Biopsy for Beau Save My Great Dane
Biopsy for Beau:
My name is Holly Wild and I've started this GoFundMe campaign to help my friend Chrissie Smith save her beautiful Great Dane who she loves more than life itself. Beau is sick and needs immediate medical attention. Beau needs a biopsy in order to pinpoint exactly what is causing his illness.
He is losing weight and after being seen by the vet a biopsy has to be done to determine if weet Beau has intestinal lymphoma.
Lymphoma of the gastrointestinal tract (alimentary lymphoma) may develop at any area of the digestive tract, including the stomach, small intestine, large intestine and/or rectum. Signs of gastrointestinal lymphoma include vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss, lethargy, loss of appetite and diarrhea.
Chrissie is not in a financial position to afford to have a biopsy done :(. Because he has eaten so well in the last week and lost 4 pounds the vet has put him on the prednisone for intestinal lymphoma.
Excerts from Chrissie's Facebook:
"I'm so distraught that I don't have money to have the biopsy done. Over the years, I've given hundreds and hundreds of dollars to sick dogs on facebook. Now that I'm not in the same financial position as I was, I don't have money for my sweet Beau boy.
The biopsy will cost about 1600 -1700 and after that Beau will require treatment and medicines.
Beau's ultrasound came back as normal and from what the vet could see, showed no obvious signs of cancer. Vet thinks it's a form of IBD and put him on Metronidazole and Tramadol for pain.
I home cook for Beau and he seems to want to eat since being on the medication. Still not eating the way he should be but at least he's getting food into his stomach and hopefully not losing any more weight. Thank you for your prayers for my boy!!
Im hoping through family, friends and pet lovers I can raise enough money to do the biopsy and get beau the treatment that will make him well again. Possibly save his life.
Thank you Chrissie Smith."
When it comes to lymphoma, I will share what I would do. For me, this is an easy choice: I would treat my dog with a CHOP multi-agent protocol.
This protocol is a cyclic protocol usually lasting 5 to 6 months. In each cycle, the protocol includes vincristine, cyclophosphamide, and Adriamycin (doxorubicin). In the 1st cycle (usually the 1st treatment), the dog may receive Elspar. Prednisone, a steroid, is also given orally daily for the 1st 4 weeks during the 1st 4 week cycle.
Why is it so easy for me to answer this question about treating canine lymphoma? For dogs with lymphoma, chemotherapy has such a significant and positive effect on not only how long a dog lives but how well they live. Typically, a dog lives only 1 month without treatment, and the median survival time with a multi-agent chemotherapy protocol is 13 to 14 months. And dogs tolerate treatment so well that their life is considered good to great by most Guardians in my practice during the protocol and after the protocol when they are in remission. Dogs with lymphoma treated with chemotherapy live longer and live well. So, yes I would treat my own dog for lymphoma with chemotherapy. No question for me.
About the Author: Susan Ettinger, DVM, Dip. ACVIM (Oncology)
Susan Ettinger, DVM. Dip. ACVIM (Oncology) is a veterinarian oncologist at VCA Animal Specialty & Emergency Center in New York, and the co-author of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide: Full Spectrum Treatments to Optimize Your Dog's Life Quality and Longevity.
