Lymphoma symptoms and diagnosis

[Barkley]

There is currently an active thread for discussing treatment options for lymphoma. I wanted to open this one to find out a little more about how lymphoma gets recognized and diagnosed. If any of you would share those experiences, it might prove helpful, for me and others. What symptoms were visible that got you to the vet? What tests were done to diagnose (or rule out) lymphoma? Also, when you refer to lumps in the neck...underneath, or on their back? How many? How big?

Our boy has some bumps on his neck and shoulders, but symptoms inconsistent with cancer. We are struggling to find a diagnosis, and though I don't think it is lymphoma, I am curious to know more and thought it might be a helpful thread for others to learn, too.

Thanks very much,
Jenn

 

[rbrianboyd]

With Bailey, other than a swollen lymph node on the left side of her neck/throat (underneath the back of the jaw line closest to the ears), she had no clinical signs or symptoms. She had slowed down a little, which we assumed was normal for an 8 year old dog - but nothing out of the ordinary.

Upon learning that her lymph nodes were swollen our vet was immediately concerned that it may be lymphoma. They did a fine needle aspiration taking fluid out of the lymph node and sent it off to a lab. The 1st aspiration came back as inconclusive, "cannot rule out lymphoma" and we were referred to an oncologist. The oncologist also was immediately concerned that it may be lymphoma telling us that it was not just the nodes in her neck/throat that were swollen. They did another aspiration, but this time instead of just taking fluid from the nodes in her throat, they aspirated multiple nodes. They also did a flow spectrometry test, which my understanding is a more detailed lab that actually separates the cells and tells the oncologist the specific type of lymphoma.

Go here for a basic diagram of the location of the lymph nodes:

Canine Lymphoma

If you have any doubts, go to the vet and have them do an aspiration.

Best,

Brian

 

[hurleygirl]

The big things for us were the lethargy and lack of appetite. The huge thing was that he got up one morning with a huge swelling on the side of his neck. There was constant drooling due to the size of the swelling. I never found any lumps per se, just the swelling. They did full blood panel and the white count was off the charts. I think also the calcium. Our vet sent it to another lab for a second opinion. Everything confirmed lymphoma. Hope this helps.

 

[shindig]

Well for Bandit, it was just accidental that I felt a solid lump, about the size of a jelly bean, on his left jaw line. I know it wasn't there the night before because I had just given him a bath that night. I was getting ready to leave for work in the morning and rubbing his neck when I felt a small lump under the skin just under his jaw (kind of in that saggy skin area of their neck). My first thought was it was just a swollen lymph node probably due to an infection, but I called my vet that morning and she suggested I bring him in that afternoon.

Once we got to the vet, they did a needle aspiration that was sent off for a biopsy. It took a few days to get the results back, but they came back inconclusive, but suspicious. So two days later I scheduled an appoitment for a tissue biopsy and since he was going to be under, my vet wanted to get inside his mouth and see if anything was going on strange, plus clean his teeth. She found a rotted molar in the back of his jaw on the same side of the lump, so at first there was hope that it was just a bacterial infection. She removed the tooth and sent the tissue back for biopsy. This time it came back the next day as T-Cell lymphoma. We started chemo the very next day :(

Bandit never showed any signs of being sick. He was eating and playing like normal, so as you can imagine it came as a huge blow. I was devastated for days and couldn't stop crying over my sick boy.

By the time Bandit started chemo (about 7 days from his first visit to the vet), the lump had grown twice it's size. He also had a few other lymph node areas that I never saw that the oncologist said were swollen. He was diagnosed with Stage 2 Lymphoma. I didn't get a second opinion because the oncologist came highly referred and she was very open and honest about our options and Bandits survival time. It was a lot to take in and I was physcially sick by the time I got home. That had to be the worst day of my life.

I hope this helps and others can chime in and share their experiences.

