The Good and Bad about Lymphoma Treatment for Dogs

The most common aspect of lymphoma in dogs presents itself as lumps or swollen lymph nodes on the back, armpits, and neck. In the early stages, there is no pain involved, but that can change almost overnight if action isn't taken as soon as these lumps are noticed.

There are, however, a few aspects that go almost unnoticed until it's too late; these symptoms include vomiting, lethargy, and loss of appetite among others. Some are easily noticed while others are found accidently.

For the most part, chemotherapy is one of the best actions to take in order to treat your dog with canine lymphoma. This will also help over 80 percent of dogs with lymphoma go into remission for at least 12 months. Side effects are usually rare, and seen in less than 10 percent of dogs undergoing this treatment. These side effects can include vomiting, nausea, and hair loss. There are two different kinds of chemo treatment; single and multi-agent. Single agent chemo is less toxic, and doesn't cost as much but remission is usually shorter, around 7 months the first time.

If chemotherapy isn't something that you want, or can afford to put your dog through, there is another option; prednisone therapy.

Prednisone therapy is much easier on your dog and the short term benefits greatly outweigh that of chemotherapy. While the remission rate is lower than chemo, approximately 2 to 3 months, the dog will have a more comfortable life while undergoing the prednisone treatment. You should, however, not use prednisone before undertaking chemotherapy as this will reduce the effectiveness of the chemo and put your dog under unneeded pain and agony.

If you are looking for the best possible outcome for your dog, then stem cell replacement is probably the best possible solution. The effects are strikingly significant and raise your dog's survival rate tremendously. The stem cells are taken from the bone marrow of your dog where there is no cancer found and replaced after it has gone through total radiation treatment. While this is extremely effective, it is also extremely expensive and might be something you will have to consider long and hard before attempting. Your vet will explain the best possible treatment for your dog when it comes to canine lymphoma and explain all the procedures that you can try. It's up to you to pick the one you want, though.

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