Thoughs on chemo/pred vs. pred only for lymphoma . . . .

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cooper22

Boxer Booster
My 4.5 year old Tucker has been diagnosed with lymphoma. I opted to try out the chemo and prednisone routine and see how he responds. He seems to be doing fine since his first injection yesterday and we are getting down to a more managable dose of prednisone so that is going better as well. He is also taking oral Cytoxan which will alternate with the prednisone. I have researched it on the internet and see that it can buy dogs up to a year, but I wanted to see any thoughts from those who have gone through this situation. I of course want to make the right decisions for him and not allow him to suffer unneccesarily. He is still eating and drinking well and going on walks. Thanks for any advice or recommendations.
 
Layne

Layne

Boxer Buddy
We are going though the same thing right now with our 7 year old boxer. To read up on our situation see the thread 'Sadie has been diagnosed with Lymphoma.'
We opted for the Chemo/pred route for her too. We decided to do the chemo/pred vs just pred because she is still full of life! My husband said we have to as least try and fight for her. She had her first chemo yesterday and is really tired today, but other than that is still eating and drinking good. We are hoping we chose the right thing, but I guess only time will tell.
Good luck to your sweet Tucker! Prayers coming your way!!

~Sara
 
timbergirl

timbergirl

Boxer Pal
Sorry to hear about Tucker. We are going through the exact same thing too. Our five year old girl Timber was just diagnosed last week. We also opted for the chemo/pred route and she had her first dose on Thursday night....already you can't even feel her lymph nodes and she seems to be fine. Her energy level hasn't changed at all, maybe a little tired but nothing that has us concerned. The oncologist told us that she's not in any pain at all so let her do all the things she loves, so that's how we've decided to approach it. As long as she feels good we are going to fight for her. Part of me questions if we made the right decision and if we are just prolonging the inevitable because we aren't ready for her to go, but then I also think about how the vet told us she is not in any pain and we will monitor her closely enough so that should she start to lose the battle we would make a decision before she suffered at all. We are doing the oral chemo though so we are hoping for remission for about six months. The hardest part right now is that she seems fine and just like her regular self and I start to forget that she has cancer and then I remember that we are on borrowed time and I get sad all over again. I'm glad I found this board though to talk to others who are going through the same thing. Best of luck to you and Tucker! Keep us posted.
 
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hurleygirl

Boxer Booster
We went thru the same thing. After discussing at length with our vet decided on Prednisone only. He was like a new dog for about a month and then went downhill fast. He was having difficulty breathing, etc. You could see it in his eyes he just wanted to go. All I can say is that you'll know. You'll look in those beautiful boxer eyes and you'll know. In the meantime just spoil, spoil, spoil him. I wish you many, many more months with your guy. Our prayers are with you.
 
Layne

Layne

Boxer Buddy
timbergirl said:
Part of me questions if we made the right decision and if we are just prolonging the inevitable because we aren't ready for her to go, but then I also think about how the vet told us she is not in any pain and we will monitor her closely enough so that should she start to lose the battle we would make a decision before she suffered at all. We are doing the oral chemo though so we are hoping for remission for about six months. The hardest part right now is that she seems fine and just like her regular self and I start to forget that she has cancer and then I remember that we are on borrowed time and I get sad all over again. I'm glad I found this board though to talk to others who are going through the same thing. Best of luck to you and Tucker! Keep us posted.
Click to expand...

This is EXACTLY how I feel!!!
 
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cooper22

Boxer Booster
Thanks for everyone's replies. I hope Sadie and Timber continue to respond well. Tucker seems to be doing ok today, but does seem more tired than normal. The interesting thing about Tucker is he does not have swollen lymph nodes, but had very high blood calcium levels. I am not sure how I will know if the chemo is working or not except to take him back for more bloodwork. He was drinking crazy amounts of water due to the high calcium, but he is still drinking quite a bit due to the prednisone. I will call the vet on Monday and see if they want to check his calcium levels this week. As long as he continues to do well I plan to continue the treatment because I just feel like he deserves a chance.

On a side note I noticed the Georgia Bulldog mascot was also just diagnosed with lymphoma and he is only 1.5 years old. This disease sucks!

Thanks for everyone's support and guidance.
 
CheyenneMoon

CheyenneMoon

Boxer Pal
Freckles and Prednisone

I had a Rat Terrier that was diagnosed with stage four lympoma. After talking with the vet and considering the chemo that could prolong his life for maybe a year I opted for the prednisone. His cancer went into remission and he lived a very full and happy year and a half with the prednisone treatment.
 
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cooper22

Boxer Booster
One week after chemo

Tucker seems to be doing great and his calcium levels are normal. Besides a little extra water drinking you would never know he is sick. I am happy to have my dog back for however long it is. :) He goes in for his next chemo in 2 more weeks.
 
timbergirl

timbergirl

Boxer Pal
That's great news about Tucker. We got the same news last night about Timber. She seems to be doing great and her levels are normal. Makes me feel like we made the right decision :)
 
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