Quote Originally Posted by mugsy
It is with a heavy heart that I tell you that I took Daisy to the vet tonight and she has lymphosarcoma and has between 6 weeks and 6 months to live. We are giving her prednisone and will give her Life Extension from Solid Gold to try and buy her some time.
This just isn't right. We have lost 2 babies in the last year, I lost my dad in July, and my best friend from school last month...how much more do I have to deal with?
And to top it off...Mike's partner is being an a-hole and my principal walked out of our meeting today in a hissy because the Union showed up and I am the new rep...I'm going to have a nervous breakdown before this is all over.
Daisy was the name of my lymphoma puppy. She lasted 1 yr and 3 days with a 7.5 month first remission via the LCOPA Chemo protocol. There is another protocol that has been giving 1.5-2.5+ yr remissions. If I had known about it, I definitely would have run my Daisy through it. If you are interested send me an Email. Chemo is a costly and time consuming endeavor. With the right supportive drugs the dog won't have any problems.

Treating with Prednisone alone will give the dog a remission of 30 days. You'll see dramatic improvement on Prednisone alone within a couple of days evidenced by the lymph glands going down, increased appetite, and higher energy. However, once you administer Prednisone alone for over a week, it becomes the only treatment option, as it will readily induce Chemo resistance to the main-stay drugs such as Vincristine and Doxorubicin. So if you are interested in more than 30 days, then Chemo needs to be started very very soon. With the Prednisone alone after about 30 days the cancer will come back with a vengence. The dog will usually get a secondary infection, and go extremely fast. The option of no treatment yields a painful death over a period of 4-6 weeks. So Prednisone for its pallative effect has value, as the end comes quickly with minimal suffering.

In the immediate term watch for a secondary infection. With the Prednisone killing the cancer cells literally by the billions, the resulting debris in the bloodstream yields an environment that favors a septicemia. If you don't have one, get a retal digital thermometer. Any sign of weakness, or increased lethargy, anorexia, take the temperature. If 103+ head for the nearest Emergency Vet, and demand antibiotic treatment. Infections in lymphoma puppies are life threatening.

The only supplement known to make a difference in life expectency when combined with Chemo is fish oil (Omega-3s), plus Arginine. Do NOT supplement with Flax seed oil. Without Chemo, the fish oil might still be of use by helping to normalize lactic acid levels in the blood which will help the dog feel better. Avoid sugars, and carbohydrates as they will be speed up cancer growth. Do not trust in the so called holistic remedies.