<p>I am seeking input from anyone who has experienced a dog with cancer, particularly if you did chemo. We have a 6-year-old schnoodle (schnauzer/poodle mix) who has been diagnosed with lymphoma. The prognosis by the vet was not great, so we found a canine oncologist and started chemo. Now we are 7 chemo treatments in, and I am second guessing this decision. The expense is a factor, but also the stress of chemo. The side effects seem to be getting worse and I’m not sure if continuing chemo is in the dog’s best interests.</p>
<p>Any thoughts about staying the course with chemo vs. stopping it and letting nature take it’s course?</p>
<p>I don’t have any experience with this but just wanted to say that I’m sorry about your dog. And whatever you decide to do is OKAY. </p>
<p>What does the oncologist say is the prognosis after chemo? I think that would be a big factor for me as I would have a hard time seeing my dog suffer through chemo if the chances still weren’t good.</p>
<p>When our dog got cancer, we just let nature take its course. He wasn’t really sick from the cancer until the very end. We put him down when the cancer started to affect his quality of life. We didn’t want to put an animal through chemo.
My neighbor did the opposite- she spent a lot of money and time on chemo treatments. I would guess it bought her an extra year with her dog, but for the last few months he was really, really sick.
Having been through chemo myself, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, especially an animal.</p>
<p>I’m so sorry to hear about your dog. It’s so difficult to see them suffer. I second what EPTR said about the prognosis post chemo. Are there any treatments for the side effects that might ease things for him? Our beloved Irish Setter was diagnosed with a very poor prognosis even if we opted for a difficult surgery. It was a difficult decision, but we put her down. We miss her and I second guessed myself for quite sometime. Make the decision that your gut tells you will be the best for your dog. Try not to second guess!</p>
<p>My 8-yr-old golden was just diagnosed with an essentially untreatable cancer. This is our third dog as a couple, and the third one to be diagnosed with cancer–a different kind in each case-- at the age of 8.</p>
<p>Lymphoma is one of the cancers that CAN respond to chemo. If my dog were in sufficiently good health in the first place to withstand chemo, I think I would do it for a dog with lymphoma. The age of the dog would also play into my decision.</p>
<p>I would not attempt to treat hemangiosarcoma or histiosarcoma.</p>
<p>rockvillemom, I lost my much loved Lab (predecessor to the current sabadog) to lymphoma 18 months ago. He was 9 and suddenly started to show signs of what I believed to be arthritis and aging - turned out to be extremely advanced lymphoma with a very poor prognosis. We decided that chemo was not in his best interests; our vet recommended prednisone to alleviate his symptoms, but it was not effective. He was diagnosed on a Tuesday and I put him to sleep on Saturday because it would have been selfish to do anything else. He was suffering and I couldn’t bear it. </p>
<p>Our neighbors have two Jack Russells; one has lymphoma and they opted for chemo. After three months of chemo, they have moved on to radiation. My understanding is that dogs undergoing chemo do not experience the same type of side effects that humans do; is it possible that the current therapy is not working? I would talk with your oncologist. This is a very tough spot to be in and I know how badly you want your dog to be well. I am sorry.</p>
<p>My parents’ dog who I grew up with passed away from lymphoma. Back then, chemotherapy was not available. It was pretty much a death sentence. I truly believe my mom would have gone with the chemo if it were available. </p>
<p>Now, having a dog of my own, if he ever got cancer, God forbid, I would go with chemo. I know it’s reall hard. I am have a sick animal now, and we can’t even get a diagnosis for her. She is a guinea pig, and medical treatment for them is nowhere near as advanced as for cats or dogs. The stress is overwhelming, but I will fight for her, but it’s scary to not know if you are making it better or worse. </p>
<p>I would say just make your decision without looking at the money factor. </p>
<p>And hang in there - I know it’s very, very hard.</p>
<p>Over four months ago we decided to forgo treatment for our sweet pup. He was 15 years old and terrified of the vets office. We felt the treatment was too much physical stress for him and it would be selfish of us to hold on. He was perfectly fine until he stopped eating a few months after the diagnosis. He did not whine, but his apparent confusion seemed to indicate that he was in pain. We consulted with the vet and she indicated that that probably was the case. We said our goodbyes that day. He was a good boy.</p>
<p>Unless you are wealthy, this is difficult to do. It is my understanding that chemo can cost $4K-$5K or even more.</p>
<p>We’ve spent about $1,500 on our dog in the last two weeks. Luckily, we can choose to afford to do so now (although I chose NOT to afford care for myself). We did not get another dog when our income was really low, since we knew we could not afford vet care for it. Just the routine annual vet costs for a large dog, such as immunizations and heartworm/flea/tick prevention, are about $500.</p>
