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Lymphoma & EBV

AnnaKolomy

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Hi everyone,
My beautiful boy Bug (Beagle X Pug), 13 y young has just been diagnosed with Lymphoma.
Desexed.
last vaccinations were in 2021.

Historically he has had a history of GI issues, and after much trial and error his gut is the best on a low fat, largely cooked diet and he does struggle being fully raw fed.

I believe he may have CPV - (canine papilloma virus), he must have picked that up as a puppy as it was quite active when he was very young and then seemed to be dormant for many years. This year a few new little lumps have come up, they are only ever on his abdomen, he doesn't get these in his mouth or face. He has also previously had a mast cell tumour grade 2 and no chemo required at the time, he had surgery to remove it. He does have plenty of lipomas.

Significant things of note are:
- that earlier this year he did have his first dental clean which he did go under for. I do believe that this really affected his immunity as his gums didn't really improve after this and shortly after the lymph nodes under his mandible started to become noticeable. He was initially treat with amoxyclav which didn't make any difference to the glands, but did really help clear up long standing ear infections (that nothing else we tried seemed to be able to shift).
- After this he was having quite weepy eyes and he just wasn't quite right with his groin area becoming scaly and inflamed (but he wasn't licking it or itching) and his gums not fully better, it was determined he was having some kind of seasonal allergic reaction (which he has historically been prone to during the australian winters).
He was given a shot of monoclonal antibodies - and it didnt really have any affect on him at all.
We happened to have some prednisone at home so took matters in our own hands and gave him a very small dose of that and that helped, the vet was shocked that the low dose he was receiving (5mg) made any difference at all.
- shortly after our other dog got salmonella poisoning (we can thank hubby for feeding her off giblets 🤦‍♀️), and unfortunately Bug must have picked it up off her, as he didn't eat the giblets. She was given amoxyclav on the day that Bug started getting sick and we decided to wait 24hrs to determine whether it was a once off issue. Unfortunately the vet didnt make a note of of the prescription for Bug, they were closed the next day and then they refused to dispense it as it was a different vet who I consulted with and he wasnt contactable to confirm. As Bee was better, I stopped her amoxyclav early and gave the rest to Bug so he had 1.5 days of antibiotics but it did help stop the diarrhea. Unfortunately this really did affect his GI and immunity as his anus became quite ulcerated after this and he seemed to "leak" a little after his poo's.

From there I've been trying to manage him by putting him on some probiotics and changing his food around, but I couldnt quite get anything to really help him.
Then a fortnight ago he started to decline quite rapidly and his breathing became very laboured and he threw up once.

We took him to an emergency vet on Saturday PM and she identified that he was quite ulcered in his mouth and gums. She was aware of his skin and currently his lymph glands in the mandible were still up. He was prescribed metronidazole and carafate tablets. His bloods were taken then too.
I believe that he was having a reaction to the metronidazole as he then started throwing up and having diarrhea. I went back on monday and as he was declining and now not eating. We switched him to amoxyclav and she noted that there was a very mild level of swelling in his groin glands which wasnt there before. Between Sat Pm & Mon PM he'd lost 700g of weight (from 17.1kg down to 16.4kg). At this point she did a fine needle aspiration of the lymph glands and they were sent off for testing.

The change in medication definitely stopped the vomitting and diarrhea, so I do believe there was some impact there, but he would only eat the smallest amount in the mornings and refuse everything else. He was drinking plenty of water and peeing properly. There was one day he didn't do a poo but I wasn't too concerned as the volume of food hed eaten was very small the next day he was back to the toilet and his poo was small but solid.

He wasn't improving at all on the amoxyclav (maybe very mildly) but at this point it was clear something else was going on. This vet was then off work until Thursday so I actually went back anyway as Bug wasnt improving and we got the news that his results showed "highly suspicious for lymphoma" she didnt disclose at the time that it was advanced and did prescribe him prednisolone 20mg 2 x pd for 3 weeks and then 1 x pd. She recommended Chemo.

I requested the labs and report so I could do additional research/consults.. and here we are. Currently the prednisolone has seemingly resolved everything. Night and Day difference. A dog that wasn't going to live beyond the weekend now has all lymph glands down, all ulceration (mouth and anus) down, abdominal skin healing, eyes no longer weepy, back to his fully happy cheeky self. He is however drinking A LOT of water which I understand is a side effect of the prednisolone.

I mentioned the CPV earlier and I'm also curious about canine EBV the research I've read in the last few days has got me thinking because both hubby and I had EBV in jan 2021, I was initially asympotmatic but then really really struggled with the deeper phase of it and if I understand the research correctly it can easily pass to canines. I think the issues this year have definitely weakened his immunity and brought the lymphoma up and I'm curious on thoughts around EBV & Lymphoma care.

