The ACT Spring Oncology Appeal

Luther's story

Luther was diagnosed with renal lymphoma (cancer of the kidneys) in July 2017. This is a rare form of feline lymphoma with only a handful of cases reported. Decisions about treatment and prognosis were therefore trickier to make.

Sadly, normal survival times for renal lymphoma is around six months, with occasional patients doing well long-term. The goal for Luther’s chemotherapy was to give him a good quality of life. He responded well.

Luther was regularly monitored during his treatment. His owner Katy explains that it was hard to get Luther to take his oral medication because “he is strong and wriggly” and so his treatment was adjusted to make life at home as straight forward as possible.

Treatment continued throughout August and against all the odds, he went into partial remission. Given his young age and good response to treatment, the oncology team decided that they would continue with the stronger regime rather than moving on to maintenance chemotherapy. By December 2017 he was in full remission – a highly unusual result for
a highly unusual cancer.

Find out more about Charlie

Charlie had become lathargic and was referred to the RVC's Queen Mother Hospital for Animals in October 2021. Investigations showed a mass in his chest and Charlie was diagnosed with lymphoma. A week later he started chemotherapy.

The team put a treatment plan together, which consisted of
a multi-agent chemotherapy protocol (CHOP). This combined 4 drugs over a 19- week period on a near weekly basis. The aim was to induce lymphoma remission, which often occurs and lasts for months following completion of chemotherapy. However, in most cases, future relapses are expected. When this happens repeat protocols can be used depending on when the relapse occurs.

Charlie’s chemotherapy could cause the same side effects that humans experience. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, decreased appetite and myelosuppression (low white blood cells) were all possible. Charlie’s only other option would have been palliative care. With this later course of action, Charlie may have only lived a few weeks more.

The family wanted Charlie to continue with the good quality of life he’d had. They recall how:

The prognosis for Charlie wasn’t clear. Typical survivals for dogs with non-indolent mediastinal lymphoma are in the range of 6-9 months. However, in Charlie’s case the small lymphocytic morphology nature of his cancer (outside the bone marrow) meant a better prognosis was possible.

Charlie had a difficult first 24 hours on his chemotherapy
but after that both his energy levels and appetite significantly improved. Each weekly visit saw further improvements indicating a good response to treatment, albeit with occasional nausea and a poorly tummy.

Fast forward to February 2021 and Charlie’s family are delighted to see him “playing, active and happy”. Moving ahead with this type of treatment hasn’t been without its struggles. From managing side effects, multiple journeys to the hospital for chemotherapy and daily medication to administer at home. But Iain and Tracey tell us