Kevin

 

[Barkley]

Thank you so much...I'm sure this isn't an easy thing to talk about. It's already been helpful for me, and maybe will be for others in the future. As I suspected, none of this sounds consistent with Jordan's troubles, fortunately. We have already had the bumps aspirated, but have since switched vets due to some incompetence, so I wasn't sure I should trust her diagnosis that the lumps were fatty tissue. We are still trudging along with the new vet, an internal med specialist, but our next appt isn't for a few weeks, so I have time to worry between now and then...

Again, thanks very much! I will keep all of you and your babies in my thoughts.

Best,
Jenn

 

[hurleygirl]

I wouldn't worry too much. Boxers are known for all kinds of lumps and bumps and growths(not that I wouldn't have them all checked out). Usually they are benign fatty cysts...but you can never be too careful with a boxer. Keep us all informed.

 

[Albie]

Jack's lymphoma was found out by chance. He had and still has no symptoms. Jack was scheduled for surgery to have two skin tags removed. I dropped him off at the vet's in the morning and when I received a call from her a few hours later I thought it was about the surgery. Instead, the vet told me she was very concerned about Jack because several of his lymph nodes were swollen. She suggested we postpone the surgery and do a needle biopsy. When I picked Jack up she showed me that the lymph nodes in his jaw area were swollen, along with one in his chest along the clavicle bone, and behind both of his back knees. I didn't even notice them until she pointed them out. It took two days to get the biopsy results and we noticed the lymph nodes getting bigger in just those two days. It was stage IIIA lymphoma. We saw the oncologist the day after the biopsy results and Jack had his first chemo treatment that day. Fortunately, Jack has never shown any signs of illness. I'm really grateful for his sake, but it's really hard on the family knowing what he faces. I hope this helps and you soon figure out what's going on with Jordan!

 

[boxmom]

Many years ago our first boxer, Bailey, had lymphoma. She was drinking tons of water--I mean tons--and was down on energy. Blood tests concluded high calcium, which pointed towards lymphoma. The oncologist confirmed it was T-cell lymphoma--I do not recall the test he did, sorry. We opted for the chemo, as our girl was only 5 and she fought it off for about 14 months.

 

[SmallParts]

Boxmom - Thank you for sharing that. Sounds very much like Brodie and I'm glad to hear Bailey made it 14 months as we are being told to expect much less.

Brodie began drinking buckets of water and we thought it was strange. The vet initially thought it was an UTI and prescribed anti-biotics. They never even checked his lymph nodes or blood tests as his yearly was the previous month. (We don't use that vet anymore).
As his symptoms increased the vet did an X-ray and found a strange shadow in his stomach which made us believe he had eaten something. We scheduled for surgery to remove the object and the surgical specialists did a blood test and found the elevated calcium. An aspirate was used to confirm lymphoma (T-Cell with hypercalcemia).

With daily Prednisone and Lomustine every three weeks Brodie is fighting like a champ for the last month.

One thing I learned through this is make sure your vet is aware of breed specific problems and is diligent in considering these types of things in Boxers. In addition, demand a FULL blood lab at each yearly physical regardless of the age of the dog. Brodie is only 3 years old and this fact seemed to make the vet believe it wasn't neccessary to consider the possibility. We could have caught this a month sooner had we looked at his calcium levels at his yearly check up.
Another thing to mention as a symptom... Muscle contractions or "twitching" - Lyomphoma (T-Cell) is often accompanied with elevated calcium (HyperCalcemia). The root cause of this is a protein secreted by the cancer cells called PTHrP (Parathyroid Hormone related Protein). This hormone essentially tricks the body into believing that it needs calcium. The kidneys begin to rob and release calicum into the blood causing calcium toxicity.
The "twitchy" symptom usually won't be the first symptom noticed however if you notice excessive water intake and urination and muscle twitching then the vet needs to be looking at calcium levels and lymph nodes... regardless of age.


, every time I start writting on this board it turns into a book. sorry about that everyone.