Chemo and Other Drugs

Chris and I got a call from the vet and he gave us the results from the cytology smear. Sheba has high grade (large cell) lymphoma. Not what we were hoping for, but it's alright. The good news is, high grade lymphoma is more treatable than low grade. The high grade has an 85-90% chance of remission while low grade (small cell) is around 60%. The bad news is the survival rates or length of remission isn't as long. 

Doctor Kane gave us a couple treatment options:

1: CHOP - the "gold seal" for chemo treatments in dogs. The C, H and O stand for different drugs in the P -Protocol. The point of giving different drugs is to keep the Lymphoma from becoming resistant. With this treatment the average survival rate is 1 year. The cost is $3,500 for 12 months. This is also the most aggressive treatment, drugs are taken once a week for 25 weeks. 

2: COP - Two drugs rather than three, it's a little less expensive. Survival rates are 9 months on average. Cost: $3,000 for one year. 

3: HP - Again, just the one high grade drug. Cost is $1,500. Survival rates are 5-7 months. 

4: Lomustine - An orally administered pill given every 3-4 weeks. Survival rates average 3.5 months. The cost is $150 a pill. This pill is typically administered 6 times. 

5: Prednisone - An anti-inflammatory aimed at suppressing and hopefully killing cancer cells. This has the lowest survival rate alone (between 1-2 months) and is often given in addition to the other chemo drugs. The cost is $11.00

Here's the hard part. Chris and I are college students. Very poor college students. We both work while going to school but loans, textbooks, rent and bills add up and at this point in our lives we simply can't afford the best treatments. 

We do however have a plan. Our oncology vet works with a foundation called Frankie's Friends a charity that helps families cover the cost of cancer treatments who otherwise, would not be able to afford it. Our doctor spoke with the manager of Frankie's Friends and she said while they didn't currently have money for Lymphoma, they were running a few fundraisers and will hopefully have money by the end of September. 

If that is the case, they maybe able to help us pay for the CHOP treatment. 

Let's keep our fingers crossed!

We are also looking at a list of other foundations that may be able to help. 

Until then we got prescriptions for the Lomustine and Prednisone. In the next post I'll talk about giving Sheba the drugs. 


Costs:
Lomustine - Typically $150.00, The doctor had a sample so this round was FREE (we were so grateful!)
Prednisone - $11.00
Fish Oil (1000 mg) 120 softgels - 9.50
TOTAL: 20.50