# Just found out my 9 year old has increasing lymphocytes...



## bozich1202 (Nov 1, 2021)

After his annual check-up in September, our vet requested a blood re-check one month later because his numbers seemed high. Four weeks later, his lymphocytes has gone from 10,000 to 34,000. She said that suggested lymphoma and suggested we send another sample to Colorado State for flow cytometry.

We received those results on Friday. His lymphocytes are now at 55,000. She said it's like a "house fire". The next step is to try to get in an appointment with our local veterinarian oncologist. Hopefully we can get an appointment this week. 

He has no other symptoms at all. Seems just like himself. I wouldn't even know he had anything going on if it wasn't for this bloodwork. With everything I read, it seems like dogs have swollen lymph nodes or tumors. Is this what's on the horizon for us? Did we catch this before this happened?

Has anyone else experienced this? Any advice? Tips?


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## Ffcmm (May 4, 2016)

i have not experienced this, but I’m sending you kind thoughts and hoping that he will be ok. Bumping up for other replies.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Ask your vet to help you get an appointment ASAP - I'm sorry for your worry. If you can't be seen this week, I would strongly consider driving somewhere else in your region for a timely appointment.


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## oliver30 (Feb 10, 2012)

nolefan said:


> Ask your vet to help you get an appointment ASAP - I'm sorry for your worry. If you can't be seen this week, I would strongly consider driving somewhere else in your region for a timely appointment.


Thank you. Just found out that we have an appointment this Friday, 11/5. I'm happy that we got in so soon. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to go in with him though because of Covid restrictions.

What questions should I be asking?


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## NicoleGold (Dec 8, 2015)

What did the flow cytometry say? If it is lymphoma, the results from CSU would have told you if it was B cell or T cell (or it would have told you it’s not lymphoma).


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## skay22 (Sep 25, 2021)

I'm no help, but I will be crossing my fingers for him!


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## bozich1202 (Nov 1, 2021)

NicoleGold said:


> What did the flow cytometry say? If it is lymphoma, the results from CSU would have told you if it was B cell or T cell (or it would have told you it’s not lymphoma).


"Revealed a homogeneous of CD8 T cells. This finding is most consistent with T cell lymphoma or leukemia."

We have an appointment with the vet oncologist on Friday.


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

I am very sorry.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

oliver30 said:


> Thank you. Just found out that we have an appointment this Friday, 11/5. I'm happy that we got in so soon. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to go in with him though because of Covid restrictions.
> 
> What questions should I be asking?


I'm so glad you have an appointment this week. Waiting for more information is absolutely brutal. I'm so sorry you can't go in - I'm so sick of this crap with Covid. People can take a child into a dr. appointment, you ought to be able to go into a cancer specialist with your dog. I'm so sorry.... Honestly, I would be sure to have paper and pen and take notes. Ask them to email you every bit of info they can. I always ask the vet "what would you do if this were your dog?" 
When you have a definite diagnosis, you might check facebook for support groups, there are several.

My heart goes out to you.


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## NicoleGold (Dec 8, 2015)

bozich1202 said:


> "Revealed a homogeneous of CD8 T cells. This finding is most consistent with T cell lymphoma or leukemia."
> 
> We have an appointment with the vet oncologist on Friday.



Ugh, I am so very sorry. Such terrible and heartbreaking news. 

Your oncologist is likely going to recommend LCHOP (chemo), but there are other chemo options (or just prednisone). If you don’t have insurance, make sure you get cost estimates for all the proposed chemo options as well as how well he would be expected to do/how long he’d survive for each option. Just so you are mentally prepared, LCHOP (the chemo that everyone I know whose dog has had T cell lymphoma has used) is VERY expensive (I want to say a friend paid something like $12,000+ and while that dog did go in remission, every time he came out of remission it was more money for more chemo, etc.). 

Lymphoma vs leukemia, your oncologist may also recommend some sort of scan (CT, ultrasound, xrays) to see if your dog has lymphoma or leukemia (your dog could have lymph node swelling internally - a different friend’s dog was found to have lymphoma after one day he couldn’t pee. They thought he had some type of blockage, but it turns out he had swollen lymphnodes internally that were so large and pressing on things that got bad enough to keep him from being able to pee). 

My understanding is the treatment for T-cell lymphoma vs lymphoblastic leukemia is the exact same. But the imaging could also show you if the cancer has spread internally, which may impact your decision to pursue treatment.

