Has anyone else ever dealt w/this? He has lost 10% of his weight in 1 month. He is a chow mix, and feisty and has a great appetite. In other words, you would never know he was sick. I am in shock.
2006-10-26 16:19:14 · 7 answers · asked by tvlscat@flash.net 5 in Pets ➔ Dogs
old dog. spend money to have it live a little longer and ease the suffering or time to end the suffering
2006-10-26 16:27:15 · answer #1 · answered by breastfed43 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You are making the right choice by consulting a veterinary oncologist. Lymphoma is a treatable cancer in dogs and the prognosis with treatment can be 1-2 years. Most people have an initial aversion to the idea of chemotherapy for animals because of personal experiences with loved one. The goal of chemotherapy in veterinary medicine is different than people. The hope is for a good quality life free of disease (remission). Dogs do not lose their hair but can suffer some side effects. I have personally seen many dogs do well with lymphoma treatment. He obviously has a friend that cares very much for him.
2006-10-27 03:36:08 · answer #2 · answered by diogidoc 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Lymphoma can occur in the lymph nodes, spleen, liver, and other organs. The cancer can be aggressive and if left untreated, can lead to a high mortality. Treatment with chemotherapy has been very successful adding months and occasionally years to the dog's life. Lymphomas primarily affect middle age to older dogs. There does not appear to be a breed or sex predilection. Only 10% to 20% of dogs are clinically ill at presentation. Lymphoma is diagnosed with a combination of diagnostic tests. Blood tests, fine needle aspirates of the tumor, biopsies, x-rays and ultrasound are all used to confirm the diagnosis of lymphoma. The exact tests performed will depend on the location of the tumor. The treatment for lymphoma in the dog consists of chemotherapy. Lymphoma is considered a systemic disease, which makes surgery and radiation impractical and ineffective. There is a wide variety of chemotherapy protocols and drugs that are currently being used to treat lymphoma. The treatment usually consists of a combination of oral and injectable drugs given on a weekly basis. Some commonly used drugs include cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, and prednisone. The exact treatment protocol will vary depending on the practitioner. Some owners choose not to treat dogs that develop lymphoma. The life expectancy of these untreated dogs averages 4 to 6 weeks. Oral prednisone therapy may reduce the swellings and discomfort, but probably will not appreciably extend their life span. It must also be noted that oral prednisone treatment prior to chemotherapy is not recommended and may actually reduce the effectiveness of the chemotherapy. In dogs that do undergo one of the recommended chemotherapy protocols, life expectancy can extend out to a year and occasionally longer. However, even dogs that receive appropriate chemotherapy usually do not live longer than a year. If a dog tolerates chemotherapy (most dogs do) their quality of life can be quite good during the treatment period.
Good luck to your dog and give him hugs & kisses for me. I had my Siberian Husky die from cancer 6 months ago, but his was extremely hard to diagnose since it progressed very rapidly. We ended up diagnosing it 1 week before he died. I'm glad your vet was able to detect your dog's cancer now and not when it was to late.
2006-10-26 23:33:38 · answer #3 · answered by Vet_Techie_Girl 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I know it sounds cruel, but before you put a lot of money into making him well you should consider jsut putting him down. He is eventually going to die, even if you do take him to the oncologist. Let him go in peace.
2006-10-26 23:29:34 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
That is sad.
He is the equivalent of 70 years old.
The treatment will make him very uncomfortable and can cost $10,000.
He may not recover.
Is it worth it to put him through the agony of treatment or let the vet put him to sleep?
Do you love him enough to do what is best for him?
2006-10-26 23:28:28 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
last year my dog had cancer and the day we decided to put her to sleep she died. This wont be easy to do but you cannot think about yourself, Think about the dog and what he will have to go through and what's best for him. Its a tough decision but putting him to sleep may be the best thing for him but make sure you have a good talk with the vet about it first. I am very sorry about your dog I know haw hard this is.
2006-10-26 23:28:45 · answer #6 · answered by jaws65 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
7.62 mm cost $1.10
2006-10-26 23:27:33 · answer #7 · answered by TrOpPo 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