Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with lymphoma

What happens if we don't give our dog chemo?

misskaz — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 09:11:03 -0800

My dog has just been diagnosed with lymphoma. For various reasons, my husband and I are probably not going to do the chemo and radiation treatments outlined by the oncologist. If you have made a similar choice with your pet, can you tell me what happened? Our dog is the sweetest, most wonderful 10.5 year old greyhound. The form of lymphoma she has (T-cell) is more aggressive and resistant to chemo than the more common form of lymphoma. Given her age (although before this she's never acted or felt like a senior dog), the cost, the potential for it to not work at all, the emotional trauma for us and the physical trauma for her, and everything else, we are probably not going to try the chemo and radiation treatments. We have heard that prednisone can keep the swelling down and her appetite up for a little while, so we may try that. The one really swollen lymph node was already removed a couple weeks ago when we and the vets thought it was just a stubborn infection. (The first biopsy only showed an infection.) That's when they found a mass on her tongue and the subsequent biopsies revealed the cancer.

She has been somewhat lethargic for a while now, and we have to encourage her to eat. It seems like she will eventually eat a regular amount of food, but does it in several small meals rather than wolfing it all down at once. Unfortunately, with the antibiotics and surgery and everything else (she had a hard time eating dry food prior to the surgery, so we had to try soaking, pureeing into a gruel with a blender, etc.), she has lost a few pounds and as a greyhound, she doesn't carry much extra weight. She still seems happy and loves being with us and cuddling. She doesn't play as much on her own, but still gets excited to see her doggy and human friends.

Basically, we want to know what to expect in terms of her health - Will she have a long, slow decline or feel mostly ok before things go downhill quickly? What signs should we look for that she's unhappy or in pain? What kind of treatments, medicine, foods, etc. are available/should we be prepared for in terms of pallative care? We know that the timeline without treatment is short, but we just want to be prepared. If you have had the misfortune of a lymphoma diagnosis in your pet, and chose not to do chemo, would you mind sharing your experience?

By the way, we do have a call in to the oncologist to ask these questions as well - hopefully we can get some answers without having to pay for another consultation, but we will pay if needed. We know that chemo in dogs doesn't have as bad side effects as in people because it is administered at lower doses, but we think (hope) we are making the right decision here.

You have cancer. Oh wait, it's just mono.

djpyk — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:42:43 -0800

They sad I probably had cancer. Turned out it was mono. Is this normal? In January of this year, I had a few strange symptoms--night sweats, extreme fatigue, flu-like symptoms without a runny nose, swollen lymph nodes. I ended up going to my universities health clinic, as I'm a graduate student. Anyways, it was a Friday, and I told the doctor my symptoms. I had a few tests taken (including a "quick" mono test, which apparently is horribly inaccurate), as well as an x-ray of my chest.

Well, the clinic doc took a look at everything and got really worried. The mono test was negative, and she didn't seem to see any problems with my throat. She consulted with another doctor, and sat me down. Basically laid it out to me: you either have lymphoma (bad), or sarcoid (pretty serious). I was to get a CT scan the next day, to make a better diagnosis and see if anything was spreading. I was blown away of course, but I had her call my parents and talk to them about the situation to make sure I or her wasn't crazy.

Anyways, I went in for the CT scan that Saturday, and she wanted to schedule a biopsy at a local ear nose and throat (ENT) clinic the coming Monday. After a traumatic weekend with some of that nasty CT scanning liquid, I went into the ENT. The doctor there sat me down and said plainly, "I don't do biopsy's based on other doctor's orders." He basically thought I was nuts, and a bit confused by the CT scan. He took a look at my throat and after about a minute declared, "Yup, mono, almost 100% sure of it." He also took a look at my CT scan "readings" and they all, of course, came up nearly clear, with just a few blotches where some of my lymph nodes were big. I ended up getting a "real" mono blood test, which, of course, came up positive for being a recent infection, and several months later I'm fine, but a bit poorer.

So my (open ended) questions: Was this normal procedure? Does mono get misdiagnosed for cancer often in people of my age (early 20s)? Should I contact the health center to let them know that one of their doctor's is a bit of a sketchball? Do people trust health clinics like this (I am much much more cynical of them nowadays, for obvious reasons)?

I ask this because yes, I do have health insurance, but I'm a pretty poor graduate student. My family helped me out since after coverage, all of this ended up being around $10000 before insurance, and $2000 out-of-pocket (all I have to say is... CT scans are mighty expensive, ENT checkups are comparatively cheap).

I also ask this because I forwarded my file during the "you have cancer" weekend to my friend's doctor-dad, and he took a look and noticed that the tests suggested that there was a very small chance I had lymphoma whatsoever. Also, the wary nature of the ENT doctor made me wonder that the clinic doc was... wildly misdiagnosing me. I also have no (that me or my father/mother knows of) history of lymphoma or even cancer within my family, which would seemingly improve my odds against having cancer.

Thoughts? Similar experiences? I've taken a few months off from it all, since I was a bit frustrated by the whole experience. But recently I'm thinking of seeking some sort of closure... The clinic doctor did call me the following week after everything to apologize profusely, but also tried to justify her position at the same time (annoying to hear that of course).

Anyways, (very) long post... thanks for reading!

What's up with this lump in my neck?

zembla3 — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 07:58:42 -0800

I recently noticed what appears to be a slightly swollen (pea-sized) lymph node on the left side of my neck, about halfway up the neck. I first noticed it about 5 days ago. I can feel another node next to it, but on the right side of my neck, I can feel only one node in the same place. I don't have any other symptoms that might suggest lymphoma (itching, fever, night sweats, fatigue, weight loss). The swollen node does not feel hard or fixed, and it hasn't changed size. Is there cause for concern? I do have a blemish that I've sort of been picking at on the left side of my neck, so could that be the cause of the swollen node? I guess it's possible that this node has always been there but I haven't noticed it before. I do have hypochondriac tendencies. I'm 26 and had mono about four years ago.

Little Chemo in Slumberland

Moondoggie — Mon, 23 May 2005 13:15:02 -0800

Anyone with Hodgkin's Disease out there? Have a question about the wonders and side effects of ABVD chemotherapy. So here's the deal. I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's (stage 4b, so far) a couple of weeks ago and my first chemo treatment is on this Wednesday (first of 12). I'm getting the ABVD treatment and was wondering if any of you have had this particular cocktail and if so, what were those first couple of treatments like?

I'm getting a port put in just before the first treatment, so that's supposed to help with some of the really bad things that can happen, but that still doesn't deal with nausea, hair falling out, etc. I talked to a soon-to-be relative last night about his chemo experiences, but he has different cancer, and thus different chemo. He did mention some bizarre side effects like food cravings. Anything weird I should be watching out for like that?

I've tried googling, but I get distracted by other Hodgkin's stuff and wind up scaring the fuck out of myself. My blog and various written journals keep me mildly sane, or at least let me freak out in public. SheisMighty and I have made a vow to not read anything else about Hodgkin's until after my first treatment, but I think AskMe is a loophole :)

And please, only ABVD or Hodgkin's chemo stories only. If you have/had a different cancert, you might have gone through a chemo run much worse than I'm about to (like my soon-to-be-cousin) and I really don't need to freak out more right now.