Canine Lymphoma Warriors
“Lucy” Doubleday - Multicentric lymphoma
“Lucinda Mae” Doubleday, Lucy and LuLu for short, was a miniature long-haired Dachshund born on 3/13/09 and adopted by Colleen and Rick Doubleday of Watertown, NY. She may have been small, but her personality was larger than life! Those “give me a cookie” eyes would get you every single time! She was spunky, loving, and incredibly sweet.
On 7/12/19, Colleen brought Lucy to her regular veterinarian because she had noticed that Lucy had a red, somewhat swollen lip. Upon further investigation, it was noted that Lucy’s peripheral lymph nodes underneath her jaw (mandibular), in front of her shoulders (prescapular), and behind her knees (popliteal) were quite prominent. General blood work and fine needle aspirates (FNAs) of the prescapular and popliteal lymph nodes were performed. On 7/15/19, Colleen and Rick received the devastating news that their beloved Lucy had aggressive multicentric lymphoma.
After much deliberation and a referral to a board-certified veterinary oncologist at the Veterinary Medical Center of CNY, Colleen and Rick made the decision to have Lucy treated with the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s “CHOP” chemotherapy protocol.
From late July of 2019 until mid-December of 2019, Lucy received several rounds of chemotherapy drugs, a few of which made her fairly ill. She was hospitalized once during that 5-month period for intestinal distress symptoms, fever, and a low white blood cell count, but she quickly recovered. She “graduated” from chemotherapy in mid-December of 2019, at which time she was still in complete remission.
Unfortunately, Lucy’s lymphoma relapsed in early January of 2020, at which time a rescue chemotherapy protocol was initiated. However, due to the particularly aggressive nature of Lucy’s lymphoma, this rescue protocol didn’t work very effectively. Lucy’s parents had to make the very difficult decision to say goodbye to Lucy on 1/25/20, at which time she had developed symptoms of difficulty breathing.
Even though Lucy’s particular remission time was quite a bit shorter than what has typically been found in the literature, she made the most of those 6 months. She was always so incredibly happy, full of energy, and full of life. She brought smiles and laughter to all who knew her, and she will always be remembered.
“BUBBA Jay” Milligan - Multicentric lymphoma
“Bubba” was approximately 1 year old when his future dad, Markus Milligan, rescued him from the streets of Redway, California in 2005. According to residents of the area, he had been roaming around there for quite some time. When Markus stopped his vehicle to see if he could catch him, Bubba willingly jumped up into the vehicle and immediately curled up next to him! Despite putting up flyers in the area and announcing his information on the local radio stations, no one stepped up to claim this beautiful, sweet boy, so Markus officially adopted him.
In December of 2015, when Bubba was figured to be about 11 1/2 years old, Markus brought him to his regular veterinarian because he just hadn’t been acting quite himself. Markus received the devastating news that his best buddy - his constant companion that went everywhere with him and shared many grand adventures with - had lymphoma. He was told that, without any treatment, his best buddy would likely only have a few weeks to live.
Markus quickly made the decision to seek out the veterinary oncologist that his regular veterinarian had recommended. However, this cancer specialist was 300 miles away and didn’t have an appointment available to see Bubba until three weeks later. Despite the distance, Markus chose to travel the 300 miles with his best buddy to see the cancer specialist and, after talking things over, made the decision to treat Bubba with chemotherapy to provide him with the best chance possible for complete remission for as long as possible.
Markus described that, within three days of Bubba’s first chemotherapy treatment, his lymph nodes had already shrunk to normal size! He continued to see his regular veterinarian every other week and his veterinary oncologist every 3 months while being treated for his lymphoma. Throughout Bubba’s cancer fight, Markus spent a lot of time taking him to beautiful and scenic spots, including romps at the beach and hikes among the redwoods. Bubba loved saying hello to everyone who crossed their paths, including complete strangers. If you didn’t know Bubba’s history, you would never have guessed that he was living with cancer!
In the spring of 2017, after fighting lymphoma for 16 months, Bubba suddenly began to decline. He was nervous and having trouble urinating. A visit to the local emergency veterinary clinic that evening revealed that he had cancer in his pelvic bone that was causing him to have difficulty urinating. Over the following week, during which time he had to have a urinary catheter placed multiple times to alleviate the urine in his bladder, Bubba took his final trips to his favorite adventure spots with his dad.
On 5/4/17, Markus had to make the heart-wrenching decision to say goodbye to his best buddy, who was struggling to walk. They enjoyed one last, peaceful sunset together, reflecting on all of the joy that they had brought to each other’s lives.