I'm so sorry to hear about Root Beer. How old is she and what were the signs? I don't really know much about Lympohma in piggies, I'm sorry.
Thank you...
She is 3 and a half years old. This whole thing started on Saturday night when I noticed that her left eye was red, I took her out of the cage and noticed it was goopy as well. I separated her immediately from the others, and placed her in my room. She also had nasal discharge from her left nostril. I also noticed that her fur was losing it's luster, and she was a little puffed up. She also felt bumpy/lumpy around her shoulders. I figured that it might be a URI, and weighed her. She had lost 4oz in one week, and her poop was abnormal. I got her into the vet as soon as possible, which was this morning. Since she wasn't wheezing, coughing, or sneezing, the vet did a very thorough exam on her, checking everything.
All of her lymph nodes were horribly swollen, and she noted that Root Beer lost the ability to close her left eye, which is why it was irritated and red. Something happened to a nerve in her face. But with all of the symptoms, and ALL of her lymph nodes horribly swollen, it was the conclusion that she came to (after doing some research before letting me know one way or the other). She is going to consult with a friend of hers who is an oncologist (for cats and dogs) and her friend is going to ask her collegues (who are exotics) for all the information she can get. This is her first time dealing with Lymphoma in a guinea pig.
She gave me eye drops (fake tears) for her eyes, 1 drop 4 times a day. She gave me an antibiotic to give her twice a day (I can't remember the name, it starts with a B, and I have used it before) on the off chance that it is somehow a horrible bacterial infection, and metacam to give her once a day or as needed.
I go back to see her in 2 weeks (on Halloween).
Also, it may not seem like the eye and nose thing is related, but she believes with how swollen the lymph nodes are, something is pressing on the nerve that controls that area. If she develops a head tilt, I will have to put her to sleep since the tumor or whatever it is, is pressing against her inner ear, and there will be nothing they can do.
She was not put on immune suppressants since she was always had a weak immune system, and it is so advanced, that it would do little good. I will not be doing chemo on her since it would be much to rough on her, and would not be worth it (the pain of going through it for a possibly slightly longer life).
Right now she is doing quite well, the vet told me that when the cancer is this advanced, they are usually skin and bones, but she is still a healthy weight, and had enough spunk in her during the exam to scream when her teeth were getting looked at, and squirm like crazy for the vet tech holding her (she immediately ran to me after being let go). However, this is not an 'if' situation, it is a matter of when.
Like I said, I plan on making her as comfortable as possible and connected the hospital cage she is in the the main cage so she can be close to the others for company (I know that will make her happier than being in my room). She immediately began to wheek quite loudly when I brought her back in, and all the other pigs wheeked back. I want to be selfish and hold on to her as long as possible and keep her in my room, but I know that is not what she wants, nor what is right for her. I will make her remaining days as happy and comfortable as possible...
