results ready this morning.

My sister is obviously very upset, she's due in to see the vet today to talk about possible treatment options. I've suggested she come here, to CD, as there is a lot of exprerience here that may help her make a decision and above all supportive people that truley understand a dog is never 'just' a dog.

My sisters boxer, Pip, is a speyed female, only 6 years old and seemingly full of life. You'd not know there was anything wrong with her. Bless her, she has enjoyed her trips to the vets this week, she loves going out in the car, loves going to the vets.....She hasn't a clue what's wrong with her, the only symptom being swollen glands in her neck.

Poor Pip, life can be so unfair :( :( :( :(

I've no experience in cancer in dogs (thankfully) but I just couldn't read and not say how sorry I am to read about Pip.  Hope your sister does come along as even if there is no happy outcome stories(which I hope there are!), at least she will be among like minded folk.

There are some good result stories but quite honestly they are very few and far between.
In 2008 my Golden heartdog had Lymphoma at just coming up 11 years of age. I put her through Chemo and she went into remission after her first dose. However, after about 8 treatments she came out of remission and we were never able to get her back into remission again and sadly lost her about 6 weeks later.
It is a very hard call to make and very expensive too. Ask me would I do it again then my answer would be yes as I would have to try and see if I could be one of the very very few good results. There are some dogs in America that are 5 years in remission and Vets have signed them off as cured (one dog is now 13 years plus) but quite honestly more are lost than are cured so a very hard decision to make.
I feel so so sorry for your sister having to make this decision. The only 'good' thing is that it is a painless cancer but it is also very wearing on your nerves worrying all the time. Every moment of my day was taken by worrying about her, my husband worked shifts so I would be telephoning from work asking had she eaten, how was she doing and at lunchtime I would walk along the supermarket shelves looking for things to tempt her appetite. Funnily enough when we lost her I would still wander around the supermarket wondering what to do with myself.
There is a Lymphoma forum in America on yahoo groups that she could join that can give her ideas if she decides to go down the chemo route. Wish she wasn't having to make this decision and I really hope I never have to again.

I have recently been through this hideous disease with my dog, he like your sisters was very well in himself, they dont aim to cure purely to give them approx 9-12 months. He was diagnosed 7th June and very suddenly passed 27th July, still heartbroken...He had some chemo and the tumour was shrinking, (saw the ct scan), out of no where he took ill, you would of not known honestly. If I was in the same position again I would do pallitive care. He was insured and I think the total bill was around £5000. You have to take very careful steps with chemo i.e. contamination from saliva, pee and poo. Sorry if I sound negative, think because he was so well I thought he would be ok. It is a horrible position to be in, if I can be of any help xxx

Another one here who has never had to deal with this and can't imagine how heartbreaking it must be to deal with :-(

There is an article in the mail about a Golding who is going through treatment at the moment that might be of interest.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2216506/Oscars-dying-cancer-But-8-000-vets-bills-little-time-dearest-friend-cheap-price.html

> Sorry if I sound negative

Don't worry about that, I can see what a negative situation it is :(

My sister is going down the rout of treating the lymphoma. Luckily, the vets we use do specialise in cancer, taking referals from all over the place, so Pip can be treated there. To complicate things, Pip also has a mast call tumor, this has to be removed on Teusday as treatment for the lymphoma can not start untill the site has healed, which will be 2 weeks from removal of the tumor.

The vet is confidant that Pip is a good candiate for treatment, but has made it very clear that if she doesn't do well on the treatment he will stop it immediately, he's also made it very clear that only a small % of dogs get a remission and without treatment he estimates Pip would have 6 weeks left. He's a great vet, he won't give any false hope and will not put the dog through anything if he doesn't think it is in the dogs best interests. My poor sister came out of the vets yesterday completely heartbroken, but as I said, she's going with the treatment for now.

The treatment will be administered via IV and is a 25 week course, if Pip does well with that she can have another 25 week course. The best outcome would be Pip can get another 12 months, but things have to be taken one step at a time. The first hurdle is for her to have the mast cell tumor removed and still be at a treatable position 2 weeks after that.

Sis has PetPlan insurance, which makes a huge difference, they are the only company the vets will take payment direct from, so sis won't have to worry about the financial side of it, it covers Pip for £6k per condition per year.
I was shocked to find out the cost of the cancer treatment, just the 25 week course of treatment will be approx £2,500.

Sis was unable to concentrate on the smallest thing yesterday so didn't get around to joining CD. She did take Pip for a walk in the rain, who was full-of-beans, jumping in every puddle she could find, bless her.

Thank you all for your advice and support. I'll keep you all up-dated and try to get sis to pop in here later.

Oscar seems to instinctively understand that this treatment is doing him good (Excerpt taken from the Daily Mail).

Weirdly my Shola was a right wimp and hated to be taken from us at any time. However, she used to go like a lamb with the chemo nurses and I used to say to my husband 'it is almost like she knows that we are trying to get her well'.

I have to say that I think your sister is going down the right route and I most certainly will say a prayer that she is one of the few that not only do well but has many years post diagnosis.

Keep us informed.

> I most certainly will say a prayer that she is one of the few that not only do well but has many years post diagnosis.

Thank you, that means a lot.

Have private messaged you with an excerpt from a new post on Lymphoma forum

Having had a dog that underwent chemotherapy (not for lymphoma, but the most aggressive mast cell tumour) just over 2 years ago, and is still with me, I would just like to wish Pip and your sister well. x

Thanks Alison for the info, I'll pass it on to my sister.
She's still not had chance to join the forum yet, unfortunately she has health problems of her own and was in hospital herself on Monday.

A little update on Pip. She went to the vets yesterday (Tue) morning to have 2 lumps removed (not the lymphoma), one from her side and a small one on her hind leg, my sister was warned to expect a large wound from the removal of the lump on her side as they expected to need to take a lot of surrounding tissue.

We got the news in the afternoon that the surgery for the lump on her side whent much better than expected. Only a small amount of surrounding tissue needed removing and the wound is small and was easy to close the skin over  :)

The tiny pea-sized lump on her rear leg was a different story, they had expected this one to be no problem, but the 'roots' of it had spread into the muscle. A portion of muscle had to be removed, on the plus side, the vet said it's lucky Pip has so much muscle so hopefully the amount of muscle that has been lost will not effect her movement. On the negative side, because she is so well-muscled, it was hard to strecth the skin over to close up the site. This will be painfull for her for about 7 days, untill the skin has streched. Due to pain, Pip would have to stay in the vets over-night on drip-fed pain killers, possibly stay in Wed too.

She hadn't woken up properly at this point. But we were all very relived that Pip had made it through the surgery and were looking forward to updates later when she was properly awake. They think they have cut all the cancer away (not the lymphoma), but will be doing further tests on the tumors that were removed.

My sister spoke to the vets early evening, but was told Pip hadn't eaten, or been to wee, sis was to ring back at 7pm for another update.

Sis rang them at 7pm, just to speak to a nurse to see if Pip had eaten yet, but then the panick set in :( She was told on the phone, that there had been an emergency and a vet would have to ring her back in an hour.
Oh my word!!!! we were worried out of our minds. We weren't sure if the emergency was Pip or not.

When the vet rang back, it was even more worrying. The emergency was Pip, her airways had collapsed, she was struggling for breath, they had managed to give her oxygen but it was still 'all hands on deck" and we'd have to wait for them to ring again with an update.

Finally we got the news that Pip had settled down, she was still breathing very noisily but the vet was hopefull Pip would have a settled night, she still had 'breathing aparatus' on and the vet was keeping a close on on her. If there was any change - no matter what time of the night/morning, they'd ring.

