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Ruger Has Lymphoma :(


Miss Squish
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My beautiful boy Ruger has recently been diagnosed with Lymphoma and though Ive agreed with the specialist to go ahead with chemo next week, im still unsure if its the best way to go.

I just cant get my head around the idea he may only have weeks to live as hes showing no symptoms besides the enlarged lymph nodes, hes still the very happy bouncy boy he has always been. Just to see him at the Adelaide meet not long ago, im sure no one would have even known he has cancer as he had such a good day running around with all the other dogs and hes loving playing with the 3 rescue pups I have in my care atm

I do have insurance and understand chemo will only give him another 12 months or so, but I dont want him to suffer

Would love to hear of others experiences going through chemo with their dog as the specialist feels its worth going ahead with as hes only 6 and his body condition and health seems good at the moment What to do....

Edited by Miss Squish
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I have no advice; but I just wanted to send you my thoughts and hopes for the best.

You'll know what's best for your dog and no one can push you to do anything you don't want.

Big Cyber hugs to you my dear. Please give the big man a cuddle for me.

Bon.

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You'll know what's best for your dog and no one can push you to do anything you don't want.

I completely agree. Maybe after the shock of the diagnosis has worn off a little you will be able to get your head around what to do a little better.

What ever decision you make i'm sure it will be the right one for you and Ruger. :thumbsup:

ETA if there's anything i can do to help please let me know.

Edited by Melbomb
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I lost my heart dog to Lymphoma. He was 8 when it was diagnosed and we had him pts just over a year later. He received no treatment for it as he was miserable at the vets and would get very depressed if he had to stay there without me. The vets were amazed that he fought it for so long and right up until the last 2 months there were no real symtoms apart from the swollen glands. In the end you could see him fight it. He would go down for a few days and I would think 'this is it, it's the end now', and I slept on the floor with him bawling for days at a time and then just as I had made the decision to have him pts he would 'recover' and be ok for another couple of weeks. In the end it was his depression that made me have him pts. The vet said it was unlikely that he was in much/any pain but you could see how confused he was. His body would no longer do what his mind told it to. He started to run into walls and stumble and fall, vets said it was affecting his brain function. Hardest thing I've ever done. That was nearly 3 years ago and I still miss him every day and cry for him from time to time (like now).

I feel for you and agree that it is a tough decision to make. I chose not to do chemo as I was told that it might only give him an extra 3-6 months and I thought that it was alot to put him through for such a small amount of time.

My thoughts are with you both.

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Hi Miss Squish,

I am so sorry to hear that your boy Ruger has been diagnosed with lymphoma - my heart goes out to you.

Can I ask where your boy is being treated, and what they have in mind ?

My girl went through chemo this year for bladder cancer. I dont know much about lymphoma apart from what I have read about the chemo results being about a 90% chance of remission and that generally buying you about a year of time, and that the low carb high protein and fat diet work well in dogs with this disease.

My girl went through the chemo pretty well, but twice her white cell count went too low and that made her unwell for a few days and we had to be super careful as her immune sytem was so compromised for about a week while her white count went back up. Most dogs do tolertae chemo well and while my girl was never 'happy' to go to the specialist, she certainly did not mind it as much as a normal vet visit. Its more distressing for you than them, I never once managed to walk away without tears.

You need to take their temp twice a day when they have chemo, starting before they have their first so you can get a 'normal' range for your boy. This is how you tell if there is a problem. Also they have regular 'complete blood count' blood tests to check the dosgae of chemo drugs is correct.

This is a relly horrible time for you, made worse by having to make decisions. Some days there is just not enough chocolate in the world..... :(

Brigitte

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Wishing you good luck with it...

Just in case you did not know, chemo does not do the affect dogs like it does people.. They don't give our pooch's the massive doses they would give us - so dogs don't lose their fur or tend not to get sick or have too many bad side effects from it...(there will always be exceptions to the rule but it is not usual for dogs to become ill).

Ollie had chemo for 6 months for MCT grade 2, nearly 5 years ago now and he is still going (even with the cancer)...

Have you considered holistic treatment to compliment the chemo - I found it helped keep Ollie 'better' than I think he would have been and I believe that the holistic is the reason he is still here and suffered few issues with the chemo.

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Thanks for the support at this really hard time :eek:

Ruger went in for a biopsy of his Lymph nodes on Friday with my vet and is doing well :D I deceided it was best for him to stay with my parents and their 13 yr old Akita for a few days as I currently have 3 rescue pups here atm and they would annoy him too much but when they rehome I will have to put all my time into him to give him the best chance.

Sadly my dad also starts chemo for cancer the same time as my special boy Ruger does, next week :eek:

His Lymph nodes have nearly doubled in size from first diagnosis which wasnt too long ago which is a worry but I have deceided to go full steam ahead and go for chemo as long as he copes ok.

