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Lymphoma In A Dog

by Dreudog - December 23, 2016 View Case Report

Steve,

This dog is a 7 year old Bernese Mtn Dog ; dx w/ Lymphoma 10/22/16. Owners noticed enlargement of submandibular nodes. Phenotyping was not done. His rDVM started Pred @ 20 mg BID, which caused PM restlessness (they think dT hunger, better w/ TD feeding) and PU/PD. He's had some long term anxiety, soft tissue pain in the hip area (better cold laser), ragweed allergies, food- related colitis.

10/25 exam: BAR, T: pink/lavendar, wet. P: deep, thinner, some tone. Submandibular nodes small egg-sized, firm. Ectropion and red conjunctiva (allergy- related per ophtho)

I Rxd XCHT 4 tsp BID (he is 88 lbs), Coreolus mushrooms, VIT A & D, IP6, Frankincense oil topically, reduced Pred to 5-10 mg BID. On 1/2 tsp. BID XCHT he was nauseous, so we added LJZT, and then ramped up the XCHT.

Recheck 11/22: T: pink, wet, P; same, l. nodes ~ same. Is hungry ++ on pred, esp. evening. Add Chai hu 1/4 tsp. BID and Tian hua fen.

By 12/20 they were having to use plenty of pred (10-20 mg BID) to keep lymph nodes at a reasonable comfort level. So I switched his herbs to Hoxsey and SMS, kept the LJZT. ON 12/20 exam: losing muscle mass and a little scale weight, polyphagic and PU/PD o the pred, also some rear end weakness. T: sl, pale, wet. P; same. Lymph nodes ~ same size, very firm.

The Hoxsey made him nauseous, so I had them change to:

AM: SMS, start w/ 1 tab and ramp up to 3-4 tabs
Midday: SMS + XCHT and Chai hu equal parts,ramp up to 2-3 tsp. total, cont. LJZT @ 3-4 tabs BID.
PM: Midday herbs minus SMS

Since he is having obvious steroid- related problems, and it's not helping tremendously w/ his lymph nodes swelling or comfort, they are decreasing that dose to ~ 5 mg BID for now.

So I'm looking for guidance on his care, herbally and otherwise.

Thanks !!!

Cathy L.

by naturevet

December 23, 2016

Hi Cathy,

Lymphoma remains our most challenging tumor to treat. You're already doing the 'time-tested' things, and arguably getting not bad results if you're holding the lymph nodes in check. The following recommendation is completely untested by me, based purely on research on Pubmed and in Chinese medical resources.

Momordica (Bitter Melon; Luo Hang Guo) was found in 2011 to have decent effects against LSA cell lines (J Nat Med. 2011 Jul;65(3-4):651-5); and suits how LSA initially manifests in many dogs in that it targets the neck. It is also a Yin tonic, and there are a few things about your case that hint at (Stomach) Yin deficiency, namely:
- reliance on pred (first and foremost a Yin tonic)
- appetite poorer in the morning, when Stomach Yin deficiency is arguably worse
- ravenous appetite overall
- eye redness
- worsening on drying herbs like XCHT and Hoxsey

I'm not sure where you can source it. It is a common Chinese grocery item, so you could try there, but it wouldn't be a concentrated source, so you'd have to feed it in quantity as part of the dog's diet. Maybe you can find an online source. Evergreen doesn't have it, based on their site, but KPC manufactures it. Natural Path US can have an organic version in the future if you wish, so be sure to let us know what happens if you try it

Steve

My other thought is to completely change tracks and approach this from a Jue Yin perspective, but I'm curious what the Momordica will do. If you try it, please let us know as I think the therapy holds promise based on laboratory research and typical LSA clinical presentations

Steve

by Dreudog

December 23, 2016

Thnx Steve.

If I can find the Momordica locally, how much would we feed this dog? I'm thinking it must be pretty bitter, yes ?!

Cathy

by naturevet

December 23, 2016

Not intensely so - probably less than SMS, for example. I don't think dogs taste bitter as clearly as we do.

I'd suggest feeding at least a few ounces twice a day, even more if he accepts it. If the dog is on a homemade or raw diet, then it should be easy to mix in

S

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