# 8 year old golden diagnosed with lymphoma



## puddles everywhere (May 13, 2016)

I am so sorry. I went through this with my Dalmatian a while back. Good news is with a daily dose of Rimadyl he made it for almost 3 more years before it was time to let go. Prayers are with you.


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## Bailey1000 (Jul 26, 2016)

Thank you. I haven't yet heard about rimadyl. Is it a chemo drug?


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## Finnhill (Jul 26, 2016)

Prednisone is a steroid drug - causes weight gain...


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## skeller (Mar 5, 2008)

We went through this in March with our beloved Benny. He was 8 years old as well. We also opted for the prednisone. He had a surge of energy for the first two weeks on the prednisone, and an increase in appetite. Also did not gain weight. After 4 weeks, the prednisone stopped working. Unfortunately, Benny passed 30 days from the diagnosis. He had difficulty walking, and when he was able to walk, he fell often. It is heartbreaking. My heart goes out to you. As I am writing this, the tears are flowing. I will pray for you and your girl.


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## 4goldengirls (Jun 10, 2014)

I'm so sorry to hear this devastating news on your girl. Prayers and good thoughts are sent you way.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

I'm so very sorry your girl has been diagnosed with Lymphoma. 

I had to let my girl go in March, she had lymphoma. I found out in Sept., she was treated with Prednisone and antibiotics, three rounds. Then I saw a different Vet at my clinic in January that put her on high dosages of prednisone and also Eassiac Tea. She was doing very well for several months, actually up to about the last week before I had to let her go. 

Rimadyl is used to treat arthritis and hip dysplasia in dogs, it is used for pain management. My Vet advised giving any pain medications while my girl was on Prednisone, she was taking it daily along with the Essiac tea.

My thoughts are with you and your girl.


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## Bailey1000 (Jul 26, 2016)

My vet at this time doesn't want to prescribe any pain meds. Thank you all for your kind words. I also have her on a high protein diet and a few supplements. I know there will soon come a day when prednisone doesn't work anymore. I am hoping that day is later rather than sooner. It is disheartening to see the muscles pulling away from the bones in her eyes and seeing her hips and spine. But she still has her energy. Not as much as she once did. But it's still there. She is taking 20 mg of prednisone twice a day right now and not tapering it off. For those of you that did prednisone, did your vet taper it?


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

The first several rounds of Prednisone my girl was tapered off, during her last month-month and a half, my Vet had me continue to give her 1-1.5 tablets per day along with the Essiac Tea.

I also had her liver and kidney functions checked to see if they were alright from being on the Prednisone for so long and if she needed to be supplemented with Sam-E. Surprisingly they were alright and she didn't need to be supplemented.


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## Bailey1000 (Jul 26, 2016)

Thanks Carolina Mom. I wonder why some vets taper the prednisone when treating cancer. I ended up taking my girl to two different vets the week of her diagnosis. One vet said to taper other said not to taper. I opted not to taper cause it seemed to make sense given the explanation. But I don't really know.


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## Bailey1000 (Jul 26, 2016)

We are noticing the sinking in around the bones more this week. This photo shows around her eyes, sinking in. I hope this isn't a sign that the cancer is getting worse.


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## smp (Apr 27, 2016)

So sorry for this awful news! Praying for comfort and lots more good memories. I've only been through cancer with a dog once, and it's such a personal experience, I'm reluctant to give any advice. Hugs to your girl.


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## Siandvm (Jun 22, 2016)

SMP is right -- it's different for every pet and every owner. I went through lymphoma with one of my cats -- we did chemo and I'm so glad we did, but I have other cats for whom that would be the absolute wrong choice! 

I will say, you do NOT want to give Rimadyl and prednisone together (not that I think your vet would, but I just want to put it out there in case there is someone who has leftover Rimadyl and their pet is put on pred) because you are almost guaranteeing GI ulceration. 

BTW, the muscle wasting you are seeing could be either from the prednisone or the cancer, so don't worry too much. As long as she is feeling ok, that's what's important. 

I am so sorry you are going through this! Hugs.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Bailey1000 said:


> Thanks Carolina Mom. I wonder why some vets taper the prednisone when treating cancer. I ended up taking my girl to two different vets the week of her diagnosis. One vet said to taper other said not to taper. I opted not to taper cause it seemed to make sense given the explanation. But I don't really know.


I asked my Vet about not tapering off of the Prednisone too, if it would be alright. She felt as long as it was helping her, it was OK to continue giving it to her. Like I said, I did have her kidney and liver functions checked and they were surprisingly good. 

I feel for you, it's a very tough journey, it's heartbreaking...... I'm really sorry you both are going through this. 

All I can say is make the most of each and every second you have with your girl, spoil her rotten, do whatever she enjoys and is able to handle. My girl LOVED oatmeal and ice cream, she ate a lot of it.


