Newman is a five year old Black Labrador Retriever. He came into the hospital in August of 2009 for a checkup, as he wasn't eating very well and just didn't seem to be his usual exuberant self. While his heart rate and temperature were normal, the lymph nodes under his jaws were quite firm and enlarged.
Our veterinarian used a fine needle and syringe to draw some cells out of Newman's lymph nodes and we sent the sample to a veterinary pathologist. The results came back as being consistent with lymphosarcoma (cancer).
Newman was started on a treatment regimen of steroids and chemo drugs. When dogs undergo chemotherapy, the doses are much lower than the doses used in humans and, therefore, the side effects (such as hair loss) are fewer and less severe. Newman's weight fluctuated for the first few weeks of treatment, and he did have a few episodes of diarrhea. Six weeks into treatment, one of his lymph nodes abscessed and had to be lanced, drained and treated with antibiotics. But he recovered very well from that and we continue his chemotherapy every 2 weeks with occasional weeks off. Periodic blood counts are done to make sure Newman is able to undergo his treatments and his weight is being well maintained. His energy appears boundless when he comes in to see us, and his happy nature has endeared him to everyone on staff at LVH.
