Expecerince with Lymphoma

[Cuddles With Cavies]

Hiya everyone - I’ve got a bid of a strange and slightly morbid question for you all.

So jump back to 27th April and my little Amber was diagnosed with lymphoma. Some of you may remember the post I made on here asking for people’s experiences in dealing with the disease. We decided the best option for her was to keep her comfortable for as long as we could.

Anyway, I did a lot of research about the disease and what happens etc. Most people were saying it was a matter of weeks after diagnosis and to expect a steady decrease in weight loss.

And now this bit seems really morbid to say, but Ambers health doesn’t seem to be deteriorating. It’s been nearly 6weeks since her diagnosis and she’s still pottering around happy as Larry. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m ecstatic that she’s doing so well, but it’s left me confused and unsure of what to do.

Everything about her health would suggest she’s a happy, healthy pig. Her weight is steady and normal. She weighed in today at 1144g. She occasionally has dips in her weigh but hasn’t weighed less that 1005g and tends to come back up into the 1120 - 1130gs in a couple of days. She’s eating, drinking and behavouring normally. The only thing that would suggest she’s ill is she’s got a lump under her neck, one in her left armpit and two in her right.

I’m not saying for a moment that I don’t think she’s got lymphoma, I’m not a vet, but the fact that shes no looking or behaving like she’s ill is really throwing me off. Its not at all how I expected her to be (and don’t get me wrong that’s a brilliant thing!)

But what do I do? Is this normal? Should I get a second opinion? Is it just maybe that we caught it super early perhaps?

Has anybody had any experience similar to this before?

Many thanks from both Amber and me!

 

[Wiebke]

Hiya everyone - I’ve got a bid of a strange and slightly morbid question for you all.

So jump back to 27th April and my little Amber was diagnosed with lymphoma. Some of you may remember the post I made on here asking for people’s experiences in dealing with the disease. We decided the best option for her was to keep her comfortable for as long as we could.

Anyway, I did a lot of research about the disease and what happens etc. Most people were saying it was a matter of weeks after diagnosis and to expect a steady decrease in weight loss.

And now this bit seems really morbid to say, but Ambers health doesn’t seem to be deteriorating. It’s been nearly 6weeks since her diagnosis and she’s still pottering around happy as Larry. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m ecstatic that she’s doing so well, but it’s left me confused and unsure of what to do.

Everything about her health would suggest she’s a happy, healthy pig. Her weight is steady and normal. She weighed in today at 1144g. She occasionally has dips in her weigh but hasn’t weighed less that 1005g and tends to come back up into the 1120 - 1130gs in a couple of days. She’s eating, drinking and behavouring normally. The only thing that would suggest she’s ill is she’s got a lump under her neck, one in her left armpit and two in her right.

I’m not saying for a moment that I don’t think she’s got lymphoma, I’m not a vet, but the fact that shes no looking or behaving like she’s ill is really throwing me off. Its not at all how I expected her to be (and don’t get me wrong that’s a brilliant thing!)

But what do I do? Is this normal? Should I get a second opinion? Is it just maybe that we caught it super early perhaps?

Has anybody had any experience similar to this before?

Many thanks from both Amber and me!

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Hi!

It very much depends on how far advanced and how agressive the lymphoma is, as well as how fast it is spreading around the lymphatic system; if that is not happening or happening very slowly, then your piggy can live for quite some time.
It can be a matter of days, weeks or in the very best case a few months in between diagnosis and the time you need to let your piggy make its way to the Rainbow Bridge. We have certainly seen quite a variation on here. The longest that I know of is 3 months and still counting in a piggy in a rescue in Australia.

I know of human cancer cases, like my dad's, whose cancer did spread into lymph nodes, but didn't spread around the lymphatic system from node to node. Maybe that is what is happening with Amber? Lymphoma in guinea pigs is a pretty new thing to be diagnosed. Just five years ago we've hardly ever heard of it.
Cancer research in humans is a fairly new and still dast developing area - in pets it is even newer, especially in small pets, which have only recently made the step up from being considdered not worthy of serious vet care...
Accordingly research into guinea pigs is lagging far behind and has only picked up in very recent years.

All you can do is ride the rollercoaster and see where it takes you. So much in guinea pig medical care is still in flux; we are pushing boundaries on a daily basis.

Feel blessed and make the best of it!