Blastomicosis?

[daener]

I had been posting in another thread about my basset mix, Lucie, who has been at the vet several times in the last two weeks trying to diagnose the reason that all of her lymph nodes are swollen.

The initial thought was lymphoma, but she's had 5 cystologies of lymph nodes done and all were negative. The thought then became blastomicosis (sp?), a fungus that is inhaled and invades the lungs, lymph system, and can move to the brain causing seizures and death. When caught early, I understand that it is treatable but all of the stories I'm finding online are of dogs that did not survive their bout with blasto. Darned Internet!!

My question is, does anyone have a dog that suffers or has suffered from blasto? If so, what has the outcome been? How was the treatment? How is your dog now? I would welcome hearing about anyone's experience with this illness.

(At this very moment, Lucie is having two lymph nodes removed for biopsy which will, hopefully, eliminate lymphoma as a cause and pinpoint what is wrong with her. Please keep her in your thoughts.)

[charliezangel]

I wish I had better information for you. Just wanted to post that we will be keeping Lucie in our thoughts.

[daener]

charliezangel, thank you for your thoughts and well-wishes. They are much appreciated!!

Lucie is home from the vet hospital now. She has two incisions, one on each shoulder, but is behaving normally. The surgeon said that the condition of her lymph nodes does not suggest lymphoma, but does indicate infection -- possibly fungal (blasto or Valley Fever, which she had when we were in Arizona). He's optimistic that the pathologist will determine a definitive answer from the many lab tests being done. We are hopeful this is the case, even if it is bad news.

After surgery, she is not supposed to jump or run for 10-14 days. Luckily, she's a basset through and through and is very lazy so this really isn't a problem. But how would you keep an active dog from being a dog during this recovery period without sedation?! Other than climbing up and down our stairs 200 times a day, I don't think we'll have any problems...sleep is her friend ;) .

[daener]

Tomorrow (Wednesday) we should know what is ailing our beloved Lucie. If the biopsy doesn't render a definitive answer, then I don't know what we'll do. We've already spent more that $2k between multiple tests the vet ran plus the biopsy surgery and I'm not certain how much more we can afford if further testing is required.

She still seems to be feeling well and is recovering from her surgery very well. It will just break my heart if the findings are something terminal. Please keep her in your thoughts.

[colleenjoy]

I'm sorry you have to go through this.

We had to have a cancerous tumor removed from our boxer emma. luckily they were able to get it all before it had spread. it was so hard waiting for the answers as to what it was and how we could treat, surgery, chemo, radiation.

hopefully things will work out for you as well.

Colleen

[daener]

Colleen -- I am so glad everything turned out well for emma!! That is always wonderful to hear.

The waiting is absolutely torturous. The knots in my stomach are unbelievable. And we're still waiting, as the lab tests did not come back today. My anxiety level is just off the charts at this point. Fingers crossed that tomorrow morning brings the results we need.

Thank you for your thoughts!

[daener]

Well, we got the news today and it's not Blastomicosis after all. Lucie has lymphoma. We plan to start chemo for her next week and, fingers crossed, she'll do well and we'll get at least another year with our girl. She's still not exhibiting symptoms and we're hopeful that will continue. If she was suffering at all it would be a difficult decision to make.

Thank you all for your thought and prayers.

[Sue]

I am so sorry :( Sending good thoughts...

[colleenjoy]

I'm so sorry...

what kind of treatment are they talking about? just chemo? I know when we were waiting to hear about emma we did lots of research about chemo/radiation/alternative treatments for her type of tumor. it was all so overwellming. chemo didn't sound too bad in terms of the side effects and such. not great, but not horrible either.

give your puppy a hug for me.

Colleen

[daener]

Sueand Colleen, thank you for your thoughts. We were taken aback by the diagnosis simply because her vet, surgeon and the pathologist who analyzed her initial lymph node aspirates all thought it was NOT lymphoma. Just goes to show you how sneaky this disease can be.

Chemo is really her only option from a traditional medicine point of view, and we don't have time to try alternative therapies and be comfortable at this point. We don't know how far the lymphoma has permeated as far as her other organs go, and we need to start her on something ASAP, so chemo it is. Her first dose is Thursday (have to wait 10 days post-surgery to allow her incisions to heal properly) and we are hoping that she both takes it well, and that it works. The vet says we should know within 3 treatments whether or not this will work for her.

We also have switched her to a high-protein diet, something that is recommended as helping to battle cancer. She's not eating as well as we'd like, but she's not throwing up either so I'm sure she'll get used to it.

