# 5.5 year old V suspected lymphoma



## CharlieBrown (Jan 18, 2012)

Since I got my first V Charlie 5.5 years ago I've lurked around this forum from time to time. But today I feel the urge to put Charlie's story out there hoping that some benefit of it will come...

This past weekend my family spend time camping in the Kootaney's of BC and at some point on the trip we noticed Charlie had two swollen looking bumps on his hind legs. Well my wife took a picture and sent it to one of her best friends who is a vet and she responded immediately that it looks like lymphoma. Well yesterday we took him in to the vet and they found that basically all of his lymph nodes are swollen to some degree  He was tested for tick infections, leukemia, and a bunch of other tests focused on his blood and all tests came back negative. The samples from his nodes are available this Friday or forsure next Monday, but the vet has stated that his swelling and overall lack of other symptoms is classic lymphoma and that she is 95% sure this will hold true. 

It's disheartening to hear that without treatment he could pass within 3-4 months as he seems normal at the moment beyond the swelling. In reading other various posts on forums this seems typical. Last night was pretty difficult on the home front but we're faced with the reality of rapidly choosing the next steps which include treatment options.

Chemo is certainly an option and there seems to be positive results out there but the extended time frame seems so small (1-2 years if we're lucky). 

The biggest challenge for us is that our son is 2.5 years old and can't really understand our distress nor grasp that our family dog is sick. In some sense it would be easier on our son now to lose his dog then to go through this at a time where he might understand the situation. On top of that my wife is due with our second child in 4 weeks so the timing couldn't be any worse on her!

If any of you have positive or negative stories about the Chemo treatment pathway it would be greatly appreciated if you could give some advice. As on today we are indicating to the vet that we'll go the chemo route but we've been informed that oncologist will not be available until late next week which seems troublesome to me given the rapid progression of this disease. 

We hold hope that the 5% chance that it's not lymphoma is true so there is some positives to take :sad


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I don't have any information on chemo treatments. Just wanted to say I will keep Charlie, and your family in my thoughts, and prayers.


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## NutterButter (Mar 5, 2016)

So sorry to hear about Charlie. So hard to say goodbye to our canine pals whether it is 5 years or 20 years.

For what it is worth from my lifetime of dogs and those of friends and family. For some reason dogs do not seem to get much response from chemo in my (limited) experience and from what I have read. My friends experience has been that those who chose to do nothing or surgery only (with pain management though) seemed to have roughly the same 2 year survival rate as those who chose chemo, but the dogs who had chemo seemed to suffer from the treatment. A vet I talked to about this said they will do chemo for those who just feel like they "have to do something" but she really did not believe it extended dog's lives at all.

For our Manchester Terrier who had a melanoma removed, I had her treated with a vaccine that was meant to use her own immune system to build up antibodies against future melanoma complications. I am convinced that caused her organ failure within 2 years and just wish I had researched it more for effectiveness and potential complications. Organ failure is now a well known potential side effect of those treatments which activate your immune system to fight cancer. Her melanoma was removed with good margins and I am still beating myself up over that decision, not to mention I spent something like $3,000 on it.

Do as much research as you can, talk to your vet, and go from there. 

And by the way, congratulations ! As much as we love our dogs, our human family really is our foundation and our future.


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## organicthoughts (Oct 9, 2012)

Fellow BC'er here....

If you decide to not go the chemo route, I'd advise you to look into alternative options like Chinese Medicine. There's a few really good vets out here that have treated cancers with a ketogenic diet, as well as supportive herbs that have prolonged the lives of many animals far longer than what chemo would even provide. I live on the Island and have used vet clinics - Phoenix Rising and Balanced Paws, both in Courtenay. If I were you I'd call them and see if they can recommend some vets in your area that understand these types of therapies.


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## LoriD (Jun 24, 2017)

I am new to this forum, just found it today in fact. I was searching for information on Vizslas and cancer, as we just had almost the same experience. At a routine annual physical, our vet discovered our 8yo boy had swollen lymph glands...the head, chest and back leg... We just got the results of his biopsy..lymphoma. 

We are going to see an oncologist on Monday. Not sure what we will do yet, but I am going to follow this thread to see if anyone has any experience. My heart goes out to you and your family.. such a tough prognosis... hopefully you will get a negative on the lymphoma..

congrats on the baby on the way!


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