Should I continue chemo for my senior dog with lymphoma? Prognosis?

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, 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 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.

Cutaneous lymphoma unfortunately has a poor prognosis. Certain types of chemotherapy can help, and are really the only option for this cancer, with the main goal is to keep his quality of life as good as possible. I recommend discussing what options are available to you, even potentially getting a referral to a veterinary oncologist who can help you decide what treatment protocol would work best for Indy.

I'm so sorry you and Fendi are going through this. Please consider a referral to a veterinary oncologist for a consultation to see what options are available for Fendi's treatment. There are chemotherapy protocols for canine lymphoma treatment/management that may be good options for Fendi, but they need to be started asap. Fendi may be acting normal now, but if left untreated, lymphoma in dogs can be fatal in a matter of weeks. The good news is that in dogs where lymphoma is treated with chemotherapy protocols and goes into remission, the dogs usually feel good, and often seem to be back to “normal” while in remission. The oncologist and your regular veterinarian can work with you to find the best plan for you and Fendi based on Fendi’s overall health and response to treatment. Please see the following links for more information and to learn more about staging: https://caninelymphoma.com/ https://caninelymphoma.com/canine-lymphoma-stages/ https://vet.purdue.edu/pcop/canine-lymphoma-research.php

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 :-(

I'm sorry Katie has lymphoma. Lymphoma generally is not painful. The clinical signs usually are weakness and lethargy, poor appetite, exercise intolerance and sometimes difficulty eating and breathing if the lymph nodes in the neck get very large and put pressure on the throat area. This cancer is fairly responsive to chemotherapy and the dogs often go into remission for several months depending on the drug protocol. When the cancer returns though usually the dogs decline quickly and need to be euthanized when their quality of life is poor. I hope she can maintain a good quality of life for a while longer. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Katie.