From:
williamsdvm@comcast.net
Date: 2002-09-09 01:22:41 UTC
Subject: RE: please help...think we are dealing with lymphoma now
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <15643939.1031534561478.JavaMail.root@scandium>
Author wrote:
> Zoe is two weeks post adrenal surgery and all 6 of her lymphnodes are swollen (they didnt get anything with the adrenal sx though...thinks its too early to see anything...zoe is only 2)Zoes lymphocytes were elevated on the cbc that they did b4 the surgery..but dr associated that with stress from her itching all the time... we did a needle aspirat yesterday and all they were able to get was fat cells...however...all 6 of zoes lymphnodes are swollen and when she had her surgery the dr looked at them and they were normal...now they are not...drs pretty sure we are dealing with lymphoma...the dr ran me an estimate for chemo and it was going to be like $89 a week!!! so there is no way that i could go this route...i am going to redo the cbc on monday...dr thinks that the lymphocytes will prob be skyrocketed now...is this normal for her lymphnodes to swell this much this fast...
Dear Rene:
It looks like everyone is jumping to conclusions here. First off, lymphoma is not diagnosed by a CBC, only by a lympho node biopsy. Second, on the aspirate, all they could find was fat. That means the lympho nodes are surrounded by fat. In a case of lymphoma, you should not have any trouble hitting a node - they are large and hard, as opposed to somewhat soft when you are dealing with a lot of fat around the nodes.
Before you redo that cbc, talk with your vet about a biopsy of a lymph node. You can't miss the node then, and you'll get a definitive diagnosis, not the presumptive one that you are working on right now.
It is a bit of putting the cart before the horse to discuss chemo in a case where you haven't nailed down the diagnosis.
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams dVM