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## Bailey1000 (Jul 26, 2016)

My sweet dog gave me a good laugh this morning. I woke up to what I initially thought was throw up on her bed. And I instantly thought oh no. This is a sign that she is going down hill fast. She hasn't thrown up at all since her diagnosis. My heart sank. Only to put my glasses on and discover that she hadn't had an accident on her bed at all, she had taken muffin wrappers out of the trash can in hopes of getting a bite of them. It made me laugh.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Bailey1000 said:


> My sweet dog gave me a good laugh this morning. I woke up to what I initially thought was throw up on her bed. And I instantly thought oh no. This is a sign that she is going down hill fast. She hasn't thrown up at all since her diagnosis. My heart sank. Only to put my glasses on and discover that she hadn't had an accident on her bed at all, she had taken muffin wrappers out of the trash can in hopes of getting a bite of them. It made me laugh.



Awww, what a wonderful gift you've been given, in the months to come you will know what I mean.


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## Kalhayd (May 4, 2016)

Our girl is on presidone, too. We started giving them twice a day, then once a day, and now she gets one every other day. She, too, will have her kidneys and liver checked. She is insanely hungry on days she gets the presidone vs the days she does not. 


Keeping your girl in our prayers.


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## Bailey1000 (Jul 26, 2016)

Did your doctor say why they recommended tapering the prednisone like traditional dosing? I just really wonder if the tapering tricks the cancer or makes the cancer respond better than continual dosing amounts?


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## Kalhayd (May 4, 2016)

Bailey1000 said:


> Did your doctor say why they recommended tapering the prednisone like traditional dosing? I just really wonder if the tapering tricks the cancer or makes the cancer respond better than continual dosing amounts?


Ours is a bit complex as they know Bayleigh has some form of cancer(and we've narrowed it down to either and anal glad cancer OR a tumor on her parathyroid gland)- and is showing NO symptoms other than increased thirst and high blood calcium levels. They've ruled everything else out and the test to confirm the above two we've declined as she is nearing 11 and we want her to be happy, healthy, and not poked and prodded on. 


The oncologist didn't say why they're tapering. My "guess" would be to give a high dose, then lower to not risk too much damage to her liver. Bayleigh hasn't lost any weight yet. If her blood work wasn't yelling something is wrong, we'd be oblivious to her being sick.


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## goldenlover321 (Jul 30, 2016)

I am so sorry to hear of your baby's diagnosis of lymphoma. I just said goodbye to my 5 year old due to the same thing. His spread to his spleen and the vet also saw a nodule on his liver. They put him on 80 mg of prednisone since we opted against chemo. We brought him home and loved/played with him for the rest of the week. We got the diagnosis on a Tuesday, and said goodbye on Friday. So very sad. Prayers for you and your sweet pup.


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## Bailey1000 (Jul 26, 2016)

Just an update on my dog. Her muscles are wasting a little more especially in the face but she is still eating and still has energy. I have noticed that her back legs are somewhat giving out a little on her. She still gets around but jumping has become a lot harder. Don't know if this is just the cancer spreading to the bones or just simply getting weaker from muscles wasting. Has anyone experienced this in their cancer dog?


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

Bailey1000 said:


> Just an update on my dog. Her muscles are wasting a little more especially in the face but she is still eating and still has energy. I have noticed that her back legs are somewhat giving out a little on her. She still gets around but jumping has become a lot harder. Don't know if this is just the cancer spreading to the bones or just simply getting weaker from muscles wasting. Has anyone experienced this in their cancer dog?


When Jake had hemo he showed no symptoms. No weight loss or anything before he had his final collapse. The day before he passed he did start to cough a little. He was normal just 5 minutes before we left him outside and he came in and collapsed. But lymphoma I know is different.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

I have no insight, but wanted to post that you are both in my thoughts & prayers


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## dborgers (Dec 7, 2011)

I'm so sorry you got this diagnosis. Live every day to the fullest. Lots of treats, pot roast, whatever she wants. She doesn't know she's sick, and she's living in the moment.

Just an FYI: Rimidyl and prednisone together is a deadly combination


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## Bailey1000 (Jul 26, 2016)

Just an update. My sweet dogs back legs have grown weaker on her. Getting harder for her to get up. She's fine once she is standing. She can run and walk fine. Just the strength to get the back legs up is slightly harder especially on slick floor. We put a mat down to help her. Not sure if the weakness is from the muscle wasting or if the cancer is spreading to the bones.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Bailey1000, my bridge boy had the same problem, he was fine once he was up. 

You can use a large beach towel, wrap it up lengthwise and put under her to pull her up to get her up. You can buy a lift up harness to help get them up but a beach towel works the same and just as well.


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## Amizon05 (Aug 18, 2016)

Hello there. I am so sorry to hear about your golden. 

My golden, Kadie, is 4 years old. It started about 7months ago when my mom and I noticed her eyes becoming extremely red for no apparent reason. The first vet diagnosed her with Golden Retriever Uveitis. She was given eye drops which helped mask the redness/irritation but overall wasn't helping much. Before we did anything drastic with treating that diagnosis we got a second opinion in which the vet was certain Kadie did not have GRU. This is after months and months of weekly-bi weekly tests on Kadie, in which every test would come back negative. The vet told us she thought it was a tick born illness. We treated her with prednisone, and her symptoms got better. Although her bloodwork would go up and down it wasn't concerning to us at the time. 

