Lost in the Fog/cancer

[berreman150]

Has anyone else heard about this? Read it on another forum, could be why he didnt run as well last few starts this year.

[miraja2]

Yes. If you look in the thread titled "Lost in the Fog has colic" you will see some discussion about this.

[Rupert Pupkin]

No wonder he ran so poorly in his last race. They say that he has a pretty big cancer mass on his spleen. These things don't just get huge overnight. He obviously had it in his last race. I think there is a great likelihood that this was one of the reasons why he ran so poorly last time.

[Scav]

Richi, is this something that he could come back from an race? what a great story it would make for cancer survivors/people going through it

or is he in all likelhood done?

[prudery]

Originally Posted by Scav

Richi, is this something that he could come back from an race? what a great story it would make for cancer survivors/people going through it

or is he in all likelhood done?

It really would be a great story, about as real as the fairytale horse movie Dreamer unfortunately . Retirement and survival are about the best we can expect . Hopefully that is what will happen .

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by Scav

Richi, is this something that he could come back from an race? what a great story it would make for cancer survivors/people going through it

or is he in all likelhood done?

I'm not sure if he could come back or not. I will check with one of my trainers and ask them if they think it is possible to come back from something like this. By the way, they said the tumor is the size of a cantalope so you know it has been there for a while. There is no doubt that this was affecting his performance.

[prudery]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

I'm not sure if he could come back or not. I will check with one of my trainers and ask them if they think it is possible to come back from something like this. By the way, they said the tumor is the size of a cantalope so you know it has been there for a while. There is no doubt that this was affecting his performance.

Usually with lymphomas, involvement is sytemic. If the spleen is removed as well as the tumor on it, performance is greatly diminished . If the cancer has spread elsewhere, the horse's future may be compromised . The surgery in itself is rare, so more than likely your trainer will not be much help here . Aleo is currently searching for a really good surgeon . This is serious . Any thoughts of a return to racing are not .

[chupster2]

http://www.thehorse.com/viewarticle.aspx?ID=167


Although the spleen performs several important functions, it is not essential to life. That is, animals and humans can lead a healthy life after removal of the spleen. However, the reservoir of red cells contained within the spleen of the horse plays an important role during exercise. At the start of exercise, the spleen contracts and thereby releases the stored red cells into general circulation. In fact, up to one-third of the horse's red cells are stored within the spleen. One of the main functions of red cells is to transport oxygen from the lung to other parts of the body. Therefore, the increase in blood volume associated with splenic contraction provides a tremendous boost in the horse's capacity to transport oxygen. Indeed, this high capacity for oxygen transport contributes to the high athleticism of the horse. We know this to be true because following removal of the spleen, horses suffer a sharp decline in athletic ability.

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I think he will be lucky to live personally. If they remove the spleen (and how can they not) no way he can run. That's all assuming it hasn't metasticized anywhere else.

[prudery]

Originally Posted by chupster2

http://www.thehorse.com/viewarticle.aspx?ID=167


Although the spleen performs several important functions, it is not essential to life. That is, animals and humans can lead a healthy life after removal of the spleen. However, the reservoir of red cells contained within the spleen of the horse plays an important role during exercise. At the start of exercise, the spleen contracts and thereby releases the stored red cells into general circulation. In fact, up to one-third of the horse's red cells are stored within the spleen. One of the main functions of red cells is to transport oxygen from the lung to other parts of the body. Therefore, the increase in blood volume associated with splenic contraction provides a tremendous boost in the horse's capacity to transport oxygen. Indeed, this high capacity for oxygen transport contributes to the high athleticism of the horse. We know this to be true because following removal of the spleen, horses suffer a sharp decline in athletic ability.

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I think he will be lucky to live personally. If they remove the spleen (and how can they not) no way he can run. That's all assuming it hasn't metasticized anywhere else.

Thank you. And may I suggest that a spleen with a cantaloup sized tumor on it may not work that well under the stresses of racing as well ??

[Scav]

Wonder if they can get him another spleen....I was just curious because if he were to come back from this and win a couple huge races, it would be national and movie type stuff, I am calling Aleo now for the ok to write the script (jk)

[prudery]

Originally Posted by Scav

Wonder if they can get him another spleen....I was just curious because if he were to come back from this and win a couple huge races, it would be national and movie type stuff, I am calling Aleo now for the ok to write the script (jk)

Laughter is the best medicine, but surely this is a failed placebo .

[Danzig]

i just read about fog on t'bred times. what horrible news.

and yes, the spleen may not be necessary, but i read that survival of the surgery for this is only 50/50. not exactly good odds...and they are running more tests first. if the cancer has spread than it doesn't seem from their remarks that surgery would still be an option.

hoping for good news, that the cancer is still just in the spleen. that in itself is bad enough.

