My dog has lymphoma :-(

[Obamarama]

I took my Cairn Terrier, Guinness, to the vet the other day because she had a lump on her neck. The vet felt around at all her lymph glands, which were also swollen, and diagnosed her with lymphoma. She's 15, so we were expecting something soon, but it was still heart-wrenching to get the diagnosis. Has anyone else had a dog that was diagnosed with lymphoma? Our vet was very good about explaining how the illness with progress, but if anyone has had any experience with this, I'd like to know what your experience was like.

What's so odd, is that aside from the lump you'd never know she was sick. She's eating like the hoover she's always been and first thing in the morning, right on cue, brings her bone to us to play fetch.

It's tough to see her so "normal" and yet know that she likely only has 3 to six weeks left with us. We're not going to let her suffer, and when it gets to the point where we know she's not feeling well, we'll put her to sleep. It will be devastating to do so, but we will not let her suffer. She's given us 15 years of enjoyment and complete, unconditional love, so that's the least we can do for her.

I'll never have another dog quite like Guinness.

P.S. I tried to post her pic, but I seem to be doomed to never figuring out how to post images on DU, damnit. Anyway, there's a link to her pic below.


http://tinypic.com/view.html?pic=6521i1
<img src="http://tinypic.com/6521i1" alt="Image hosted by TinyPic.com">

[Avalux]

1. I'd hug you if I could -

I've been through this and words escape me right now...so sorry. :hug:

[malachibk]

2. So sorry to hear that.

Losing a dog is hard.

[Obamarama]

3. Actually, we can accept we're going to lose her....

She's 15, has had some health scares before where we thought "this is it", but what's so tough is that she's running around like there's nothing wrong with her, but knowing she's soon going to be leaving us.

[kliljedahl]

4. It'll be rough, but don't do like I did & wait too long

Did that with my last dog, he had renal failure. I thought of myself too much (not consciously, realize that now) & didn't want to let go. Put him through more than he should have gone through. You've had 15 wonderful years. Cherish them & let her go when she needs to, you'll feel much better for it.


Keith’s Barbeque Central

[janx]

5. Our dog was diagnosed with it just after last Christmas.

I'm sorry to hear it. Finn was only 12. She had had some lumps and bumps, being on the elderly side for a golden.

One day, I noticed her out on the deck, barking at nothing. She was a very bright dog--she never did stupid barking for nothing. Then I noticed that she couldn't see. Her eyes (the irises) were red instead of brown. She had lost weight, too.

I took her to the vet and she was diagnosed as having lymphoma. The vet gave us some very low-level chemo pills that we gave her for awhile, and she could see again and seemed so much better. She seemed fine, except for more weight loss, for about a month. And then one day I found her barking in a corner of my home office. The red eyes were back. She knew when I was in the room and stopped barking then, but as soon as I left, she'd resume. It broke my heart. Also, when I called her name, she'd try to look around, but she didn't look toward the sound. After about a week, I couldn't stand it anymore, and I didn't want to put the dog through full-fledged chemo; even the vet acknowledged that he wouldn't do that to one of his own dogs. It prolongs life, but the quality of life in the meantime can be rough.

While your dog is still wagging and happy, give him or her the best. You might not have too many more days to do so. Godspeed, to you and yours. It isn't easy.

[Double T]

6. It is so hard to go through illnesses with family members......

I wish you the best during this difficult time.

[tibbir]

7. My son and I lost a dog to another type of cancer

and the best advice our vet gave us was that if he was the one with the sick animal he'd feed her steak rather than put her through chemo.

It killed us to let our dog go but as soon as we could tell her quality of life was slipping away we took her to the vet to be put down. Our vet was wonderful through the whole thing and made sure Rowdy was treated very gently and humanely. They even supported us throughout the whole ordeal.

I'm sending you my best thoughts as you go through this next period. Like you said, your dog can never be replaced. Just treasure the time you've had together.

[undeterred]

8. I was lucky- My 12 year old dog is a 5 year cancer survivor

He had a tumor on a limb that is most often treated by amputation. However, he has had arthritis for a long time, so he would not have adjusted to 3 legs. He had 12 injections of IL-2 into the tumor to stimulate his immune system to attack the cancer. It worked, and the same treatment is used in human kidney cancer and AIDS.

There is a lot of success in treating companion animal cancers nowadays, especially at some of the vet schools. Having said that, it has to be caught early enough to treat, which is not always easy to do. I do know some people who have treated their dog's lymphoma with chemo and given it a few more months.

Enjoy her as much as you can these last few months.

[Pithlet]

9. Oh, I'm so sorry.

I just recently had to put down a beloved family pet after 15 years. It's hard. Many :hug: to you and Guiness.

[Lauri16]

10. She's so pretty

I'm so sorry. :hug: :hug: