Our Pet of the Month Scarlett

Scarlett is a well known favourite of the Cape Veterinary Clinic!

Back in December 2019 Scarlett’s owners noticed that her lymph nodes on the side of her neck was enlarged and so they immediately brought her into the clinic to see our vet Catherine. On clinical examination Catherine found that her submandibular lymph nodes were enlarged, and so were her popliteal lymph nodes (on her back legs).

Catherine took fine-needle aspirate biopsies of Scarlett’s lymph nodes, and unfortunately was concerned that they may have been representative of lymphoma, a form of cancer. Catherine then sent her biopsies and bloods away to the lab for further analysis.

Scarlett’s results sadly came back confirming lymphoma but thanks to her observant owners bringing her straight in for investigation, they had caught it very early on and Scarlett was otherwise very well in herself. With an in-depth discussion between Catherine and her owners, they decided to start Scarlett on a 25-week course of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy in dogs is at much lower doses than in humans, and this means often they do not have such severe side-effects as humans do. We would be able to monitor Scarlett’s reaction to chemotherapy and treat her with anti-nausea medication if needed.

25 weeks later, on the 4th of June 2020 Scarlett had her final chemotherapy treatment! She has responded better than we ever expected- she has gained weight, her lymph nodes are much reduced in size and she is bright, bouncy, and a very happy dog. Scarlett was a true pleasure to treat- always with a waggy tail and wanting cuddles- she wasn’t stressed by her chemotherapy. We wish her all the best and are going to miss seeing her so frequently!