sarcoids again

["Nikki Reynolds" <jakar@phonewave.net>]

Hi there Merryben,
I've been battling Jakar's sarcoids for seven years and have tried a lot of
things, but the best treatment has been to address his immune system.  We
generally leave the tumors alone unless he has a flareup and they start
growing or spreading (he still has about a dozen under the skin on his
chest).

BTW, we haven't had a flareup in two years since we quit vaccinating him
with everything under the sun every spring.  He only gets tetanus, VEE, and
WEE and not all at once.

We've had great success with cisplatin treatments (which work on the immune
system).  He's had two series in the past five years.  The cisplatin is
injected directly into the tumors.  Large tumors are debulked first, so it's
a good idea to get it done while they're still small.  The horse will have a
mild fever and not feel too chipper for a few days and the tumors areas will
swell and get painful, but the immune system will kick into high gear and
the tumors will magically start disappearing... or at least shrink over the
next few months.  The horse will get three treatments 21 days apart in this
series.  It's not cheap but the open, weepy tumors are all gone as is the
orange-sized one he had in his flank and he's much more comfortable during
fly season.
Nikki