My dog has lymphoma. What's the prednisone limit & life expectancy?

First off, I'm sorry that Roxy has lymphoma (cancer of the lymph nodes)! Yes, your vet is correct that this treatment protocol can give her more time with you. Each dog responds differently to the treatment, but with chemotherapy, the median survival time is 6-12 months. Given I can't see her in person, I can't say for certain how long she is survive, but I do recommend following your vet's recommendations to increase your time with her. Again, I'm sorry about her diagnosis :-(

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am sorry to hear Diesel isn’t feeling well. The prednisone is supposed to help slow the growth of the cancer but eventually it won’t be effective. Prednisone alone isn’t enough to cure him. If he is getting worse and the lymph nodes are growing it is likely the prednisone is no longer helping. I would discuss your options with the vet that diagnosed him but there isn’t much more they can do for him. I am so sorry and I hope the rest of his life is pain free. Good luck and kisses to Diesel!

Hello, Im so sorry to hear about Nemo. There are various types of lymphoma that have different degree of aggressiveness. Although steroids is one form of treatment, there are multiple other chemotherapy agents that could increase his life expectancy. With steroids alone however, expect survival time is about 1-3 months depending on the type of lymphoma. Additional chemotherapy can increase survival time up to a year. If you're interested in chemotherapy for Nemo, have your veterinarian consult with or refer Nemo to see an oncologist. He may need additional testing to determine the type of lymphoma he has and offer you a better informed prognosis for him. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Hi there! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is a common question I encounter as I only see cancer patients and lymphoma is very common in my practice. Prednisone is good for lymphoma though as you are noticing, lymphoma will eventually progress, as noted by peripheral lymph node enlargement. Normally, lymphoma will not cause clinical signs for some time until it enters more of the end stage. Lymphoma is not typically a painful disease and it is more of a debilitating disease. For this reason, what you will notice at the end is clinical signs such as lethargy, decreased appetite and Brandi just not being interested in the normal things that she enjoys. The median survival time of dogs with multicentric lymphoma just on prednisone is about 2 to 2 and 1/2 months. Usually I tell my clients that the time to consider humane euthanasia is when they are not doing 3 out of their 5 favorite things. Good luck with your girl!

I'm sorry to hear that Daisy received this diagnosis. There are certainly risks and benefits to both options with respect to side effects, life span and cost. Side effects of prednisone in the short term can cause excessive drinking and urination. Some animals with underlying heart disease can go into congestive heart failure and other animals can develop diabetes as a result of the high doses of corticosteroids given in these situations. Around 40% of dogs can achieve remission for 4-6 weeks with prednisone alone, but this is certainly based upon an individual's response to medication and if any metastatic (spread) of disease is present. Obviously, this treatment is much less expensive, but a much shorter survival time is expected. Daisy's chemotherapy protocol is based on whether she has B cell or T cell lymphoma and if any metastatic disease is present. As a generalized statement, lymphoma responds to chemotherapy better than most cancers. Oncologists strive to administer chemotherapeutic drugs at doses that will kill cancerous cells while avoiding as many side effects as possible. The side effects possible vary with different chemotherapeutic drugs. In short, there is no right or wrong choice. You need to evaluate both options to determine your comfort level. If you haven't already done so, consider a consultation with a veterinary oncologist for more information. I hope this helps!

Steroids usually makes a dog more lethargic rather than anything else, so i do believe it is the lymphoma causing all these symptoms unfortunately, it might also be a sign that the prednisone is not working.

Dexamethasone is 7 times stronger than prednisolone and has an increased rate of GI upset or stomach ulcers. Typically on prednisolone is used in cat because prednisone is broken down to prednisolone--so it is easier to start with the broken down form already. Prednisolones are specifically used when talking about lymphoma due to the potential side effects of dexamethasone. Dr.s chooses one over the other base on preference or what you are treating -- specific diseases have research to back the use of one--lymphoma does better with prednisolone. You will not see a fast improvement with just prednisolone or even if you added stronger chemo. It is a slow progress no matter what. Just using prednisolone you can see a good appetite, no change in diarrhea, no added weight gain. It merely suppress the cancer cells temporarily and helps them feel better. Even with other chemos, it is long term process with slow results---2-4 months to see improvement with the diarrhea in severe cases. They stay on the medicine long term and the doses can be alternated based on how each patient responds