[Cagdu] FW: NCSU offers bone marrow transplants for dogs

[ecwogan at aol.com]

Lisa,
I wanted to send this to you . A friend of mine send this and I didn't know if you heard about this. I hope you find it interesting just as I did. How are you doing? Did you get to see Allie when she came thru? We are doing well and being busy as usual. Joe started Braille yesterday back in the groove of things. Joe is going to be in the Special Olympics in bowling. The weather here is beautiful and sunny. Everybody is doing well. Well got to get caught up on some e- mailing. We all send our love.

Village Terrace 



-----Original Message-----
From: tina thomas  <tinadt at sbcglobal.net>
To: cagdu at nfbcal.org
Sent: Wed, 3 Sep 2008 8:26 pm
Subject: [Cagdu] FW: NCSU offers bone marrow transplants for dogs















Subject: NCSU offers 
bone marrow transplants for dogs













Raleigh, NC: 

The News & Observer
Published: Sep 03, 2008 11:37 
AM
Modified: Sep 03, 2008 04:04 PM

NCSU offers bone marrow transplants 
for dogs
>From Staff Reports
RALEIGH - N.C. State University is about to 
become the first university in the country to offer bone marrow transplants for 
dogs with lymphoma.

NCSU's College of Veterinary Medicine plans to begin 
performing the procedure within about four weeks, said Dr. Steven Suter, an 
assistant professor of
oncology. Suter arranged for NCSU to accept three 
donated leukophoresis machines from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, 
Minn.

The machines, once used to treat humans, will harvest healthy stem 

cells from canine patients, who must undergo drug therapy to drive the cells 
from the
bone marrow. The stem cells then will be reintroduced into the 
bloodstreams of the patients, who also must have total body radiation to kill 
any residual
cancer cells.

The charge for the procedure: $15,000. 
That's not including the cost of other veterinary appointments and tests, plus 
the chemotherapy needed to send the
disease into clinical 
remission.

But Suter said many people already are paying $10,000 or more 
on medical care for dogs suffering from lymphoma, even though the animals 
currently survive
12 to 16 months, at best.

By contrast, he expects 
bone marrow transplants to cure at least half the dogs who undergo the 
procedure.

"If you can say your dog has a 50 percent chance of being 
cured, I think it's going to be a no-brainer for a lot of people," Suter 
said.

The process of extracting the stem cells is painless for dogs, 
though it might not be so for owners. Consequently, NCSU is seeking donors to 
help underwrite
the cost of treating ailing pets.

"We really 
understand this is a lot of money for a lot of people," Suter said. "We're 
looking for some corporation or some person to step up and help 
these
clients."

Suter said he expects the machines will be used to 
treat about one dog a month in the beginning, with many patients coming from 
outside North Carolina.

To be eligible for a bone marrow transplant, a 
dog must weigh at least about 5520pounds. That leaves out Chihuahuas, but it 
includes Labrador and golden
retrievers, which are more prone to 
lymphoma.

The machines also will be used to harvest plasma, platelets and 
red blood cells to expand blood banking at the veterinary college.

About 
80 to 85 percent of his oncology patients have lymphoma, Suter said, and 
currently they all eventually die of the disease.

"I got tired of 
watching that happen," he said. "I decided the time had come to try do something 
different."

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1204569.html

© 
Copyright 2008, The News & Observer Publishing Company
A subsidiary 
of
The McClatchy 
Company



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