lymphoma stages | Latest stages of lymphoma cancer...

Latest stages of lymphoma cancer...

Dealing with news and interpretation
The translation of the Lymphoma language
This chapter and the following contain essential basic information to help you survive this difficult period, to feel less confused, to understand what you hear, and to ask questions that you may question. We also suggest additional steps you can take that can help you put order into the chaos.

The components of the diagnosis of the type of lymphoma and stage of the disease

There are two main components of the final medical diagnosis of lymphoma: the identification of the type of lymphoma and the determination of the stage to which the disease has progressed. These determinations are made despite the diagnostic tests performed as part of the "staging" and the professional interpretation of the test results. This information is discussed in more detail below.

The refined diagnosis resulting from  "Staging" is an important aspect of making a decision on whether and how to treat your dog if you choose aggressive treatment (focused on disease control), or palliative treatment (centered on pain control To death). Based on the diagnosis, the oncologist can tell you how advanced your lymphoma dogs are and whether there is a reasonable probability to control the treatment of the disease. The oncologist will also tell you your expectations about the probable success of the treatment how likely it is that your dog disease can be controlled – into  "Remission" – and for what period of time.

Your dog and that are the other key factors to decide how to act on a lymphoma diagnosis. Your old dogs, general health status and personality play an important role in your decision. Chemotherapy drugs themselves, and their side effects, may be more difficult for older dogs to tolerate, which further compromises their limited remaining time. When Berrys adoptive parents found out that their gold rescue Amanda estimated 12 – suffered from malignant mast cell tumors, it was decided to make time that is as comfortable as possible. If your dog already has other significant health problems, they can complicate the treatment of cancer or limit their dogs global life expectancy. Finally, an owner whose dog fears every trip to the vet can already think of embarking on a treatment program that includes repeated visits. But in this last point, skilled cancer carers can make your dog comfortable, even eagerto to make visits. Berry and many other canine clients of VHUPs Oncology service love to go there because the staff is committed not only to the treatment of the dogs, but to treat them well, softening the clinical experience with treats, toys and lots of love. These factors, considered as a whole, will help you decide whether the potential benefits of treatment will be greater than the risks and possible impacts on your dog. In the end, it is your determination and yours alone-if your dog will have a higher quality of life with or without treatment.

For us, who lives six blocks from VHUP, the time commitment was not a problem. But Al VHUP we find many dedicated owners who led to great distances VHUP to ensure treatment for their dogs. It must stay true to the medication schedules, which for us meant the interruption of at least one holiday to return home for the Berrys pills, forgotten on the kitchen counter. Finally, there is the cost, which is considerable. In Appendix III, we offer a summary of the costs associated with Berrys first year of treatment. Berrys treatment was expensive but I would do it all over again. Berry has so much the joy of his useful life, and they gave us so much joy to see what they live.

In the end, only you can find the path that is right for you and your pet. There is no answer that is right for everyone, just one that is right for you and your dog.

Type of lymphoma

Lymphocytes are cells that occur in the bone marrow. Mature lymphocytes take part in cellular immune reactions. When these cells become cancerous, they can invade the organs of the lymphatic system (lymph nodes and spleen), and the bone marrow. There are different types of canine lymphoma, depending on which parts of the body dogs are mainly involved:

Multicenter. They are placed in the neck of the dogs, under the front legs, behind their hind legs, and inside their body, increase in size but not painful. Often, the spleen, which acts as a giant lymph node, also enlarges, and the liver can also participate, as is the bone marrow. Dogs may have mild signs such as fatigue or decreased appetite, or may suffer from weight loss, vomiting, diarrhea, excessive thirst, or urination, weakness, or difficulty breathing. According to VHUP, "The severity of the signs depends on the extent of the tumor and whether the cancer has caused changes in organ function. 

Berry had multicenter lymphosarcoma which means that cancer cells are present in multiple lymph nodes, spleen and bone marrow.

Gastrointestinal. It involves growth tumors in the gastrointestinal tract. Growth tumors can cause obstructions. Vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss, or decreased appetite are symptoms.

Cutaneous. It affects the skin and appears as a series of elevated lesions on the skin that may resemble other skin diseases. According to VHUP, this lymphoma can be presented as ulcerated nodules on the skin, and the pillows of the legs and gums can also participate, as are the lymph nodes, the spleen and the bone marrow.

Mediastinal. A rare form of lymphoma in dogs related to the thymus gland (the lymphatic tissue in the chest). Symptoms include difficulty breathing or excess urine and thirst.Bone marrow: This is leukemia. Symptoms include anemia, bleeding, and infections resulting from decreased numbers of normal blood cells due to bone marrow deterioration, where red and white blood cells and platelets occur (see Analysis, Chapter 6).

The type of lymphoma is determined through "staging" – ultrasound, X-rays, and examination of blood specimens and aspirates or biopsies of lymph nodes and other organs. These images and samples were examined to determine the location of the tumours and the number and shape of lymphocytes that are present in the blood.

