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Our beloved 9 1/2 yo Vizsla has many swollen lymph nodes, on Friday i took her to the Vet and the tests were done. Im awaiting the results but the Vet suspects Lymphoma? Im trying to get educated on this if it needs to be addressed. I dont want to make her feel worse with a chemo series to just extend her life a little with no real quality of life FOR HER. This is one of my worst nightmeers. Any help or advise would be so appreciated by us.

You know, is it better to just make her comfortable to a point and have her rest peacefully... or go to many lengths to prolong life for a while to end the same way...? We had a bad expierence with a Lab. and she was addmitted to a vet hospital for the last 7-9 days of her life in a cage with IVs and machines hooked up to her AWAY from her family and loved ones, then came home for a nite to pass on. I will not let that happen to my Vizsla.

Can the therapy be done it home??? With out pain??? etc...Please Help, Thank you

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Sorry I can't help you at all. Sorry for what you are going through
I'm sure your vet will be able to answer some questions. In the meantime hopefully someone here will offer some advice. Good luck with everything.

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I am so sorry to hear what you are coping with - and your dog as well!! I'd like to help you and could if your furbaby was human but even then more info would be needed.

I would wait until the test results are actually in before jumping to conclusions though 0 it is not yet certain she has lymphoma, correct? I myself find it curious the vet would tell you he syspects lymphoma without giving you differential diagnoses since there are a variety of illnesses that have similar symptoms - at least in humans which is why we do tests and very often, it may be mononucleosis or an infection of some kind tho clearly no one can know untuil the test results come in.

I would wait until those are in to see what stage it might be at because the treatment, prognosis and protocols differ widely widely depending on all these variables. People tens to think of cancer as one illness but it just is not. It is a variety of different illnesses that act alot alike (ie abnormal cell growth) so that merely because you have been through one type of cancer with another dog does not mean this will be the same. Even differing chemo protocols are unique and different dogs - like humans0 react differently to each one. So I would not jump the gun so to speak yet,. Wait and see what he has to say and then work with him/her to decide what is best.

Lymphoma can actually be easily treated if it caught quicly - and if it is a certain type. There are a variety of different kinds of lymphoma as well - some act quickly; some take years and may mean your dog may be uncomfortable for awhile but live a long life.


You could research it and seek out others who have gone through lymphoma - not just cancer per se- and see how they and their dogs coped with it but even then, I;d caution you to ta;k to others only once you have the dagnosiss and know what stage it is in, what protocol has been recommended and then you will be in a position to compare and ascertain if there are other treatments more effective. It's my opinion from years of practice in oncology that it is part art and part science. I have seen humans - mostly children since I work in pediatrics - who have a late stage dire prognosis manage to do extremely well and others diagnosed with early stage lymphoma who for whatever reason do not so as well. (Other medical variables also play a part - the immune system of the person or in your case, your dog, the will of the individual to fight and attitude. I myself just fought melanoma and I honestly think attitude plays a large part. Give your dog a good reason to want to live and she might overcome even a late stage diagnosis. I have seen so many miracles that I don't think any one should ever start from a discouraging point, regardless of a previous experience with another disease. Unless your other dog also had lymphoma?)

So - I guess I am saying I do not have enough info to give you any advice except to wait for the diagnosis and then take whatever action will save your sog's life and if it late stage and the prognosis not that good, you can make a deision. But you are not at that point yet by the sound of it.

Some vets will come to your home - she need not be away from you. And I know from my own experience with children that spending time at home with friends and family often is very helpful - we teach the parents or sibs or a family member or friend or local medical personnel to make visits (We have a good health care system for home visits in one province more than the others, admittedly) but we also use videoconferencing and other tech measures to monitor patients at home - depending on where they are in the treatment stage. I can understand you not wanting her to experience being in a strange place but many people witrh pets find ways to administer the meds themselves and do very well.

I wish you good luck with your news. Please keep us updated! for gopod news!!!

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just take every day a spechial day. i lost my cocker to the same thing, but in my mind i waiting too long!! so enjoy bless you and your pup and good luck brenda and the pins

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Originally Posted by greggk
I dont want to make her feel worse with a chemo series to just extend her life a little with no real quality of life FOR HER.
You know, is it better to just make her comfortable to a point and have her rest peacefully... or go to many lengths to prolong life for a while to end the same way...?

I had to make this decision not long ago and I decided against the chemo. My Daisy was 10 yr old, had 2 different operations to have cancerous lumps taken out, and it kept coming back... I enjoyed and pampered her until the end. Right until she had no quality of life, then I knew I had to say goodbye. I'm sorry you're going thru this

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Thank you to everyone who has replied. Your support and knowledge is greatly appreciated. We will keep you updated. Also if anyone who has gone through chemo with their dog could explain how it is administered in an animal. Is it given in pill form, IV? Thanks again.

