Hi......would be interested in any experiences of chemo for lymphoma - both the good and the bad please.  What stage was your dog at when chemo was commenced?  What did he have drug wise?  How long did the chemo last? What side-effects did your dog experience?  How long did  your dog survive after chemo?  Did you get full remission?

In hindsight, would you repeat the experience if you found yourself in the same situation again?

Sorry for all the questions and no prizes for guessing the decision I am trying to make with regards my 12 year old.  Any input appreciated.
Tx.

We sadly had one with this.   Diagnosed at 12.   At the time, apart from the hard lumps I felt which took me to my vet, I'd not have known he was ill.   After discussion, and even if dogs do tolerate Chemo better than humans, this still means vet trips which for some dogs, is enough stress without having cancer, we opted for no treatment.   He had 6 months totally normal time with us after his diagnosis to the point I started to think the diagnosis was wrong!    Not so - on his final day he just 'crashed'.   Didn't come for his second meal with the others and I found him collapsed in the living room.

My neighbour had an elderly hound - 14+ - who she put through Chemo and afterwards said for the little 'extra' time he had, it wasn't worth subjecting him to the stress of vet visits.   She said never again.  We'd moved by the time this happened, so I didn't see first-hand how he was but for me, it would depend on the individual animal, his age, the prognosis with or without Chemo.

Thank you for replying. :)

Sadly someone I know had this in a fairly young Australian Sheppard, believe she tolerated the chemo well but it only bought her time around a year, although if I remember rightly suggested it would be two.

Hello, this is my first post on the forum. I have been a lurker for a while but too chicken to post . I considered sending you a pm but thought ,what good does that do others in the same position?

Sadly I do have experience of lymphoma and chemo to treat it. I know how hard it is to decide what to do for the best and I have been  sick to my stomach thinking about your situation.

In January of 2008 my mum's 11 year old bitch was diagnosed with lymphoma. After much debate within the family we felt that we had to do everything we possibly could to help her. We decided that we would club together to pay for the chemo as she was not insured- the cost ended up being  more than £5000. This was much more than the initial estimate the vet hospital gave us, but we probably would have gone ahead anyway.

The treatment was a 16 week course of chemo. She attended the vet hospital weekly to receive the treatment. The first week she had to stay there for a few days, after that she attended 3 weeks out of 4. The chemo made her feel crappy and she would have vomiting for a few days after. We would get her back to eating only to have her go back for the chemo and feel sick again. We soldiered on until the end of the course and she was by then in full remission  - all bloods in normal range .Once the course of chemo was finished she attended the vet hospital monthly to have bloods checked etc.

One year after diagnosis -  after 7 months of remission - the lymphoma was back. We decided not to do any more intensive treatments and she was put on 12.5mg of prednisolone daily. She was monitored at our own vet weekly and then monthly. She continued to do well, with good quality of life, until January of 2010 when she began to slowly deteriorate. We finally had to let her go in the February when she suddenly lost the use of her tongue and was pts promptly to avoid any distress.

She lived for 2 years and 2 months from the start of the illness. we had been told that 2 years would be the absolute maximum so we felt very lucky that she had what we felt was a good quality of life for those extra years.

We also had the sadness two years later of having one of her sons also diagnosed with lymphoma. We opted for no chemo and he was treated with steroids by our own vet. He only lived for 2 months  - but they were happy months for him with special treats and plenty of raspberries every day which were his favourite.

Another of her sons also had lymphoma and had no treatment of any kind . He only lived another 4 weeks before being pts.

I am led to believe that just like people react differently to chemo , so each dog will cope differently. Some will sail through it with few side effects and some will have a harder time.

I have to say that for myself , if my dog was otherwise healthy ( I know how silly that sounds, but you know what I mean), and was not too old for the breed, and  money was no object , I would go for the chemo- because I would want to feel I'd tried everything I could. You can always start and see how the dog copes - and how you cope too. No matter what you decide. I wish you the very best.