Lymphoma- Calvin's Story

[IvyHall]

HeatherCK11

I am sorry to hear about your mare.

When his biopsies were initially examined/tested I was only told that he had lymphoma, we did not yet know the specific form. From what I was told most forms of lymphoma in horses are fatal (with horses often only living weeks from the time of diagnosis).

So yes, you are right, there is world of difference in terms of prognosis between the forms of lymphoma and you won’t really know anything until you get the results of the biopsies.

However, if you get bad news, that is not necessarily a reason to give up hope as so little research has been done on treating lymphoma in horses.

Also, while I have been working with New Bolton they do not have an equine oncology department so we used vets in Australia for the oncology consult and treatment plan. They came to me highly recommended (by New Bolton) and obviously I have gotten positive results from their treatment plan.

http://www.vetoncologyconsults.com

Good luck!!!

[IvyHall]

Stopping by with more good news… And some amazing news.

He just completed week 6 of treatment and he continues to do well! No sign of any tumors and he has been handling chemo well. He is back in work and I hope to show him the last weekend of April.

Now for the amazing news, just yesterday I found out that he qualified for one of the biggest hunter/jumper shows on the East coast!!! Last night I went out to see him and just walked into his stall, hugged him and started crying. It’s hard for me to believe that almost exactly 2 months ago I got the diagnosis of lymphoma and I walked into his stall at New Bolton, hugged him and cried like a baby while telling him how sorry I was. What a difference 2 months can make!

I am so very thankful for this horse and his continued good health.

[IvyHall]

PICTURES!

The big guy continues to do well. He has a big horse show the end of this month and then I’ll just keep him in light work for the remainder of the treatment (we are currently in week 9 of 33).

PICTURES!

http://s1285.photobucket.com/user/ivyhall1/library/Mobile%20Uploads/OTTB

[SquishTheBunny]

That’s amazing. Your horse is VERY lucky to have found you

[AKB]

Great pictures! I am so glad he is doing well.

[IvyHall]

If anyone in interested in an article Upenn wrote about my horse and his treatment as part of Pet Cancer Awareness Month I would be happy to send it on.

[IvyHall]

Another positive update for you all!

We are half way through chemo treatment!

Yesterday he had his 9th treatment and he only has 8 left. He is doing very very well. He continues to be in remission and is a happy healthy boy.

It has been very surprising to me that my horse and his story have received quite a bit of media attention. The Philadelphia Inquirer ran a front page story on him and The Chronicle of the Horse ran a similar story in their June 16th issue. I am happy to see his story get out there in hopes that it help others.

Here is a video from June 22 where he won second place in the high adult jumper power and speed class.

http://youtu.be/k0Ym1mGZwew

Cancer and chemo are not slowing him down one bit!

[Calamber]

That is for sure, he is a handful! Congratulations on your enormous success and many more to come! Do you have links to the articles, I would love to see them.

[IvyHall]

Here is the Upenn article:

http://www.vet.upenn.edu/about/news-and-events/publications/penn-vet-extra/penn-vet-extra-may-2014/thoroughbred-undergoing-cancer-treatment-to-compete-at-devon-horse-show

And the Philadelphia Inquirer:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20140526_Chemotherapy_gets_a_horse_back_in_competition.html

The Chronicle article was in the June 16th issue

[SquishTheBunny]

That’s amazing. Im so glad he has responded so well to treatment. And to think, so many wouldn’t have even tried. He’s lucky to have you!

[columbus]

Cutaneous Lymphoma

I have a good friend who went through cutaneous lymphoma treatment with her gelding. She worked with her vet and the University of Minnesota. They did a high dose steroid treatment. He was at the vets through the high risk first half of the treatment…laminitis is a possible complication…and was home for the wind down of the steriod dosages. He had no trouble with treatment. It has been several years now and they have said he is unlikely to die from this at this point. His only symptom was large hard lymph nodes between the back legs. The only complication is she wants to sell him and it complicates a sale. PatO

[IvyHall]

Columbus- thank you for sharing another success story!

My horse also started the high dose steroid treatment when he began the chemo. He had no problem with the steroids and tapered off during the month of may. He no longer has to get any meds in his feed which he is VERY happy about

[AKB]

Nice video. I am glad he continues to do well. Our gelding continues to be healthy, 2 1/2 years after chemo. I hope more vets become willing to offer chemo for horses with slowly advancing lymphoma.

[IvyHall]

AKB- so glad to hear your horse is still happy and healthy. May he be happy and healthy for many years to come!

[IvyHall]

Unfortunately some new bumps have appeared on Calvin. Of course I’m hoping they are just bug bites or a reaction to something but I’m not feeling very positive at the moment

He goes in for his next chemo treatment on July 29 and if the bumps are still there they will be biopsied.

Jingles for Calvin please.

[csaper58]

Thinking good thoughts and jingling for you and Calvin

[CrowneDragon]

Jingles for nothing more than some ugly bug bites! Go away, bumps!!

[AKB]

Jingles for Calvin. I hope these are just bug bites. If the bumps are lymphoma, can they change the chemo meds?

[IvyHall]

august 2014 update

Its been over a month since I updated.

Calvin came out of remission in July.

Of the 5 chemo drugs we started with, his lymphoma is resistant to 3 of them. And one of the other drugs we only used once bc he had bad side effects. So we are down to 1 drug and it isn’t quite clear yet if it is working. In fact he goes in for another chemo treatment tomorrow. I believe it will be 13th treatment (maybe 12th).

The good news in all of this is that Calvin is still a happy, healthy beast. In fact I showed him just last weekend and he was fantastic:
http://i1285.photobucket.com/albums/a595/ivyhall1/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps24d6233f.jpg
http://i1285.photobucket.com/albums/a595/ivyhall1/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps0a58f67c.jpg

I am sorry that it looks like our time together will be cut short, but thankful for all the days that we have had.

[Polydor]

I missed the start of this thread but sending lots of jingles for both of you!

Did you ever get those pictures from Devon?

P.