I'll post after her first treatment and let you know how she's doing.

Thank you, again, for your thoughts and prayers.

[daener]

A bit of a crisis this evening. DH and I noticed yesterday that Lucie's stomach was distended, but she was eating and eliminating normally. The vet wanted to see her tonight, so DH took her in. The bad news is that the lymphoma has metastacised (sp?) and her chest is filled with fluid. The good news is that all of her blood work is normal, which means none of her organs are failing.

We had the option of beginning her chemo tonight and bringing her home, but 10% of dogs have an alergic reaction and if this happened she would die in our care; beginning her chemo and taking her to a strange clinic for the night or bringing her home and starting chemo tomorrow, one day sooner than originally planned. We opted to bring her home sans chemo and take her back in tomorrow.

This dog's fight for life is absolutely amazing. Honestly, if you didn't know she had cancer you would never guess that she is sick at all. We are optimistic that there will be no crisis tonight and that she'll take the initial dose of chemo well and be back with us tomorrow evening starting on the road to remission. God bless her, the vet and the techs were just amazed at her energy and life given her situation. And we continue to be amazed by her, as well. She is giving us all a lesson in stamina and desire to live.

With prayers, we think she'll make it through tonight and tomorrow with only positive outcomes for the near future.

Edited to add that I am so thankful to have an understanding employer who allows me to take time off to care for my sick, beloved dog. Most people are not so blessed, and I am ever grateful for this.

[jesvet]

Oh no, I am so sorry you are dealing with this but so glad you have an outstanding employer.

Sounds like you have a great care team- and for others who are reading along, for lymphoma chemo is the only treatment used. I hope Lucie responds well and quickly.

[daener]

jesvet, thank you! Yes, we are fortunate to have a fantastic, caring team of vets and techs caring for Lucie. Not to mention how wonderful my employer continues to be throughout this situation.

She did fine last night and is on her way back to the vet for her first round of chemo drugs. Barring any allergic reaction, we are cautiously optimistic. It's so nice to know that she gets all kinds of love from the staff at her doctor's office...makes it easier to know that if something does go wrong she'll be in caring hands until we can get to her.

[daener]

No allergic reaction and no apparent side effects to round 1 of chemo (Esparel?). They also drained some fluid from her chest to ease her breathing. She seems happy and well. Cautious optimism still holding steady.

[colleenjoy]

that's great news.

keeping you in my thoughts.

colleen

[jesvet]

L-spar? Usually after the first treatment there is quite a bit of improvement. So glad she is tolerating the first round well, it can really improve their quality of life for a good amount of time. :D We will take everything we can get!

[daener]

Unfortunately, things are not going well for our girl. In fact, they are going about as badly as they can go at the moment. After her Elspar treatment she was fine, until the middle of the night last night when she began throwing up and continued to do so for hours. Poor thing was trembling and not breathing well and unable to keep even water down.

We went to the vet this morning and the vet agrees that she has deteriorated rapidly and that there has not been a positive response to the Elspar, which is troubling. Her bloodwork is still coming back as normal, so there is no organ failure yet, which means her symptoms are from the spread of the lymphoma. The vet, although not very optimistic, said that we can try one more chemo treatment, this time with doxicyclin (?) and see if there is a response within a few days. If there is not, then we know that this is too far along for us to save her and we'll have to decided how to manage the end of her life.

Right now she's on two sub-cutaneous drugs for her vomiting and an oral to coat her GI tract. She also has a fentanly patch to manage any pain. It is just heartbreaking to see how she has become a completely different dog from just a week ago. She is so weak and not taking any food or chicken broth. My gut says the end is very near, but we are taking her back in tomorrow to have the doxicylin administered and then hold our breath to see if there is any improvement during the next few days. If there is not, DH and I agree that it will be time to let her go. I'm shaking just thinking about having to make that choice, but if she does not get any better it will be the only fair option for her.

Thank you so much for your continued good wishes and prayers.

[jesvet]

Oh no, I am so sorry to hear this.

I am glad you have a little time to prepare yourself, and if you do make the decision to let her go, know that you are doing a very selfless, difficult and kind thing for her.

[RobynScott]

Daener -

I am so sorry to read this. I hope she responds to the doxicyclin and is able to feel better and eat soon. What a tough thing for you and your DH and Lucie to go through - thinking of you! I truly hope she responds to the medicine.

[daener]

Well, I am sorry to have to share with you that it's all over. Lucie had another really rough night last night and we decided that we couldn't continue to put her through all of this. She has been through so much already and her fight has completely gone out of her in the last week.

