Bonnie and her (long) chemo story

anniehoo

Ive been on Boards quite awhile now and try to help out with the the odd bit of advice here when i can, but today i thought id like to share my own story with yee in case any dog owner comes across this with their pet in the near future.I have a lovely little 13 1/2 yr old mongrel called Bonnie who was diagnosed with multicentric lymphoma (basically a form of cancer stemming from her lymph nodes) in April 2007.

Prognosis at the time was not good. Average life span is meant to be 9mths including treatment (6 wks without). The treatment involves a fairly rigorous 19 week chemo protocol (there are shorter but less effective ones). Now, when i say "rigorous" it means weekly doses of various different drugs and regular trips to the vet. Luckily where i work this is feasible and have often wondered how other pet owners who dont work with vets would manage this.

So, April 2007 her first chemo session began. I had no expectations, just hoping she tolerated it well which she did..right to the end with little or no side effects (one bad week which was soon rectified). The whole way through she was an angel and was classified as in remission (all lymph nodes back to normal size) in Sep 07. Canine lymphoma is a very common disease and i had read all the statistics, so i was watching and waiting for the lymph nodes to re-enlarge...and waited... for another 17mths ..when they enlarged again (feb 09), meaning it was back. She was still the happy go lucky thing that she was and i thought long and hard about repeating the chemo session. The vets were so amazed how well she tolerated it the last time and they left it in my hands to decide whether to repeat it again..which i did.Well..she has just sailed straight through it again and finished her last dose on wednesday (i think she had an extra waggy tail that day). Im just so amazed.

All the statistics say that a dog with lymphoma should be dead by now but Bonnie is proving them all wrong. It has been by no means an easy ride (for her or for me) but i dont regret one single decision ive made for her since it was diagnosed.Im under no illusion that this will be back and probably fairly soon.

But, i basically just wanted to share my story in the hope that it might give another owner some hope. Yes its expensive and time consuming but has worked wonders on my little cutie. She tolerated the chemo extremely well (little or no sickness and no hair loss like in humans). I dread the day i finally have to say goodbye, but when i was told at the start id have 9mths or less , im so grateful to have had the extra time ive had. I questioned constantly whether i was doing the right thing, but as i said she had little or no side effects and has been spoiled rotten the last 2 yrs so thats how ive justified what ive done. So, if you do have a dog that is diagnosed with it, there is hope, but it is not an easy ride.From now on,its basically taking one day at a time with Bonnie as i wont be repeating it again.Heres to another little bit longer with her ....;)

star-pants

Thank you for sharing your story, I'm so happy your Bonnie is so strong and pulling through. You guys must have a great bond

ISDW

Thanks for sharing that, its great to hear such a positive story. I lost a dog to lymphoma last year, he died a month after diagnosis. I had made the decision not to put him through chemo. I'm really pleased that Bonnie has taken it so well, and that its worked. I hope that she continues to thrive.

anniehoo

star-pants wrote: »

You guys must have a great bond

Ah stop, i try to be rational about her eventually dying but i well-up just thinking about it.:o Shes my little bud, but im realistic and know she wont be around forever. Ill do my best for her and try not to let my love for her over ride the understanding that she needs to go at some stage and not keep her here just for me. Shes my best "dog" friend if that makes sense. I love her to bits but i understand that prolonging her life just for my sake is not an option if she is suffering...a choice i wish we could make in our own lives.

ISDW wrote: »

I lost a dog to lymphoma last year, he died a month after diagnosis.

Soo sorry to hear that ISDW

star-pants

ISDW wrote: »

Thanks for sharing that, its great to hear such a positive story. I lost a dog to lymphoma last year, he died a month after diagnosis.

I'm sorry to hear that - so sad, but I hope he went in some peace

anniehoo wrote: »

Shes my best "dog" friend if that makes sense. I love her to bits but i understand that prolonging her life just for my sake is not an option if she is suffering...a choice i wish we could make in our own lives.

Ah of course - and I know you're not making her go through horrible things to keep her alive, she's battled because she wanted to and when her time comes, as sad as it will be, you'll be able to let her go. Because when we love someone like that, we do what's best. You've done great for her so far hun.