<p>Consolation, with all due respect I disagree. I am by no means wealthy and only have my one income in my entry level job to support myself. My piggy’s treatment has cost in the thousands, mainly because this is NYC, and exotics treatment can be very expensive. I know it’s a HARD decision when your savings get halved or wiped out or you have to go into debt. However, they are family, and that’s what you do for family. </p>
<p>I give this advice to OP, because I think it’s what will bring her peace as well, doing the best that she can for her dog.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses. Up until this weekend, he was tolerating the chemo pretty well. A little lethargic, a bit of a decrease in appetite, but not too bad. However, the side effects seem to be getting worse. This past weekend was rough. We do chemo every Friday and he did not eat at all on Sunday and only drank a tiny bit. This morning was the same. I have prescriptions to give him, but he would not swallow a treat with a pill inside, finally had to pry open his jaws this morning and put the pills down his throat. I felt horrible doing that to him, but he is better tonight.</p>
<p>I am wrestling with the notion that we are 7/12 through it, and he is in remission, so just tough it out and finish the protocol? Or say, enough already, and stop the treatment. Unfortunately, chemo has no guarantees. It would be easier to push through this if I knew for sure that he would live another year or two. I’m sure if I call the oncologist tomorrow, she will urge me to finish the remaining 5 weeks. I just want to do what is best for our dog. I hate seeing him just lying lethargically every weekend. I was just wondering if others had done chemo and how they felt about the decision afterwards.</p>
<p>The money issue is not the main deciding factor, but I do think about it. About $5000 spent so far, for all of the initial diagnostic testing and 7 rounds of chemo. If I had more confidence that spending this money would give him another year or two, I would feel better about it. But the oncologist was pretty clear that some dogs are completely cured, some will be in remission for a year or two and some will have the cancer come back in just a few months. And you really won’t know ahead of time which category your particular dog will fall into.</p>
<p>There are a couple of points to think about here. One is the dog’s reaction to going to the vet. One of my dogs absolutely hates it. I would probably not subject him to chemo, even though I have pet insurance with the cancer rider. The other is the goal of the chemo- is it to cure, or just to extend life? The oncologist should have some idea of what it’s all for.</p>
<p>We lost a 5 year old golden to lymphoma several years ago. At the time, I recall reading that certain types of lymphoma are more treatable than others. The type our dog had, T-cell lymphoma, was the worst, with the worst prognosis. Do you know what type your dog has? We opted not to treat. Our vet at the time was shocked that we weren’t going to at least try chemo with such a young dog. I tried to discuss with him what I had read about the different cell types, but he was unfamiliar with the research. He didn’t even request the cell type analysis with the biopsy, I had to call the diagnostic lab and ask them to characterize the tissue. Her cancer progressed very quickly, and we had to have her put down just a few weeks after her diagnosis. Sometimes I second guess our decision, but it was the right decision at the time. </p>
<p>Did your vet say if the side effects your dog is experiencing are normal? It would seem a shame to stop the treatments when you’re more than half way through, especially if the cancer is responding to the drug. If you discontinue treatment now and he has a relapse, you will wonder what would have happened if you finished the therapy. I would have a talk with the oncologist about your concerns, they should be able to adjust the dosage or reassure you that your dog’s side effects will be transient. </p>
<p>All the best to you, and please let us know what you decide.</p>
<p>RVM
I am so sorry you are going through this. My last golden was diagnosed with lymphoma at 7 years old. She was not given a good prognosis, but I felt I had to try chemo. She responded very well and lived almost 2 years. She did not appear in any pain and never gave any outward signs of distress until 3 days before the end.
HOWEVER, she never got off chemo. When a protocol would end, the cancer would come roaring back, and a new drug was tried. It always slipped back into remission as long as she was getting chemo. In the end I don’t know if the cancer got her or the chemo did.
Since she had such a good quality of life during the chemo, it was easy to continue treatment, but had that not been the case, I would have not persued it.
I wish you well as you deal with this.</p>
<p>I too have a dog and you have my sincere condolences. I have a question for those who had and lost dogs, did you get a new dog soon after and if so, was it with the old dog in mind, such as in breed, size, color, etc? or almost completely different?</p>
<p>Sometimes doing the best for your pet is not doing aggressive painful treatments to prolong their lives. Often we prolong their lives for ourselves not for them.</p>
<p>As for a new dog, we waited maybe a month. Some people wait years. For us, it wasn’t replacing a dog, it was about rescuing and helping a new on. We tended to rescue the same breed as we knew how to handle border collies. And had the time to exercise them.</p>