I'm so sorry to hear about Vinny.
Lymphoma is not a death sentence and as someone else said, it's one of the better cancers to have as it responds well to treatment.
My boy was diagnosed with Lymphoma in Aug of 2007, had chemo and went into remission until just recently. If I had it to do again I wouldn't change a thing. I've gotten a lot more quality time with Kato and I couldn't be more grateful.
Kato had a tougher time with chemo than some of the other dogs on the forum, but it really wasn't too bad. He had to take meds for nausea and went in once for fluids. All in all he went through the chemo fairly well. He did lose his whiskers and eyelashes and his coat thinned about but that's about it.
My understanding is that carbs feed cancer cells so I would try to either feed raw or one of the grain free foods. I know a lot of people feed Evo, but Kato couldn't tolerate it. He's eating Natural Balance venison and sweet potatoes now and loves it.
I have a recipe for a great powder for his immune system and cancer. If Vinny does have Lymphoma I'd be happy to share it with you.
There are a couple of good Yahoo groups for support. One is canine cancer and the other is lymphoma heart dogs. If he has kidney problems there's also a really good kidney group as well.
Here are the links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/K9KidneyDiet/http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/CanineCancer/http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/LymphomaHeartDogs/I would suggest trying Lymphoma Heart Dogs first so you don't get overwhelmed by all the info.
If you have any questions please feel free to PM me. I know how you're feeling. I felt like my world was falling apart when Kato was diagnosed. There is definitely hope!
Hang in there! I'm keeping you both in my thoughts.
Dee & Kato