6months later, July 2016, Kadies blood work was worsening. It wasn't until end of July that we got the diagnosis of lymphnosarcoma. She has no tumors, her CT is normal. Over the past 3-4 weeks kadies weight has dropped 15-20lbs. She has been on prednisone daily which makes her extremely hungry/thirsty constantly, and even with all she's eating she is losing weight dramatically. My mom made the decision to try chemo, her first round was last week. The following 3-5 days after, Kadie was lethargic and extremely diarrheal. Since her stools became solid again, the vet said it was only a side affect to the chemo. Two days ago, Kadie went for her second round of chemo. She had gained 2lbs back(which was exciting!) but her neutrophil count was dramatically low so they were not able to do her chemo round this week which really frightens me. 

I have searched and searched online about similar cases and so far you are the only one that I have found so much in common with. Kadie is on 40mgs prednisone daily. She has energy and seems to not be in a lot of pain. She went from 82lbs to now 66lbs. It's heartbreaking to see her spine and hip bones, her hair loss, and the vomitting/diarrhea. I worry that since we went 7+ months without the correct diagnosis that it's now too late and her body won't react to the chemo. Our vet also told us that in 30-60 days if nothing is changing we should consider her quality of life and if putting her down is the best thing for her. 

I'm not sure if this is any help to you, but finding this forum has helped me and made me feel like I am not alone. Sending my prayers to your sweet fur baby.


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## Otis-Agnes (Nov 24, 2015)

So sorry to hear about this, what a beautiful pup. We went through it with Haylie (she was 5). After a yr on chemo, the cancer came back and she was put on prednisone again. She was always hungry and she did gain weight but, at this point, we let her eat whatever she wanted. I don't think she got weaker, just one day we knew it was time. Here's a pic of sweet Haylie girl. Agnes


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Bailey and Kadie*

Praying for both Bailey and Kadie and both of you. I remember that my Smooch started having some trouble getting up and would not jump on the bed, or go upstairs anymore. She became ill, didn't want to eat, and spitting up some blood, and seemed to be having a little trouble breathing. We never did get a definitive diagnosis, but our vet thought it was either lymphoma or hemangiosarcoma.


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## Bailey1000 (Jul 26, 2016)

Amizon05 - I am so sorry to hear about your sweet golden Kadie. Yes, when I found this website t was comforting to hear other people's stories. The unknown of what to expect as the cancer progressed was the scariest part. On July 5, I found out my golden had cancer. She had already dropped 15 lbs. while she eats with gusto on the prednisone she hasn't gained weight and she looks different in the face and hips show, muscle wasting. They estimated she had 30-60 days left give or take some by doing prednisone alone. I opted not to do chemo for a lot of reasons. It's been 43 days since that diagnoses. I hope the vets are wrong and she makes it to Christmas but with each week, I notice little things that she loses. The back legs are weaker. She still has her spirit. Doesn't seem to be in a lot of pain. I am sure she is uncomfortable at times. But for this moment, she is good. I try really hard to enjoy the moment and not focus on the doom
That lies ahead. It's hard. But knowing her time is limited. I love on her more so having that is a blessing. Keep us posted on Kadie's progress. I try to give updates every few weeks so that it serves as a marker to others on what to expect. Although I am sure no two cancer cases are alike.


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## Pipersmom (Aug 2, 2016)

I agree with your decision against chemo
We pursed chemo with our 12 year old golden who had lymphoma. The treatment seemed unpleasant for her and we ultimately didn't finish it. In hind sight I think she would have benefited more from skipping the chemo. She was miserable. I felt like maybe the chemo made us feel better that she was still with us, and her miserable for longer. If you were on the fence about chemo - I will tell you your choice to not do it was the best choice for your dog. Enjoy all the time you have with your friend.


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## Bailey1000 (Jul 26, 2016)

Just an update, one of Bailey's eyes swelled up just over 48 hours. She's very lethargic. May be the pain from the eye. Taking her in to the vet today. She can barely open one eye. And all you see is white inside. Not sure if this is a sign the cancer is spreading or an eye infection unrelated to the cancer.


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## Bailey1000 (Jul 26, 2016)

We had to put our sweet girl down today. She was in so much pain. Breaks my heart but I know she isn't suffering anymore. She went downhill so quickly.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

I am so very sorry!

Run free Bailey.


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## Pilgrim123 (Jul 26, 2014)

I'm so very sorry for the loss of Bailey.


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## tikiandme (May 16, 2010)

I'm so sorry you lost Bailey.


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## Pipersmom (Aug 2, 2016)

Very sorry to read about your loss.
I hope the good memories are more frequent than the sadness of the loss very soon.


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## Bailey1000 (Jul 26, 2016)

Thank you. Here's a pic of her when she was healthier. It has been a hard 48 hours. She declined so fast.


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## Kalhayd (May 4, 2016)

I'm sorry. He's a gorgeous boy. Sending positive thoughts & prayers.


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## kansas gold (Oct 8, 2007)

Thoughts are with you during this very difficult time. Try to focus on the good times you had.


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