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My old dog has neck lumps. Should I do chemo for suspected lymphoma?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Cairn Terrier | Male | neutered | 16 years old

My Cairn terrier will be 16 next week. He takes flixotide, frusemide and Cardalis for breathing and heart related issues. There are now lumps appearing on his neck which our vet believes could be lymphoma which is spreading. The vet has recommended testing for lymphoma then treatment by chemo. I'm not convinced this would be in the best interest of my dog. What are your thoughts?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Elizabeth

Veterinarian

Published on January 25th, 2019

I hate to hear that about Lennon. It’s so tough when they have multiple health concerns. I do agree that you should find out if he has lymphoma or not. This will at least allow you to make informed decisions and to understand an appropriate prognosis and timeline as to what you should expect. There are several ways to diagnose lymphoma and one common and very easy way to do it is with a aspiration of the lumps. This procedure is virtually painless and does not require sedation or stitches. It can generally diagnose lymphoma but is not 100%. Once you know if there is lymphoma present or not, you must decide if putting Lennon through chemotherapy makes sense for you and for him. There is no wrong or right answer to this question. The main thing is you will not let Lennon suffer and realize that without chemotherapy, he will succomb to his illness a lot faster. I hope this helps to point yiunin the right direction and that you found it helpful. Please feel free to post any additional questions.

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