Lymphoma and prednisalone, anybody's exepriences?

[Berpisc]

As the title, my 20 year old mare Willing has been diagnosed as having lymphoma the vet did a thorough examination and biopsy. She has been on bute while the biopsy came through and we are now transitioning onto 100 tablets of prednisalone daily. The main concern is quality of life, and I will be in regular contact with my vet. I just wondered if anyone had any wisdom to impart around experiences as an add on to my vet. I am heartbroken, she is a good friend who I bred and I need to make things as comfortable as possible for her.

 

[ITPersonnage]

Sorry to hear about your mare, my gelding had this a number of years ago, prednisolone helped him and prolonged his life I think but unfortunately he was PTS about 18 months later, having enjoyed his last months. He was elderly and we finally decided to let him go when the heat and flies made him uncomfortable. Like you we were concerned about quality not quantity of life, I'm sure you'll know what to do when the time comes. Fingers crossed she will be helped by the medication, BTW I used to dissolve the tablets in water, they were easier to administer in bucket feed then.

 

[Melody Grey]

Sorry to hear of this. How feasible is it to get 100 tablets down your horse per day? That sounds an awful lot- presumably it’s a human strength tablet?

 

[rara007]

Good luck x

 

[Berpisc]

Thanks for your replies, Melody Grey they are tiny little tablets with a small dosage rate so they can be used for dogs (5mg per tablet). They are not too bad to put into a small feed, I am hoping that they make life better for her, we have only just started to give them to her so time will tell.

 

[Melody Grey]

Thanks for your replies, Melody Grey they are tiny little tablets with a small dosage rate so they can be used for dogs (5mg per tablet). They are not too bad to put into a small feed, I am hoping that they make life better for her, we have only just started to give them to her so time will tell.

Phew- had visions of 100 asprin sized tablets and was wondering how you were going to hide them!!

 

[PaintPonies]

Hi, I'm new to the forum so apologies for jumping in without an introduction! Sorry to hear your horse has been diagnosed with lymphoma. I had a horse on prednisolone for an itchy skin problem that couldn't be resolved any other way. He wasn't on anything like 100 tablets a day and was only on them for about 2 weeks and they had done a great job of controlling the itching and we were about to start reducing the dose when he went down with laminitis.

As you probably know prednisolone is a steroid. I think with hindsight my horse also had cushings, but it wasn't so widely recognised then (about 16 years ago), which wouldn't have helped matters. Just something for you to keep a really careful eye on and to maybe discuss pros and cons with your vet.

I don't know much about lymphoma in horses. What are her symptoms and what is her quality of life like without treatment?

 

[Berpisc]

Hi, I'm new to the forum so apologies for jumping in without an introduction! Sorry to hear your horse has been diagnosed with lymphoma. I had a horse on prednisolone for an itchy skin problem that couldn't be resolved any other way. He wasn't on anything like 100 tablets a day and was only on them for about 2 weeks and they had done a great job of controlling the itching and we were about to start reducing the dose when he went down with laminitis.

As you probably know prednisolone is a steroid. I think with hindsight my horse also had cushings, but it wasn't so widely recognised then (about 16 years ago), which wouldn't have helped matters. Just something for you to keep a really careful eye on and to maybe discuss pros and cons with your vet.

I don't know much about lymphoma in horses. What are her symptoms and what is her quality of life like without treatment?

Her symptoms are swelling of the lymh nodes under her jaw and on her chest, then the onset of abdominal pain towards the rear of her abdomen. The vet checked her over looking for other causes of pain, we isolated her for a couple of days to check for colic related pain and the vet then came and took a biopsy which confirmed the presence of lymphoma. The steroids are to relieve pain, if they do not prove to be effective then that will be it I'm afraid. It is about giving her quality of life for what time she has left.

 

[PaintPonies]

Poor girl & poor you. Here's hoping the steroids do the trick for her and you get some good quality time together.

 

[Britestar]

Hi there, My old girlie had lymphoma. It presented as a lump by her eye that got bigger and bigger. It was excised and tests showed it was lymphoma.

Unfortunately she wasn't able to have steroids, as she'd had laminitis a few years before. I kept her comfortable as possible, but it grew back very quickly, and spread into her throat. At that point I had to say goodbye. It was 6 months from diagnosis to the end.

She was 24 years old and home bred

 

[ihatework]

Sorry for your diagnosis, always heartbreaking.

Steroids are common supportive care for cancers, human and equine, and will certainly help quality of life short term. They don’t come without their attached risks and they certainly aren’t a cure.

If I were in this position I’d be thinking of days/weeks to come to terms with the diagnosis, have some quality time and then let her go.

Take care of yourself

 

[Berpisc]

ihatework, yes it looks that way sadly.
Thanks for all your comments.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

So sorry to hear about your girl. I lost my collie girl to it back in 2000. Took about 6 weeks from diagnosis to losing her. Just not long enough

 

[Dynamo]

Sorry to read this, OP. I had a 13 year-old pony who was diagnosed with it just days after qualifying for the Horse of the Year Show and the BD Regionals. The vets were baffled because he looked so incredibly well, but he collapsed while I was riding him and was rushed to hospital with liver failure. He was gone within a couple of weeks; it was all a terrible shock. Sorry, that's not very positive.

 

[Berpisc]

Sorry to read this, OP. I had a 13 year-old pony who was diagnosed with it just days after qualifying for the Horse of the Year Show and the BD Regionals. The vets were baffled because he looked so incredibly well, but he collapsed while I was riding him and was rushed to hospital with liver failure. He was gone within a couple of weeks; it was all a terrible shock. Sorry, that's not very positive.

That's the odd thing about Willing, the only indication was that glands under her jaw were slightly swollen and a few days later she was showing pain in her abdomen. No weight loss or other symptoms. At the moment she is comfortable out in the field with her mates; I will just do my best to make the right call when the time comes.

 

[hopscotch bandit]

Nothing to add other than very sorry and I hope you get to spend a little time with her before you have to make the decision. How very sad, horses really know how to hurt us don't they? x

 

[Berpisc]

I came to the decision on Tuesday that it was time to let Willing go. She was becoming more uncomfortable and I saw no point for her to let things drag on. So bloody hard, but it was the right thing to do.

 

[whiteflower]

I'm so sorry for your loss. She's lucky to have you to have made such a brave decision for her x

 

[Fransurrey]

I'm so sorry. I think you did the right thing, hard as it is. x

 

[Errin Paddywack]

You did the right thing. So darn painful though

 

[hopscotch bandit]

So sorry but right thing to do by the sounds of it. At least you got to the bottom of things and did as much as you could xx