Thank you all for writing.
I have spoken to the vet about the treatment he chose: leukeran/pred, and he
said that without a biopsy, that their best guess is small cell lymphoma and
this is the best treatment. On to the biopsy: Emily can't have one right now
due to her fragile state and compromised condition, they would have to do
exploratory surgery to see what's happening in her intestines and a full
thicknes biopsy, she would need to be hospitalized and no one (me included)
beleives she is strong enough to survive the invasive surgery.
IF there is a mass, they can do a needel aspirate, however on the x-rays,
they can't find anything because she is so aneorexic, there is no contrast
to see density.
It sort of makes sense to me. Should I see an oncologist? or internist? I am
in Los Angeles so if anyone has a reccomendation, I would greatly appreciate
it. I have been studying the different protocols and this particular one has
a 69% survival rate for an average of 20 months. I just hope I am not making
things worse by giving her the wrong drugs.
We haven't seen any change with the pred/leukeran yet. But I've only given
her one dose of the leukeran so far. The pred makes her glued to the water
bowl and increased trips to the litter box. I am giving her subq fluids
daily and feeding Trader Joes tuna and store bought roasted chicken. So far
no change in the diarrhea except that the odor is so horrible it wakes me
up!! You can smell it down the street! (maybe I am exaggerating a little : )
But it is very putrid and she has a lot of gas, however no vomiting in 4
days.
Thank you for the help, I appreciate this board and the knowledge and
support it offers, it definitely beats sitting on the floor reading outdated
vet books for info!
Valerie
<<<<<Would Emily be able to at least tolerate a needle biopsy to determine
the type of lymphoma she has? In addition to what I sent to you in a
separate email, I agree with the suggestions posted thus far. Unless
you know the type of lymphoma she has, the chemo drug being
administered might not be effective. What part of the country do you
live in? Depending upon where you are located, perhaps someone in
this group can recommend a vet oncologist.
My Orion was diagnosed with high grade lymphoma and the first chemo
given was Elspar and Vincristine as described in the Wisconsin-
Madison protocol. It did the trick and he started improving
immediately>>>>>
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