How well do dogs tolerate chemotherapy?
Fortunately, most dogs tolerate chemotherapy extremely well. At our hospital, 75-80% of pet owners report that their pets’ quality of life is acceptable to excellent while on treatment. However, 5-10% of dogs will have life threatening side effects, generally dehydration from vomiting and diarrhea. These patients require hospitalization and appropriate therapy to recover from the toxicity. Chemotherapy is generally discontinued in these patients once they have recovered from the toxicity. Because lymphoma is not a curable cancer, it is critical that the patient’s quality of life is good the vast majority of time. Acceptable side effects may include short-term (1-2 days) loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea and listlessness. The patient should quickly bounce back to normal. Some patients will require a dose adjustment after their first chemotherapy treatment or require anti-nausea or anti-diarrhea medication to reduce the duration of side effects. Why do we treat dogs with lymphoma? Pet
