Hi, I've not been on here for a fair few years, sadly it's not for a good reason I am back. My beloved 9 year old Bengal Gypsee last week got diagnosed with small cell lymphoma. The course of actions that led to his diagnosis were that about 3 weeks ago I thought I would treat Gypsee to some boiled chicken and rice for no reason really in that I had some chicken in the freezer and I know she loves it (i had no reason to think she was unwell). She gobbled it up like it was the best food ever, but then later that day she had bad diarrhoea which didn't improve over the few days and then she was throwing up her food and quickly losing weight. So I took her to the vets where they started tests. First a blood test which came back as low in vitamin B12 so she immediately started a course of B12 injections once a week (the 4th she is having today). I was then told to put her on royal canine gastro intestinal food. So I did, which gave her some improvement. The vet also suggested I add fortiflora to her food (a probiotic powder). I ordered some and then a week later I added to her food. This then made her ill again, and she wouldn't eat her food. So I went back to the vet and they then did more tests (they were thinking it was IBD at this point) - she had a scan and an oesophago -gastro - duodenoscopy to take biopsy's. Then last week when I took her to the vet for a B12 injection that told me the news it looked like it was lymphoma. Though they could not be 100% sure about the results, her biopsy is being sent for another test which takes another 2 weeks, but again may not be conclusive. But the vet seems pretty sure its lymphoma
So now I have her on steroid pills everyday (1 and 1/2 of them) and a chemo pill every other day which the vet said would be for the rest of her life (max 2 years
) 2 years of chemo sounds like a long time?!
Has anyone else on here have experience with small cell lymphoma diagnosis? I have no idea really what to expect at all. Gypsee is eating now quite a bit, but she does seem more subdued since I started the drugs. For the last year she is completely preoccupied with food and just always hungry. Constantly. There seems nothing else she will think about. Is this a symptom of lymphoma? Also the chemo drugs worry me quite a bit and the information the vet gave me scared me! Not touching the urine, stools, saliva as the chemo is very dangerous to humans! I don't go out of my way to touch any of it, but surely there is saliva everywhere, she licks herself all the time and I stroke her, and she tracks her litter about (I am in a small maisonette). So I am getting quite paranoid! Also I have another Bengal (Tia) who is licking her and using the same litter trays. How safe is this? The good news is though her stools are harder. Though they had got harder before her course of drugs started.
But anyway, I wondered if anyone else is going through/has gone through similar?