It is necessary to listen carefully to information about the type of lymphoma that has been diagnosed and which organs or systems have been affected. Lymphoma Berrys had invaded the spleen and bone marrow, but not the liver or other important organs.

Pathologists are veterinarians who assist oncologists in determining the nature of cancer cells. They do so by evaluating the types of cancer and cancer cells at the microscopic level.

 "histological grade ". This term refers to the nature of cancer cells.  "High " grade cancers are not aggressive and often before spreading the cancer is diagnosed. Lowering grade cancers is less active. Evaluating how aggressive cancer is likely to be is a very important part of the diagnosis. If the cancer is aggressive, it can be difficult to control. If it is lower grade, or  "indolent " then your dog may have a better chance of long-term survival, as Berry did. Grade can be difficult for pathologists to determine. In the case of Berrys, VHUP could not determine from the outset whether his cancer would be aggressive or indolent.

Questions to ask:

Be sure to understand what type of lymphoma and your dog has what it means.

If it is not told, ask for it are the cellular subtype and the histologic grade.

If you are not told, ask if the lymphoma is aggressive or indolent.

Ask how certain oncologists and pathologists are about your diagnosis. In Berry's case, his cancerous cells were difficult to classify. As a result, VHUP treated cancer as an aggressive form; As survival time lengthened, they confirmed it was a less aggressive form.

The stage of the disease

The second component of the diagnosis is an evaluation of the extent to which lymphoma has progressed in the body. Staging is also when you confront the fact that your dog is sick. Deliver it by looking "normal " and return to a dog with a Mohawk, its sides shaved for the ultrasound test that is performed to evaluate the spleen, liver and other internal organs.

Staging is a standardized procedure, however different sources describe the stages in a somewhat different way. A notification of the stages is as follows:

Stage I: It is limited to a node or organs.

Stage II: The participation of many nodes in a region.

Stage III: General participation node.

Stage IV: Liver or spleen involved more or less stage III.

Stage V: Metastasis to the bone marrow with or without I-IV stages.

Stage I: The unique lymphatic node involved

Stage II: Several lymph nodes in the same general area that intervene

Stage III: All peripheral lymph nodes involved

Stage IV: All peripheral lymph nodes, plus spleen, liver and/or anterior mediastinum in the chest involved

Stage V: Bone marrow involvement, irrespective of other areas involved

A dog in stage I or II may have few symptoms, if any, symptoms that are observable to landlords. In addition, during the early stages of lymphoma, even laboratory blood tests (such as CSC) may be within normal values and provide little help in identifying the disease. An academic source indicates that most of the dogs diagnosed are classified as stage III or IV. "Treatment of lymphoma in dogs: Comparison of three chemotherapy protocols "

In the advanced stages of the disease, white blood cells can be elevated and cancerous lymphocytes can be detected in the blood.

What's significant is the "scenario "?

Does the "scenario " matter and the amount of time and money should be spent trying to determine at what stage your illness dogs is? There is disagreement in the materials we have read. Some chest x-rays seen as very important. However, other oncologists recommend classification constraints in order to save money for treatment. One of the articles, "Cancer staging how much? When? Why? "states with respect to lymphoma in dogs:

The stage of canine lymphomas, however, is very seldom of prognostic importance in documents with Multicentric lymphoma. The academic benefits of a staging stage should be balanced with the costs of this assessment in a dog needing lifelong chemotherapy. A modified test protocol that is practical for most dogs with multicentric lymphoma is a lymph node aspirate for diagnosis and a CBC and profile to evaluate overall health, and to have a baseline for planning the Chemotherapy.

An owner making a decision about the treatment might want to know the stage if the state correlated with the probability of success of the treatment. But is there a relationship between the scenario and the probability of treatment success? Several articles that we read suggest that there is no response to isnt treatment so much depends on stage II or IV stage but on other factors:

"In cases of lymphoma that are not as simple as the classic " Multicentric lymphoma described below, staging may be more important. Staging used to be done on a regular basis after the initial diagnosis of lymphoma, but since then it has been found that the stage of the disease does not affect the response to chemotherapy (i.e., it is not true that a stage II will have a better Response than a stage IV). The exception is stage V, the most advanced stage. Patients with phase V lymphoma tend to have a poor response to chemotherapy. "http://www.marvistavet.com/html/canine_lymphoma.html

Substage – "symptomatic " or "Asymptomatic "?

One reason our dog did well may have been its "substage " The fact that it was "asymptomatic " and did not exhibit major symptoms of the disease. Whether your dog is "asymptomatic " ( "a ") or "symptomatic " ( "second ") may be more important than phase III or IV or even V. This designation refers to the apparent form is the disease and can be a reflection of whether the main systems of the body have been negatively affected. Some sources indicate that dogs that do not have symptoms because they are diagnosed when Berry, may have a better chance of survival than a dog who are symptomatic.