No news all night - then news this morning to say that Pip is much better now and can actually come home today!!!! :-D :-D :-D

We're very lucky in that the vets we use is a hospital, they have one of thier own vets thier all night. It's reasuring knowing that a vet we know will be taking care of any pet left in at night.

ETA, actually, that wasn't a 'little' update, was it!

Got everything crossed here.

The vet's didn't use ACE/Ace Promazine? It's a no-no for Boxers can cause problems with the electricals in the heart.

Fingers crossed that Pip will make a good recovery from her ops.

Oh my goodness. It is enough that your sister has Lymphoma to worry about but the other lumps as well AND health problems herself!! I just feel so sorry for her at this moment but glad to hear the news about Pip rallying, I was reading down almost worried at what the outcome would be at the end of the update. Keeping everything crossed for Pip.

A little update on Pip.

I thought the wounds she was left with from the surgery to remove the 2 tumors were small & tidy, but that wasn't the case. The one on her side is large, but tidy and well closed, nothing to worry about.
The one on her rear leg, that the vet had difficulty closing the skin together on, is also large, running up her entire leg from heel to hip. It started to open, causing her pain & distress so Pip was back at the vets at 1am Saterday morning.
She's been there since then and unfortunatley is not doing well.

The wound is opening even more, it desperately needs the staples replaced but she hasn't been eating. The vets think she can't eat due to the lymph glands in her throat which have enlarged (but Pip is a fussy eater at the best if times and would refuse meals when fit & well at home). They also think this is the reason she was struggling for breath following her first surgery.

They don't think she is strong enough to endergo the procedure to close the wound on her leg right now due to her not having eaten.

They can't start the proper course of chemo untill her leg has healed, but Pip is running out of time.

My sister has just updated me and the vet has given her 4 options, I really can't rememebr the first 2 (upset for Pip and upset for the hell my sister is going through with this), but option 3 is to bring Pip home with a dose of different chemo. The plan for this is that the lymph galnds should shrink in 48 hours, making surgery to repair the wound safer, during this surgery a feeding tube will be put in. Option 4 is to have Pip PTS today.

Sis can't face having Pip PTS today at the vets. I suggested she bring Pip home, to everything she knows and loves, spoils her rotten, then calls the vet out to the house. Pip has been through so much and the vet has warned that if Pip is not PTS, then in a couple of weeks my sister may well regret not having done it now.

Hugs to your sister and Pip,

Poor girl, my heart truly goes out to her having lost my veteran Boxer Abby in April I really do know what she's
going through, we had a diagnosis in the January that she had a heart based tumour.
At that point outwardly you'd never have guessed. It was quite a stressful time as I'd just lost my Nan too.

I opted to keep going and take each day as it came.
Well on her final day I knew it was time..we had a couple of times where I'd got myself all worked up that it
was time and she proved me wrong. However this day I knew that even though her eyes were bright and she wanted
to stay with us she wasn't going to be able to for much longer. I made the call to my vet and we took her there.
It broke my heart and I still miss her like crazy (even though I have 4 others).

Trouble is Lymphoma with Boxers is it's quick - and the fact that she isn't eating would worry me and they will go down very quickly
once they have lost the will. I would probably bring her home and see if she would eat for your sister even if she would accept syringed
liquidised food any of her favourites and see how she goes with the proviso that the vets will allow a PTS at home if your sister needs to make that call. (I've had a couple of friends that have lost theirs similar bloodlines within 2 weeks of diagnosis but another that has done well on chemo)

Hugs I really feel for your sister and Pip

How awful and for what it is worth I think getting her home is the most important thing and let the vet come out once she is calm and in her safe and comfortable surroundings with the people that love her.

Very sad time.

Can't begin to describe how sorry I am to hear this. Thinking of your sister and of course Pip. Sadly it brings it all back to me.

So very sorry to hear this update.  Given the same situation I think I would want to bring Pip home, give her loads of love, and have the vet come the next day.

We always have to love them enough to do the right thing, even though it hurts like hell. 

Hugs to all.  Jean  xx

How terribly sad. I really feel for your poor Sister and dear Pip. Getting her home is the right thing to do. x

Another update.

The vets could not carry out the chemo yesterday, Pip was getting far too stressed, so she came home without having it done.

30 mins after Pip was home she ate some cooked chicken!! She would drink water, eat the cooked chicken, but would not eat anything other than that, but that was a huge step forward. She would have gorged on chicken if she had been allowed! Sis was suprised how perky Pip seemed, despite still appearing stressed out.

Pip was back to the vets this morning, for them to attempt the chemo. She was still getting too stressed under a mild sedation, so they had to put her under deepr. She got through it fine and is back home again. As soon as she got indoors, she raced around like a puppy. She is still eating chicken and has even rooted out some old Shmackos, that she'd had buried in her bed, to eat  :)

Sis has been told that things need to be taken day by day now, but Pip is so much happier being at home. The chemo she had today should reduce the swollen glands in her neck, making it safer to do the surgery on Thursday (she's booked in for that), to close the wound on her leg.
They have taken some more staples out of her leg, to let the air in, as the wound has started to smell, but Pip has been on ABs for a couple of days for this allready. Sis said the wound looks horible as you can see the muscle, but Pip doesn't seem too bothered with it. It's healed well on the inside, it's just closing the skin together that hasn't been working properly.

Wow, what an emotional rollercoaster. Sis is due in to a pain clinic herself this thursay, for a different condition than the one she was in hospital for last Monday. I don't know how she's coping with it all!

Thank you all for your support and well wishes, it means a lot.

Well you are right about a rollercoaster but so happy tp hear that Pip has a) eaten and b) raced around enjoying herself. Long may that continue. The Chemo (if it works) will most definitely take down the swelling (it is quite dramatic). I will be thinking about them both as it is a hard ride however the Lymphoma goes. Love to hear updates like this, makes my day!

Your poor Sis & Pip.  Here's hoping they both continue to improve. Please pass on our best wishes.

Keeping everything crossed and loads of positive vibes coming your sister and Pips way.

> As soon as she got indoors, she raced around like a puppy

Now that put a smile on my face.  And I am sure that it did the same for your sister.  Wishing her strength to get through her own health issues.  Sending positive vibes.

Jean

Re.not eating. may I suggest hills ad tinned food.A small tin has enough condensed calories to sustain  an  ill or convalescent dog.I  have  used  this product for many years now with a dog who has had severe health issues.it is a lifesaver IMO.

Everything crossed xxx

Unfortunately, after that little glimmer of hope, I have some sad news.

I've just had an update form my dad. Pip was taken to the vets at about 4 am this morning, the open wound on her leg had got worse - a hole had appeared inside the leg, causing her a lot of pain & distress.

She's been seen by a specialist (that was going to repair her leg), who said he could do a flap graft to reapir the leg, but this would spread cancer cells. The other vet, who has been dealing with Pip, recomended she be PTS as it will just be too much for her.

Pip is currently sedated and will remain sedated untill my sister can get back home to say good bye to her and then she will be PTS.

:( :( :( :(

Oh that is so sad my heart goes out to your sister :-(

I am so sorry :(

Awww I'm so so sorry, my heart goes out to you all

Thinking of you all, words don't seem enough
Hugs
Kirstine and the Boxers

Nothing I can say that will make it better.  I am so very, very sorry.  Sleep peaceful Pip.

There are no words to help but she is giving Pip the greatest act of love, the gift of peace. Wishing your sister strength over the coming days xx
Very sad, RIP Pip x

I know realistically the outcome for Pip wasn't good but I was hopeful that she would have some time ahead. So very very sorry to hear this news. Devastated for your Sister.

So sorry, this hurts so much, love to all of you xxx

How very sad. My condolences to your sister.