Dr Sue Cancer Vet

4 days ago

🐶 Luke is different than most dogs with lymphoma ⁣⁣⁣
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🤒 He was sick. Most dogs with lymphoma are actually pretty healthy at the time their cancer is diagnosed. He was so sick his family brought him in on emergency where I work. ⁣⁣⁣
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👉🏼 Also the location of his lymphoma was also less common. It was involving the lymph nodes inside the chest cavity (called mediastinal) and not the more common peripheral lymph nodes. ⁣⁣⁣
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⚠️ This causes something called pleural fluid - fluid that accumulates around the lungs making it difficult for the lungs to expand and poor Luke to breathe well. It can lead to a respiratory crisis. ⁣⁣⁣
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💉 Our criticalist tapped his chest - called a thoracocentesis - removing the fluid to allow him to breathe better and also confirmed the diagnosis ⁣⁣⁣
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👩🏼‍⚕️ So that’s where I come in. Chemotherapy time. That’s the treatment of choice for lymphoma. Very high response rates. And very well tolerated in most dogs. ⁣⁣⁣
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🧬 But before we started chemo and steroids I needed a few more tests. I was so glad no one started Luke on steroids to stop the fluid while he got into see me. I need to run a test called flow cytometry to determine if he has B or T cell lymphoma ⁣⁣⁣
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📊 Most dogs with lymphoma have B-cell, but dogs with mediastinal lymphoma tend to be T-cell, so this important test let’s us know for sure ⁣⁣⁣
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🤷‍♀️ Why do I care? B vs T is the most important prognostic predictor, and I also change his chemo protocol based on this information ⁣⁣⁣
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✔️And I have had T-cell dogs do better and live longer that B cell dogs. So yes, in my opinion, it is worth treating both⁣⁣⁣
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♥️ And I hope Luke will be different that the statistics. And live so much longer. And continue to feel great. Because I love him already ⁣⁣⁣
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🆕 Looking for more info on steroids and cancer? Check out my newest YouTube video.
youtu.be/JTAfwVaBL5w ⁣⁣⁣
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🆓 I also have tons of videos on dog lymphoma and chemotherapy. Please check them out, tag someone who might need info, and please do not forget to subscribe ... See MoreSee Less

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