My dog has skin lymphoma. Will chemotherapy help his severe symptoms?

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!

I hate to hear that about Lennon. It’s so tough when they have multiple health concerns. I do agree that you should find out if he has lymphoma or not. This will at least allow you to make informed decisions and to understand an appropriate prognosis and timeline as to what you should expect. There are several ways to diagnose lymphoma and one common and very easy way to do it is with a aspiration of the lumps. This procedure is virtually painless and does not require sedation or stitches. It can generally diagnose lymphoma but is not 100%. Once you know if there is lymphoma present or not, you must decide if putting Lennon through chemotherapy makes sense for you and for him. There is no wrong or right answer to this question. The main thing is you will not let Lennon suffer and realize that without chemotherapy, he will succomb to his illness a lot faster. I hope this helps to point yiunin the right direction and that you found it helpful. Please feel free to post any additional questions.

Poor Millie. Chemo is an option but you will need to have access to a veterinary oncologist. I would talk to your vet about referring you to an oncologist if you have one in your area. If not, the best option would be to start her on steroids. Steroids isn't a cure but it can help improve her symptoms/clinical signs. It will help make her have a good quality of life during her time left. I hope this helps!

In my experience lymphoma is a cancer that responds well to chemotherapy. Generally the lymph nodes shrink quickly and the dogs quality of life improves while in remission. Due to your dog's age and stage of cancer you may not get a long period of remission but Fei Fei should feel well during that time. So if you are seeing improvement in his clinical signs I would continue the recommended chemotherapy protocol. Remember to enjoy everyday with Fei Fei. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to get answers to your veterinary questions.

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.

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!

Hi there. I am sorry that Cain is having this issue. When clients cannot afford to do the long course of chemotherapy the next best option is to do high doses of oral steroids (prednisone) which is extremely inexpensive. A dog his size would it would probably only cost you $20 or less a month to do this. Did your vet not offer you this option? The prednisone will not cure the lymphoma but it will certainly slow the course of disease. It will reduce the swelling of the lymph nodes for sure. This may only help for a few months but it is better than no treatment. If you are not going to do any treatment at all the best option is humane euthanasia so that Cain does not suffer. Really, I think you and Cain will be very happy with steroid therapy. Please call your vet back and ask about this option. Hope this helps. Best wishes.