Another thing to ask if money is a concern - can they refer you to any trials done by local universities? 


Again, I am so very sorry for your news. I lost a dog to acute myeloid leukemia (not the same treatment, but same tragic result), so spent a lot of time talking to various oncologists while trying to figure out his treatment plan. If you have any questions or want to talk, you are welcome to send me a private message.


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## Golden Glory (May 11, 2020)

bozich1202 said:


> After his annual check-up in September, our vet requested a blood re-check one month later because his numbers seemed high. Four weeks later, his lymphocytes has gone from 10,000 to 34,000. She said that suggested lymphoma and suggested we send another sample to Colorado State for flow cytometry.
> 
> We received those results on Friday. His lymphocytes are now at 55,000. She said it's like a "house fire". The next step is to try to get in an appointment with our local veterinarian oncologist. Hopefully we can get an appointment this week.
> 
> ...


Hi there! After losing my last golden to the big c I searched and searched to see if there was something more I could have done. After quite some time I found something and you might want to try this. Have a look. https://www.fenbendazole.org/2019/12/19/what-is-fenbendazole-and-how-can-it-affect-cancer-treatment/
I believe you can purchase it as a stand alone tablet from places like amazon or ebay. As well as just plain old dog dewormer. If it was me I would buy the dewormer and deworm every week.. Its not going to hurt and may actually work. I hope this helps you!


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

*@bozich1202,* really sorry about your boy, glad you're able to be seen by the Oncologist this week. 

_*I would work closely with your Vet regarding treatment options, also ask about Clinical Trials at Vet Med Schools. *_


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## oliver30 (Feb 10, 2012)

NicoleGold said:


> Ugh, I am so very sorry. Such terrible and heartbreaking news.
> 
> Your oncologist is likely going to recommend LCHOP (chemo), but there are other chemo options (or just prednisone). If you don’t have insurance, make sure you get cost estimates for all the proposed chemo options as well as how well he would be expected to do/how long he’d survive for each option. Just so you are mentally prepared, LCHOP (the chemo that everyone I know whose dog has had T cell lymphoma has used) is VERY expensive (I want to say a friend paid something like $12,000+ and while that dog did go in remission, every time he came out of remission it was more money for more chemo, etc.).
> 
> ...


Thank you so very much for your detailed reply and the information! I appreciate it. It is very helpful. I was afraid that chemo was going to be very expensive. I'm trying to stay positive but it's very difficult. We all love him so much and he is such a sweet boy. My heart breaks when I look at him. 

I'm looking forward to going to our appt on Friday (but not really) so we know exactly what we're dealing with and how we should proceed. The information you shared was very helpful and something to consider when talking to the oncologist. 

Thanks again. You might hear from me again!


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## oliver30 (Feb 10, 2012)

Golden Glory said:


> Hi there! After losing my last golden to the big c I searched and searched to see if there was something more I could have done. After quite some time I found something and you might want to try this. Have a look. https://www.fenbendazole.org/2019/12/19/what-is-fenbendazole-and-how-can-it-affect-cancer-treatment/
> I believe you can purchase it as a stand alone tablet from places like amazon or ebay. As well as just plain old dog dewormer. If it was me I would buy the dewormer and deworm every week.. Its not going to hurt and may actually work. I hope this helps you!


Thank you so much. I'm going to look into this. I'm willing to try just about anything to help him.


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## NicoleGold (Dec 8, 2015)

oliver30 said:


> Thank you so very much for your detailed reply and the information! I appreciate it. It is very helpful. I was afraid that chemo was going to be very expensive. I'm trying to stay positive but it's very difficult. We all love him so much and he is such a sweet boy. My heart breaks when I look at him.
> 
> I'm looking forward to going to our appt on Friday (but not really) so we know exactly what we're dealing with and how we should proceed. The information you shared was very helpful and something to consider when talking to the oncologist.
> 
> Thanks again. You might hear from me again!



Another thing - if leukemia, you will want to find out if it is chronic or acute. My understanding is chronic leukemia has a good prognosis (1-3 years) vs acute which is more like lymphoma.


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## oliver30 (Feb 10, 2012)

NicoleGold said:


> Another thing - if leukemia, you will want to find out if it is chronic or acute. My understanding is chronic leukemia has a good prognosis (1-3 years) vs acute which is more like lymphoma.


Thank you for the suggestion. I put it on my list of questions to ask.


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