When we took her to the vet this morning she was still not eating, not kissing (and she's a huge kisser -- anyone, anywhere, including the vets who have been poking and prodding her for the last month), no tail wagging. She didn't sleep last night because the only comfortable position for breathing was sitting upright. She couldn't really walk. When I was saying goodbye she didn't even want to be touched, she just wanted to crawl into a corner and be left alone. We just did not feel right continuing her life like this just because we want her to be around.

The vet staff is so fantastic and has been with us every step of this fight. Most were in tears along with us. Even the vet, whose dog also has cancer and she agreed that if/when he gets to the place Lucie was that it would be time. Everyone was very reassuring that this is the right thing to do. Which is what you need to hear because it's such a final decision and so, so difficult to make.

So, corny as it sounds, Lucie has crossed the rainbow bridge and is happy and kissing everyone she finds. We love her so much and she brought so much to us, this was the least we could do for her.

Thank you RobynScottand jesvet for your support and wishes. I wish all the best for everyone here and send much love and many scritches to your four-legged babies.

[jesvet]

Not corny. I'm so sorry this cancer beast hit so rapidly and thoroughly and robbed you of a little extra quality time together. I admire you, I really do, for making the decision you did as hard as it was, because she was ready to say goodbye. Thinking of you and Lucie.

(((hugs)))

[RobynScott]

Oh daener, I'm so sorry. I have to admit, I'm at my desk crying for you. I am so, so, sorry for your loss. I lost my dog to cancer 6 years ago (right around this time of year actually) and I still miss her - think she will be there when I come home.

I'm so sorry for your loss and commend you for your decision - you absolutely did the right thing. I'm sure Lucie is in doggie heaven running around and giving lots of kisses.

Thinking of you and your DH - you really did everything you could.

[colleenjoy]

Daener,

I'm so sorry for your loss. Just know that you did everything you could, and you did what was best for Lucie. She was lucky to have such a good people taking care of her, and know that you'll see her again one day.

Colleen

[daener]

jesvet, colleenjoy andRobinScott,

Thank you for your support and thoughts. It means so much to hear from others that we did the right thing (even others who didn't know Lucie). It was just heartbreaking to see her become a completely different dog in spirit such a short period of time. We are sure she was trying to tell us something the only way she knew how.

RobinScott, I am so sorry to hear that you lost your beloved dog, as well. It's a horrible thing to go through.

Just wanted to add that there was a wonderful woman in the waiting room at the vet's office who had just been called in as I was checking out. I was sobbing and she stopped to give me a hug and much needed words of support. She was wonderful -- I really needed a hug (what I really need is my mom!!!) and this stranger went out of her way to offer me what comfort she could. The world is sometimes an amazing place.

[chefker]

I have to admit, I'm at my desk crying for you.


Me too. :( I am so sorry for the loss of your beloved friend. But what a wonderful tribute to your love for Lucie--knowing when to let her go.

[Sue]

Me too. :( I am so sorry for the loss of your beloved friend. But what a wonderful tribute to your love for Lucie--knowing when to let her go.

Me three. And I completely agree with chefker, it's the last act of love you could show. I am so sorry for your loss :(

[daener]

chefker andSue -- Thank you so much for your thoughts. It means so much to hear all of your support.

I'm sitting at home with our other dog, just feeling so empty and sad. I haven't really slept in two days and am exhausted, but my poor DH had to work today and my heart really goes out to him. Lucie was his baby, he had her before we met and saying goodbye to her was devastating for him. Unfortunately, his employer is not nearly as understanding as mine but I hope it's good for him to get his mind off of things. Although, selfishly, I really wish he was here to cry with me. :(

[eli1126]

daener, I'm so sorry for your loss.

[daener]

eli1126, thank you for your kind thoughts.

Lucie's first visit to the vet about this problem was exactly four weeks ago today. It's just so frightening how quickly she was overcome despite how hard she fought.

We are doing as well as can be expecte, I suppose, but we miss her so, so much. The house is just empty without her. Her brother (a beagle) is following her scent all over the yard and house over and over again. Poor boy, there's no way to explain to him that she's never coming home again.

I think we are going to take some of the money we had earmarked for her continued care and make a donation to an animal charity in her name. It's money we don't have (we charged every penny of the more than $4,000 we'd spent on her care this month, but are so grateful that we had the capacity to do so), but it would make us both feel better to know that her death is helping other animals who need it. We'd spend thousands and thousands more if it meant having her back, healthy and happy.

Thank you for letting me share my continued thoughts here, it helps a lot.