[Rupert Pupkin]

The article at Bloodhorse.com said the tumor is the size of a football. The Lost in the Fog bashers were right. LITF was running bad because he's not a very good horse. It had nothing to do with the football size tumor on his spleen. LOL.

[sumitas]

What a hard knocking campaigner he was. He ran wherever and whenever and I'm sure he and his connections had one helluva year last year. I hope he can recover.

[ArlJim78]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

The article at Bloodhorse.com said the tumor is the size of a football. The Lost in the Fog bashers were right. LITF was running bad because he's not a very good horse. It had nothing to do with the football size tumor on his spleen. LOL.

I participated in those threads and I never remember anyone making an argument that he was not a very good horse. Might I suggest just letting it go now. Whether it affected his performance or not at this point seems irrelevant to me.

This is the first time I've heard of cancer in a prominent thoroughbred ... since Bold Ruler died from it in 1971. But his cancer wasn't diagnosed until he was a 15YO.

Does anyone else know of another prominent thoroughbred who developed serious cancer? Or one so young as Lost In The Fog?

Originally Posted by ArlJim78

I participated in those threads and I never remember anyone making an argument that he was not a very good horse. Might I suggest just letting it go now. Whether it affected his performance or not at this point seems irrelevant to me.

And the carpers don't say WHEN it started affecting his performance.

Was it during his ten-race winning streak ... or just since his eleventh race?

As you say ... it's irrelevant now. Let's just hope he can be treated ... and survive.

Originally Posted by ArlJim78

I participated in those threads and I never remember anyone making an argument that he was not a very good horse. Might I suggest just letting it go now. Whether it affected his performance or not at this point seems irrelevant to me.

THis is true. Nobody said he was a bad horse they just claimed he had never faced a high level of competition. There are some like myself who maybe wrongly saw the horse and proclaimed him a freak and very special. I still think he is/was, there are very few horses I have seen run like this horse. I am very unfamiliar with this sort of malady in horses and appreciate some the info given on this board.

[prudery]

This type of cancer presents in horses from 5-10 years old . Easy Goer had cancer at eight . The size of LITF's tumor nearly covers the entire spleen . Oxygenation is aided by the spleen . Draw your own conclusions . This is a very grave situation .

[Athletics005]

Lost in the Fog Has Cancer and Awaits Risky Operation


Article Tools Sponsored By
By BILL FINLEY
Published: August 17, 2006

Lost in the Fog, a sprinter whose blazing speed has carried him to 10 stakes victories, has been found to have a rare and potentially fatal case of lymphoma.
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He was taken to a veterinary clinic at the University of California-Davis this week after developing what appeared to be a routine case of colic. While he was there, doctors performed a sonogram that revealed a cantaloupe-size cancerous mass in his spleen, his trainer, Greg Gilchrist, said. The horse’s racing career is over, Gilchrist said, and the focus has shifted to saving his life.

“This will not be unlike the situation with Barbaro,” Gilchrist said, adding that the owner Harry Aleo was prepared to spare no expense in an effort to save Lost in the Fog, a 4-year-old colt who won a 2005 Eclipse Award. “We have always put the horse first, and nothing will change,” Gilchrist said. “We will just do the best we can for him.”

Gilchrist said that if the cancer went untreated, Lost in the Fog would survive for no more than a year.

“We could go with radiation and chemotherapy, but I don’t think that will happen,” Gilchrist said. “We will probably choose to remove his spleen and hope that the cancer has not metastasized and spread.”

Few surgeons have performed this type of surgery, Gilchrist said. “The tricky thing is that he is 50-50 to make it through the operation,” he said. Further tests will be done tomorrow to see if the cancer has spread beyond the spleen. If it has, no surgery will be performed, he said.

If Lost in the Fog recovers, he could go on to a career as a sire.

After winning his first 10 races, including the Grade I King’s Bishop at Saratoga, Lost in the Fog had his lone defeat in 2005 in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

He was not the same horse this year, losing two of three starts, including a ninth-place finish in his last race, the Smile Sprint Handicap at Calder on July 15.

“Something like this is very rare,” the New Jersey-based veterinarian Dr. Allan Wise said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a case of lymphoma in a horse that age. Usually, it would involve an older horse, like an old broodmare. I never heard of it in a fairly young, athletic horse. There are some theories that a horse can get this when something goes wrong with the immune system, but we don’t know what or why. That’s why it is usually the very old that get this; their immune systems are too old.”

Gilchrist says he thinks the lymphoma was at least partly responsible for Lost in the Fog’s poor form this year.

“It could have been there for a year and it’s definitely been there for the last six months,” Gilchrist said. “It shows you that this horse has the heart of a lion. It certainly could explain why he had some subpar performances.”