Lymphoma...just diagnosed...don't know what to do

[boxer4]

I am so sorry for you and Taylor,
We too have gone through this. We were quoted about $5,000 also and ended up more. Dutch was 10yrs when diagnosed and even with chemo only lived another 8 months. The prednisone helped greatly in the Begining but when she started not responding we went with chemo.
Please don't feel bad about not choosing chemo, sometimes it doesn't help all cases anyway.
Be careful with the prednisone and stomach bleeding. Our vet put Dutch on a couple of different things to help with that and she still had some bleeding problems. Some on the signs are dark tarry stools and fainting. Don't take me wrong Taylor needs to be on it just watch for the signs.
We will keep you both in our prayers and hearts.
Peg, Jan,
Caesar, Brandi, Jake & Maggie

 

[Linda/NJ]

I don't have any advice but just wanted to say we are sending Taylor positive vibes~~~~~~~~~~~he will be in our thoughts and prayers.

Linda & Ginger

 

[adeinert]

Last year I lost two boxers to cancer, I know all too well the feelings rushing around inside of you. My prayers are with you and Taylor.

With both, prednisone was used at the end to try to slow the cancer when we had no other alternatives. Gabby had none of the side affects. I believe she was on a lower dose. Jagger was only on it for his last week and he had the very dark stools that showed it was affecting him poorly.

Enjoy your precious time. All I needed to do was to look into those beautiful boxer eyes and I knew that just being together was the most wonderful way my boxer could pass the time.

And remember, all your boxer knows and feels from you is a perfect love. Taylor is filled with love from you and that is all he will ever know.

I wish you much strength.
Ashlie
owned by the rescued boxertrio, my foster McCloud,
and always by Jagger and Gabby who watch over us from the bridge

 

[Butchie'sMom]

We are going through some

of the same pain with our Butchie Boy. I see that you just registered this month also. Our 5 yr old male brindle was diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma late in Oct. We are now almost finished our first cycle of chemo. He is also taking predisone. The predisone does make them very thristy and wake up to pee. His appitite is super, but I'm not complaining because I feel its better than not eating. We have a few friends that also have boxers. The husbands all get together to "run the dogs" and they are all so close. Last year our Butch lost his girlfriend Maddie to Lymphomona. She was four. Maddie was also on predison. Now we are going throught this with Butch. She was a great dog, loving and obedient. I am sorry that your boxer baby is ill. I hope knowing that others care and have experienced the same is some help. I know that it has helped me some.

Sincerly,
Sally and Butch

 

[Lively]

I have just lost my girl Kona to lymph cancer 2 days ago. She was diagnosied almost a year ago. We went ahead with chemo which was said to cost about 5K but not knowing our final bill yet I would say it was closer to 9K. Predisone gave us hope at the end when nothing else was working. Expect more eating and drinking along with very dark stool. It has not been an easy process emotionally for us. This last week was particularly difficult.

My heart goes out to you and will pray for you both.

Ali

 

[Cindy Creel]

I too am very sorry for this situation. I do not have any advice to give, but I canoffer my prayers for you in this time of trouble.

Cindy

 

[acitygirl3]

Thank you everyone for your advice , thoughts, and prayers. This is a very scary time not knowing what to expect, or how long I will have him with me.

Taylor is doing quite well actually. He has been an eating maching these past few weeks since he started taking prednisone. I have been monitering his lymph node size and they seem to be holding steady, not enlarging again as before. His stools have been a little more solid, and not too dark actually.

As for diet, he has been eating pasta, boiled chicken, gravy, and broccoli (his favorite thing in the world).

As for his activity level, he is the same or even better than he was before.

I am just concerned how long he will respond to the prednisone before becoming ill again.

Thank you again for your thoughts...

Stacey

 

[BXR MOM]

So sorry to hear about Taylor. I have had two experiences with lymphoma. The first was my childhood standard poodle who was diagnosed about 10 years ago and at that time chemotherapy was in the infant stages. My mom choose to treat her with prednisone only and she lived about an additional six months. However, those six months were perfect and except for the little weight gain you would have never have known she was sick. She passed away the day after competing in an obedience trial and was only sick for a few hours.

My second experience was with my boxer a little more than a year ago. Her only symptom was a nagging cough, which we later found out was an enlarged lymphnode in her chest that was pressing on her windpipe. We then discovered that it had started in her abdomen. We chose to do chemotherapy and unfortunately she was in the 20% that her vet estimated it didn't work for. She only lasted 10 days after her initial diagnosis when we made the decision that her quality of life was gone. We spent about $4,000 in those ten days. She was also on prednisone, which at first stimulated her appetite very well and excited us tremendously. However, by the end, I was concerned that her dosage was too high, given the amount of water she needed and the number of accidents she was having. She was on 20 mg twice per day. She weighed 75lbs at the beginning and less than 60 at the end. I discussed the prednisone with the emergency vet during her last weekend and she was hesitant to change it. I never got to fully discuss it with her oncologist as by Monday we had made the painful decision to let her go. Lexus had several accidents and I felt sorry for her because I knew she was truly embarrased.

We chose to do the chemotherapy because I couldn't accept that my little girl who was still kidney beaning at the time of her diagnosis was sick. However, by the end when she could hardly stand to great us, we knew it was time. Give Taylor lots of love and when he is ready to go, he will let you know.

 

[acitygirl3]

Ah the trademark kidney bean walk...Taylor has it down quite well, in addition to his adorable attempts to communicate with me through the grumbling and puffing his cheeks up to growl. He continues to do all of these things, which let me know he's feeling ok.

Taylor is on 20mg of prednisone, 1/2 tab in the morn, 1/2 in the evening. The vet suggested this reduced dose to decrease the side effects. So far, he hasn't had a single accident in the house! As for appetite, he's eating me out of house and home! I don't have a single complaint about it! I actually enjoy preparing his meals for him, and I think he is enjoying them quite well!

Can anyone recommend any dietary supplements for prednisone and or lymphoma?

Thank you and God bless everyone

Happy Holidays!!

 

[Adelle]

I am very sorry to hear Taylor has lymphoma. We lost our first boxer 'Hooligan" to lymphoma, it will be two years this Xmas since we lost him.

We did opt for Chemo and we had great sucess with it for 8 months till he came out of remission. But it is very expensive and does not work for everyone.

I would also suggest you look into holistic treatments that can help and might be more affordable. Is there a good holistic vet in your area ?

As for diet I believe there is a Hills Science Diet that is designed for Cancer patients. I think its only available from your vet.

You and Taylor will be in our thoughts and prayers