My cat has lymphoma with mixed types. What treatment should I get?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Trixie. I am sorry to hear about her recent diagnosis. Unfortunately, gastrointestinal lymphoma can be a longterm consequence of inflammatory bowel disease in cats. I am glad that will consult with an oncologist. There are actually a variety of treatment protocols, some of which can be oral tablets given at home. Cats tend to tolerate chemotherapy really well. They do not usually lose hair like human cancer patients will. There can be some nausea, but this is generally mild and there are good medications to control it. The main side effects tend to be white blood cell suppression. For this reason, her blood work will be monitored carefully. I hope this information helps!

Hi there and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The costs for this will vary depending on what chemotherapy agents are used and length of treatment and response to treatment. Costs for these drugs can vary depending on what veterinary hospital you go to. Typically, for low grade (small cell) lymphoma, oral chemotherapy agents can be used. These can be expensive and may be over $100 a month. I hope this helps and thanks again for posting!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am sorry to hear that. Lymphoma is an aggressive disease in cats, especially when in the gastrointestinal system and in circulation. Usually even with chemotherapy you are looking at a prognosis of 2-6 months depending on the exact type of lymphoma. You could try prednisolone as a palliative treatment to make her feel better for the time being and perhaps extend her survival time for a few weeks. If she is already anemic, she may also require a blood transfusion making things a bit more complicated. If she is not doing well and you are not interested in pursuing therapy knowing the prognosis then euthanasia is a good option. Let me know if you have further questions regarding her disease. Sorry for the sad news!

These are great questions. Contrary to popular belief, most cancer patients in veterinary medicine have completely unremarkable bloodwork. Just because there are many extra lymphocytes in the walls of the intestines, does not mean there are extra lymphocytes in the blood stream - where our sample comes from. We can be suspicious of it from an ultrasound but cannot truly diagnose it without the biopsy. As for the second part, small cell lymphoma is a disease that affects large sections of or almost the entire small bowel. It is not a single mass that can be removed. Luckily for you, small cell lymphoma responds well to chemotherapy in most cases. Best wishes to you and Trixie.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Lymphoma is in fact a cancer. This is typically treated with chemotherapy. There are many chemotherapy options that can be considered such as a multi agent protocol called CHOP. There are other chemotherapeutic medications that can be considered depending on what your veterinarian has available. In general, chemotherapy is well-tolerated in dogs when done appropriately. If not able to proceed with chemotherapy, there are other options like prednisone therapy alone which in itself can help dogs with lymphoma though for a very short amount of time. The prognosis with chemotherapy varies and depends on the type of lymphoma he has (B-cell vs. T-cell) and the treatment chosen. The prognosis varies between 6 to 12 months with chemotherapy and about 2 months on just prednisone. Please feel free to request a consultation with me if you have more specific questions. Good luck!

Hello, and thanks for your question. I'm sorry to hear about Trixie's diagnosis! It's great that you're working with an oncologist; I can tell you're wanting to provide the best care for Trixie. Most cats do feel better and perk up on the medication. If her appetite was down, you may see her start eating a bit better, and if you had noticed lethargy you may see her perk up and act more social again. Often we can see an increase in both appetite and thirst, which leads to more urination as well. Generally we don't see too many other side effects from the medications, and your oncologist will want to know if you do have concerns with how Trixie is feeling on the meds, as they may tweak the dose based on how Trixie's responding. I have seen a few animals go into remission, but I would defer to the oncologist on the actual numbers, as they see far more cases than we do in general practice! Hope this helps. Hugs to you and Trixie.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Phoebe! Lymphoma is a diffuse cancer. It usually isn't a solitary mass but is throughout the entire organ. In Phoebe's case all her lung tissue. So Lymphoma is treated with chemotherapy not surgery usually. Since you are willing to treat, ask for a lung aspirate or biopsy. They can biopsy the lung, culture it for bacteria and do a fungal culture. Sometimes you have to be the health advocate for your pet! It's not an easy surgery and aspirates are risky. But if you want to know what is going on then you should try to get an answer. Also since you have been seeing a specialist maybe they can use a scope to get the samples. I hope this helps and I wish you and Phoebe the best!