Finally, in addition to the stage and substage, the actual type of lymphoma (cellular subtype and histological grade) are identified in some sources as important aspects of evaluating the prognosis for survival.

Do not feel guilty if your dog is diagnosed in stage IV or V. Stages I and II are medical distinctions of the changes that are occurring within your body of dogs that, as mentioned above, may not even be reflected in blood tests. Even the most vigilant owner may not detect any problems in stage I or II. And don't leave "stage V " That will keep the desperation. Although Berry was classified as stage V-A, it had the advantage of being young people and in good health. Another client VHUP oncology, Alex, Airedale classified as Stage V-B, survived 14 months after diagnosis, . Her owner-lover Diane had understood alerted her local veterinarian about a series of vague but disturbing symptoms, and pressed repeatedly to get an explanation. A diagnosis of lymphoma was obtained only when she sought a second opinion.

Questions to ask:

Ask if they consider your dog to be asymptomatic or symptomatic.

Equipping yourself for the treatment trip

Bill and Linda teaches us that sometimes it is no "right " to answer only one answer that is better for you and your dog. Today we know that we made a good decision: As a result of the treatment, Berry had many, many months of normal life. And we knew when it came time to stop: Berry told us himself before the VHUPs tests. But the road was not clear at the beginning of 2000, when we faced a weakened pet depressed and a seemingly terminal diagnosis. Until they were admitted to the oncology service, we were concerned that doctors in a research center, such as VHUP could be too aggressive in their desire to treat our dog. We didn't know how long to give the treatment program to work and we were worried that we could be keeping Berry alive to meet our own needs, and not their best interest.

Location of the quality of care

Finding a well-informed and compassionate source of professional treatment is your first and most important priority. Treatment options are discussed in greater detail in Chapter 4, and access to the lists of specialists and other resources is discussed in Appendices I and II.

Advocating for your pet

Being an informed and persistent vigilante – your dog's advocate is the second critical component of helping your dog. It should start immediately and must maintain throughout its treatment of the dogs. A recurring theme in other Internet discussion owners of their treatment is that the proprietary dogs that actively manage their dog cases are much more successful measured in terms of their quality of life and dogs duration of survival than those who They don't. As discussed in Chapter 1, it cannot be passive, and you cannot rely solely on the oncologists ' professional experience to manage your dog care.

The importance of learning about lymphoma has been exposed earlier. You should do to make this an effective advocate for your pet. Your other tasks are to figure out how to get what you need from the settings you have selected for your dog, and always, always ask the question until you understand and be satisfied with the answers you receive the treatment. As a member of the treatment team, you should learn to observe and inform professional caregivers, and follow the instructions given for home care. These activities are discussed in greater detail in Chapter 5, working on the treatment team. Finally, we must be realistic, but also aim high.

Get what your dog needs

You have to be assertive, persuasive and persistent. You may have to tell your veterinarian that he or she has to consult with the most specialized professionals. You may have to ask the Department of Oncology to appoint a primary person to work with you and your dog. If there is a professional with whom you are having difficulty – that makes you feel rushed, stupid, or unimportant in the process – you need to have that person removed from your dog case. Unless that person is brilliant and absolutely essential to your dogs treatment, you have enough to handle the stress already.

The longer your dog survives in treatment, the easier it is to get what your dog needs professional caregivers can do a better job because they know more about their dog, and they have become more emotionally personal in their fighting dogs and of success. But especially at the beginning of treatment and when you press crisis points, you must be prepared to act decisively, and push to make sure that no stone is left unremoved.

With the aim of the summit

The last part of your pet's defense is always trying to do it better. In particular, remember that survival statistics are generalizations, but your pet is unique. Diagnosis and treatment are both an art and a science and involve many professional interpretations. The estimated survival time Berrys to the diagnosis was 6-8 months with treatment, with a 5% chance of surviving for 18 months. In fact, his remission inicialdurado 18 months. And in total, I lived with lymphoma for over 3 years. Until your pet tells you that you should not be optimistic (and he if that time comes), always approach treatment with the expectation of hope that it will do better than average.

Imagining the end

Oddly enough, coping with the possibility of losing your dog and, shortly after diagnosis, planning for that unimaginable event, can help manage stress and feel more prepared. With the uncertainty around you that you cannot control, this is something meaningful for which you can plan. If you have had a more important dog before, especially one that did not reach old age before dying, you already know what you want to do. But if it's a new territory, explore it. Because they had not previously had a dog in Philadelphia, we had no idea of putting the pieces together. We were taking care of the institutional environment of VHUP and, after Berry overnight in the emergency service at the beginning of his treatment, he could not stand the idea of berry dying there. We did meet the local veterinarian well, or if he was coming to our house, and he had only a small patio without great place to permanently meet our wonderful dog. Linda came over and showed me the beautiful rural farm in which she and Bill had sacrificed their dogs over the years. She knew the vet and could make arrangements on our behalf. It gave me tremendous peace to have a plan.