Took Zeena in for an ultrasound this morning, since she had suffered a relapse of the ‘Not-Hungrys’ last week. This week she’s been eating like she’s famished again, and gained back a pound or so. She seems happy and about as energetic as Greyhounds that age ever get.
The vet called with the news that some of her abdominal lymph nodes are enlarged a bit, maybe large enough to suggest lymphoma. Vet asked if they could do a needle biopsy and test, so I said yes.
I looked up canine lymphoma, of course. There’s a treatment course that works well, extending survival from a median of 1 month to a median of 12 months. The treatment course is about $7000. Zeena is now 12 1/4 years old. Greyhounds usually live 12-14 years.
With Rhyo, our Golden, it was simpler. He was fine on Thursday, sick on Friday, and diagnosed with metastatic hemangiosarcoma on Saturday. He was bleeding internally and it was inoperable and untreatable. There was really no decision to make.
Zeena? She’s had a good life. She loves it here. She’s about as old as Greyhounds get.
Mind you, this is still uncertain. The vet said the nodes were a bit enlarged, which was suggestive of maybe lymphoma. She didn’t say anything about any other masses, like spleen or liver, and her blood tests have all been normal. Maybe it’s NOT lymphoma, or maybe it’s early stage?
How far do you go to treat an old dog who’s had a good life and is reaching the end of her expected lifespan anyway?