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Hope I can be helpful by relaying our experience - I take care of my son's 6 year old Aussie while he is at work during the day. At the beginning of Jan. the dog's primary vet found multiple swollen lymph nodes and thought it was likely to be lymphoma but sent us to an oncology vet. Basic blood work and an aspiration of one of the lymph nodes showed that our Aussie had an aggressive form of lymphoma and would most likely die within a month if given no treatment.

I didn't even know there was such a thing as chemo for dogs and was very dubious about the whole thing. I certainly didn't want to put our dog through great discomfort and pain just to gain a couple of extra months. The vet explained that, unlike humans, dogs tend to get much fewer side effects from chemo treatment and they typically respond very quickly if the chemo is going to work for them. Dogs in remission often live an extra 12 to 18 months. We could, of course, stop chemo at any time if it looked like our dog was suffering too much from it.

We decided to proceed with chemo since he is such a young dog and had been in otherwise good health. Plus it's so hard to feel like you aren't doing all you can. However, the price tag of roughly $4,500 for the total chemo treatments is not something everyone can afford and that does make me feel sad.

Our dog is on what is called the Madison Wisconsin Protocol treatment which I understand is quite common. It is 25 weeks in length. I took the dog to the oncology vet once a week for 4 weeks and then had a week off; weekly for another 4 weeks and then it is every other week for the remainder. Most times I sit at the vet's office for 30-40 min. while our dog has drugs administered by IV. Once in a while I have to leave him there for several hours because a particular drug takes longer to be administered. Some weeks we are sent home with a bottle of pills to be given for a few days. There are also pills available to minimize possibility of nausea or diarrhea.

Our experience has been very positive to date. Our dog is in remission (normal blood work and no swollen nodes or tumors), but the chemo is continuing for the full course. The absence of side effects from the chemo is amazing. He has never vomited and has only had 1 or 2 days of little appetite. Even on the days he has had chemo he doesn't seem to be slowed down and enjoys his walks. Before the chemo he looked very listless and was very tired, but now he has the spark back in his eyes. We don't know how long this remission will last. We hope our dog is one of the lucky ones that we hear about getting an extra couple of years.

Also, the recommended food by the oncology vet seems very high quality. It's Innova Evo and has the high protein / high fat and is grainless. I've gone maybe too long with this post, but hope it's helpful. I think the whole decision of whether to proceed with chemo may be easier to make once you have more concrete information and know if it's actually lymphoma or not. Upon hearing the diagnosis for our dog, my son immediately wanted to proceed with chemo. If it had been only my decision, I know I would have at least slept on it a night or two before deciding. At the moment it seems like we made the right decision for us. But I can easily see how given different dogs and different owners, the best decision might be different.

Our thoughts are with you. I know how tough it is.

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Good luck with everything, I know its a very hard time for you. The only advise I can give you is to wait and see what the vet says when the test results come back... I know the waiting is hard. take care

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Her blood work is normal and organs ok, however the aspiations from the nodes were Positive with Lymphoma.
She has an appointment tomarrow with the oncologist to discuss...
She is still eating but didnt sleep well b/c nodes some nodes are inlarging and bothering her in neck and abdomin area.
She got some spirit today and wanted to play ball, i played a little while but sadly she is very sore now b/c of a large node in abdomin i assume is hurting her, she is sort of limping a bit. she is tired as well? I DONT WANT HER TO SUFFER and i fealing like she will suffer more with the chemo... Thank you all

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i have no experience with this but have also heard dogs have very few side effects with chemo. nothing like humans at all. talk to your oncologist and ask for an honest opinon many of them have helped people in your situation and a good oncologist/vet will help you make the right decision for your dog.

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I am sorry to hear it IS lymphoma. Actually tho - as was already noted - cats and dogs tolerate chemo much better than humans and it may not be nearly as bad as you think. It is not good news though and my heart goes out to you. Did the vet tell you what stage it is at??

I wish you well with your appt with the ontological specialist!!
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Take care!!!!

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We started yesterday 30ml of prednisone twice daily. I decided to give to her b/c a node in abdomin with really bothering her and she had trouble sleeping.
The prednisone sprang her right back to normal and reduced her nodes 40%.
So... we went to the appointment and got all the options from nothing to full course of chemo for 15weeks. As the vet said there is no wrong answer. Im am trying so hard to think for her and not the family. I no that the full course is not for HER!
We are concidering the treatment of the prednisone and CCNU (Lomustine) aprox. 35-40mg orally every 3 weeks for 4-5 times. She said average life exp. is 5-6 months.
2 concerns?
1. Side effect to the Vizsla and how she feels on that toxic drug.
2. Most concerning, the toxicity of that drug after its given, to the humans in the house... I have read that especially to people in childbearing years (like us)
its could be a problem. This is my main worry about this treatment? Her urin, her poop in the yard, her saliva when licking us??? Just dont no?

I called her breeder last nite and she said her vizsla that shared the same father as mine had lymphoma and did the full treatment and got an extra 8 months... (also the father died of cancer she told me)

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