Treating a dog with lymphoma

[Curlewwoohoo]

My 12yo lurcher might have lymphoma. We don't know yet, waiting for test results. But if he does, I was surprised to hear that there are some treatment options. I realise it's not something they get better from so you are buying time. I am interested to here any experiences of this? Particularly maybe steroids? My concerns would be, how do you know when it's time to call it a day, did it just feel like a ticking time bomb?

My sister’s dog has this, came as a big shock. She is only 3 years old. She had her leg amputated and then six sessions of chemo over the course of eight months. Unfortunately it has now spread to her lungs so she only has a few weeks left. She reacted very well to the chemo and it did prolong her life, but now they’ve made the decision not to do any more chemo and just keep her comfortable. If she had reacted badly to the chemo, then I think they would’ve made the decision to stop earlier.

Very sorry to hear your news

Back in 2019 our old boy was diagnosed with a terminal cancer

He only had a few weeks left by the vets estimate once diagnosed so we were given pain killers and steroids for him

In the 2 weeks before diagnosis He was absolutely 100% acting normally and for the first few days on the pills as well.
He went down hill quickly by the fourth day on the pills, I don't know if it was the steroids that made him feel off or the cancer spreading but it was very obvious that he had had enough and wanted to stop.

So sorry your going through this

Fingers crossed it could still be something else, such as IBS apparently! But if they do say it's a 'diffuse cancer' I just want to be a bit prepared and have thoughts on whether to treat or not.

No experience myself but my friend's dog had Lymphoma and was treated with chemo and did very well after for a number of years. I have a feeling he was younger though around 7/8 years. It was also very expensive and not all covered by insurance.

I had a cat that had treatment for lymphoma - but I believe protocols and prognosis are different for dogs.

But I’d find out what the treatment options are and go from there, keeping in mind that chemo for pets is very different than for people, the aim is to give the longest good quality of life rather than just the longest, so they do lower doses and are aiming for no side effects.

Also, if you do decide on a treatment - if it doesn’t agree with them, you can just stop.

Thanks for the responses so far. Wondering if anyone's had direct experience of treating with steroids?

@Curlewwoohoo how's it going? My dog has Lymphoma and have started steroids - no chemotherapy.

Hi @Objectrelations actually on further testing my boy doesn't have lymphoma, it's something else. He's being treated and is slowly picking up. I hope the steroids work to give yours some quality time. Best wishes!