They will be treating him at the specialist centre at Norwood on Magill road, and Dr David Davies is confident we can at least get Ruger to his 8 th birthday as all tests so far have shown the cancer has not yet affected his major organs or bone marrow.

Any info on Holistic treatment or links would be great Staffyluv, Im currently feeding Pro Plan Salmon for my dogs but will change to anything to give him the best go at life.

I am so gonna miss the 50+ kg lean and the underarm nudges for pats when hes gone as its not a trait the Shar Pei have :eek:

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The best holistic vets that I have come across are the vets at All Natural Vet Care in Sydney...

Linky

We were in Canberra and we all liaised via phone, email and fax. Our vet and canine oncologist (Rod Straw in Brisbane) sent all of Ollie's results and treatment details to all natural vet care and then we chatted via phone about Ollie's habits, what he likes and does not like, how he was (both health wise and if he seemed flat or his usual bubbly self).. Then they would send the herbs and make recommendations on diet etc...

There are also many sites with great 'anti' cancer diets - just google dogs and anticancer diet

Good luck and please keep us updated...

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My girl was also a patient of Dr David Davies :thumbsup: while still nervous about going in the specialist centre Maggie always seems a bit excited to be there, they look after them and care for them so well that the dogs seem to feel more at ease.

Dr Davies was not all that convinced about the diet etc I was using for Maggie (and mentioned 'snake oil salesmen' when I talked about things I wasted to try ) but he did check that nothing I was doimg interferred with the conventional treatment. And I know he was surprised at how well she always looked.

I dont know if the conventional treatments made much of a difference (with bladder cancer the prognosis is not good at best) but I do know that the diet and supplements did make a big difference.

Dr Davies is a great canine specialst and you can be confident he will do what is best for Ruger. Best wishes to you both (you cand Ruger - not Dr Davie and Ruger :( )

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I sympathise with you Miss Squish, as we had that same horrible news a few years ago with one of our Tibetan Terriers, Cody, who was also 6yrs old at the time of diagnosis. He was lying beside me on the lounge and I was patting him and noticed a lump on the side of his neck. We took him to the vet the next morning and he just thought it was an infection of the lymph glands so he was treated for a couple of weeks on antibiotics but the lump didn't go down, so we had a blood test done, and it came back that he had leukaemia He was his usual smart arse self and we would never

have known there was anything the matter with him, if I hadn't found the lump. We were given the option of chemo or macrolone tablets, and having friends who had not long been through chemo with one of their dogs for cancer and on their advice we opted for the tablets, which would help to control the size of the lumps for a while. He was still his same cheeky self for the next few months, though the tablets made him put on a lot of weight, we were hoping he would make it to his 7 th birthday which was in July, but sadly it wasn't to be. He lived for at least 8 months after his diagnosis which we were ever so grateful for, the vet assured us he was not in any pain during that time and we also could see no evidence of this either.

Marion01

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Just an update on Ruger... he started Chemo on Thursday and he is doing well, no problems so far and he hasnt been unwell at all. His Lymph nodes have gone right down to almost normal size which I wasnt expecting so soon and my vet said he is on his way to being in remission. I know he still has so far to go and will be having treatment for months but Im very happy so far :crossfingers:

I have transfered him to the vet at Morphett Vale for his treatment as its close to home and easier for family and friends to drop him off or pick him up when Im working. Hes back at home now as hes doing so well and has been very happy playing with the pups I have here.

He is not at all keen on taking so many tablets everyday and having his temperature taken, but Im sure he will get used to it. Tomorrow he goes in for another blood test then the next lot of treatment on Thursday, so fingers crossed he keeps doing this well :rofl:

Sorry to hear your boy has cancer too ES :rofl: it was so hard to decide what to do as it was a huge shock initially but I can only try and hope for the best for him.

Marion so sad to hear of your Cody :eek: it is a horrible thing to deal with cancer and to know you wont have then for years to come :o

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Thats great news about Ruger :laugh: Even though you are told that chemo in dogs is not as bad as for humans, you still expect the worst, and its a great releif to get the first one over and know that it really is going to be okay.

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Thanks Miss Squish, I actually have Cody's sister as well and she is 14 and apart from arthritis she is faring well. It's really good to hear Ruger is responding so well to treatment, hope all goes well for you and him. Give him a big hug from me.

Marion01

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  • 3 weeks later...

Quick update on Ruger... I wasnt expecting results so soon but hes now in Remission ! :banghead: Hes responded to his chemo treatments so well that I havent noticed any changes in him at all ;)

So glad I made the right choice for him and his cancer was found so early, fingers crossed hes around for a long time yet :happydance2:

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