Additionally on an emotional/energetic level it needs to be mentioned that we have had a horrendously stressful couple of years and are doing our best to manage that but we absolutely are aware that our sensitive, intuitive boy is picking up on some of that. I was also poisoned through a spider bit on my neck which really stuffed up my lymphatic system and immunity so I can definitely see an energetic connection here also.


so at the end of my essay, I'd like to help him as much as we possibly can to ensure his quality of life for as long as we can. I'd like to remove his "age" as the single factor for treatment and look at him very holistically as he is otherwise in great condition, happy, cheeky, playful and full of personality and I feel like it would be a disservice to him to simply let him go because he's "13"
 

Dr. Jeff

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Hey Anna!

I'm super sorry to hear about Bug's health challenge. And am very glad that e is doing so well on the pred.

Are you still only using 5mg of pred?
I'd like to help him as much as we possibly can to ensure his quality of life for as long as we can.
Fantastic! That's the goal of HA! as well. Regardless of age, "diagnosis" or what an anyone says.

it would be a disservice to him to simply let him go because he's "13"
Yes. I couldn't agree more.

What are the ingredients in his cooked diet?

Are you using any supplements like:


 

AnnaKolomy

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Hi,

No he is currently prescribed:
20mg morning and 20mg night for 3 weeks (he is one week in) and then dropping down to 20mg 1 x pd.
Happy to play with this and I am also booked into our standard vet for a second opinion prior to our call on friday.

What has worked best for him food wise is a base of:
pasture fed lean beef mince with broccoli and bok choy (or other asian green) and cooked chicken breast.
From this base he was doing ok with a little bit of giblets (doesn't love chicken hearts) and prior to the salmonella issue I did feel like I could be giving him some bone again without concern over him throwing it all up.
I do give him berries, raw carrot, steam pumpkin/sweet potato, turkey mince sometimes cooked, sometimes raw and he was having some diced beef too which I can go back to, he was just gaining weight so I switched to a slightly more hybrid model with some grain free weight management kibble.
We were giving him sardines in water 1 x pw but even that proved to be too fatty and was causing runny stools.
I've stopped rice since reading a little about keto preference. And I've since learned bone meal is a thing so I will look into that as that may work well for him.
Fido's flora unfortunately didn't seem to provide any gut relief when used last year, but happy to give it another go.
I have been giving him 1 x vimergy vit c p day since diagnosis and yes happy to give him any other supplement recommended.
 

Dr. Jeff

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It was lovely chatting today Anna!

Please let us know what your vet says on Mon.
 

AnnaKolomy

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Ok, so have had a consult with standard vet and oncologist yesterday.

Oncologist seems to think that he has epithileal trophic lymphoma (T cell) based on historical (recent) symptoms.

Currently he is in "clinical remission" due to the prednisolone so no further testing can be done.

She has suggested chemo (laverdia isn't something readily available in Australia) and will be be sending me further details on everything hopefully later today. We will then make a decision on whether we proceed with chemo or not.

His prednisolone has been reduced slightly and I have started him on fenbendazole. But he is quite unsettled so will monitor how he goes.
Oncologist was clear that the fenben doesn't work, but I've seen plenty of positive stories, so keen to know your further thoughts
I've also doubled his vit c and will increase further shortly.

current follow up questions are:
- colloidal silver - what dosage should I use in his water? (if at all)
- I've added some atlantic dulse flakes into his food and I've had spirulina at home so I've been sprinkling that too. What dosage spriulina to use?
- milk thistle (liver support) is recommended with fenben usage, any suggestions on dosages?

thank you
 

Dr. Jeff

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- colloidal silver - what dosage should I use in his water? (if at all)
You may want to avoid avoid oral use if you are considering adding a vet homeopath to Bug's vet care team.

Silver is also a potent homeopathic remedy that can confuse the case.

What dosage spriulina to use?
Does he like it? If he does, then perhaps let his bowels be your guide. Feed proportionally to his preference (use more if he likes and less, or not at all, if he doesn't).

- milk thistle (liver support) is recommended with fenben usage, any suggestions on dosages?
Which product are you using?
 

AnnaKolomy

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You may want to avoid avoid oral use if you are considering adding a vet homeopath to Bug's vet care team.

Silver is also a potent homeopathic remedy that can confuse the case.
Hi Dr, not currently using any homeopathics, have really only looked more naturopathically at this stage.

And milk thistle, we happen to have the vimergy one at home, so liquid.
 

Dr. Jeff

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Perhaps see how he does with 1/2 dropper 1-2x a day.
 

Dr. Christina

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Because drinking really good water is important for health, I recommend not putting anything in the drinking water, not even flower essences.

If you feel that any substance (silver, herb, etc) is needed - give in a food treat , topically or in the mouth.

Dr. Christina
 

AnnaKolomy

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Because drinking really good water is important for health, I recommend not putting anything in the drinking water, not even flower essences.

If you feel that any substance (silver, herb, etc) is needed - give in a food treat , topically or in the mouth.

Dr. Christina
Thank you, thats great to know.
As part of Bugs assessment I did consult with an animal communicator/intuitive and Bug was experiencing some nausea, the insight that came through was to provide some cooled/diluted camomile tea - how would you best suggest to provide that? In food instead of the water bowl?
 

Dr. Christina

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I would offer it in a separate bowl so he could choose to drink that or her regular water.
Also, you may want to search for the thread about Structured water.
Dr. Christina
 

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