Get Dr. Dressler's Dog Cancer Diet FREE Many people as me what to look for to tell if their dogs have cancer. Â Well, I must confess it is a tough question since there are so many cancers, and they all can present a little differently. Â I thought I should give you a little summary of some of the biggies.
First, statistically, cancer TENDS to affect older dogs. Â So, more lumps and bumps on a young dog are benign than cancerous. Â One hallmark of a cancer is it worsens over time. Â Cancers you can see usually get bigger. A growth that stays very small for years is not likely to be a true cancer. Â Again, this is on average and is not a guarantee.
Some cancers are visible, while others are internal. The visible ones can be blackish (melanomas), purplish (hemangiosarcomas), fleshy, inflamed and red (histiocytomas), look like a non-healing open sore (squamous cell carcinomas), be firm, hard and deeply attached (fibrosarcomas), or have any appearance (mast cell tumor, the great imitator).
The internal ones are invisible, so we have to look for overall signs in the dog. When they are far along, cancers usually cause weight loss (cancer cachexia) without an obvious external reason. They often will cause less appetite. Â Many times dog owners will tell me they think their dog got tired of his or her food. Â They can cause low energy, where the dog will just lay around a lot.
Internal cancer signs also depend on where the cancer is happening. For example, a bone tumor (osteosarcoma) might cause a limp, or a bladder tumor (transitional cell carcinoma) might cause straining to urinate, blood in urine, or urinating small amounts frequently. Â A tumor found in the wall of the stomach might cause vomiting, and in the intestine, diarrhea.
Some cancers cause internal bleeding, like hemangiosarcoma of the spleen. Â This bleeding causes sudden weakness and wobbly legs. Â A nasal tumor like a squamous cell carcinoma might cause discharge or bleeding from a nostril, or sneezing that won’t go away. Lung cancers (bronchial adenocarcima) or tumors of the heart can cause coughing. Lumps in the breast with discharge from teats could be mammary carcinomas.
The good news is, not all of these signs point to cancer. Â Lots of other things can cause each and every one of these signs. Â The important thing to remember is to get it checked out by someone who knows what they are doing. Â If we are dealing with cancer, moving early is the way to go.
For more information on all the ways cancer can come about and what you can do, you will definitely want to read the Dog Cancer Suvival Guide.
Best to all,
Dr Dressler
About the Author
Dr. Demian Dressler, DVM is known as the "dog cancer vet" and is author of Dog Cancer Survival Guide: Beyond Surgery, Chemotherapy & Radiation. Visit his blog and sign up free to get the latest information about canine cancer. Go to http://DogCancerBlog.com.
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
I recall that my dog ‘s appetite seemed to have “waned” and I suspected something was wrong LONG before her diagnosis or any signs. Although my dog still has an appetitie why do they get FINICKY? My dog with eat like no tomorrow but it has to be something she likes TODAY. She might like sardines yesterday but not today. Same story with every other food.She loves the meat I put treats in but lately in the morning she doesn’t seem to be as enthusiastic about it and I have to use peanut butter. She will eat EVO canned and then not like it anymore. I have to rinse off the homecooked meat if I try to add in veggies. Lately she most consistently likes kibble which I don’t think is the best choice but what starts her eating and what I can leave out all day–often she won’t touch it until afternoon. By the way, now she won’t eat any veggies even if well disguised or mixed in–are they necessary? How can I get them in without her rejecting the meal and having to rinse it off?
I would like to know about the finickiness if there is an answer out there. Thanks.
Lilly
Lilly,
Finicky=decreased appetite. The body is dynamic, always changing and cycling. Changes may not be present the same way all the time.
Try warming the food and adding aromatic seasoning (not onions, limited garlic too).
D
Hi Dr. Dressler!
My Giant Schnauzer Africa, has had two toes amputated due to squamous cell carcinoma, and today she got her first round of chemo. I am very sad, we have been together 24/7 since she was born, ten years ago.
She is in great spirits, she is not limping at all,she is not in pain, she has no appetite issues, but she does have an ulcer at the site where her two toes were amputated a few months ago. Last Saturday, another nail in the same foot came off.
I am not very optimistic as much as the vet is, or as optimistic my husband is.
I am having a very hard time accepting this, even if I have been dreading this moment from the first time a toe was amputated.
What can I do to help her in this hard time?
Should I give her supplements to boost her immune system?
Thanks for your help
Ana & Africa
Hi,
I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.
Regards,
Jane
Thanks Jane!
D
Hi Dr. Dressler,
my dog is an 11 year old western terrier who has recently developed a rather large lump on her fifth back nipple. it has recently grown in size and is of a dark purple colour. she has also recently been showing weakness in standing and walking. Back legs tend to shake sometimes and prevents from walking. My vet says it could be cancer, and that she is too old to undergo removal surgery of the tumor. Is there any advise you perhaps assist me with, since it is really hard on us as a family watching her suffer since she’s been a member of it for the past 11 years. I would appreciate any help you could give me.
Regards,
Hatem
Hatem,
this does not sound good, especially if your dog was not spayed at an early age. I will address your question more fully in this month’s webinar, which will be recorded so you can listen later or many times if you wish:
http://www.mydogvet.com
Best,
Dr D
Hatem,
the webinar ran overtime. Surgery is the treatment of choice for this type of problem. Chemo and supplements are not really successful, but one option you can discuss with your vet is Tamoxifen, which is sometimes now used in dogs for breast cancer and has shown to temporarily help in roughly 70% of dogs in early investigations..
Best,
Dr D
Dr. Dressler,
I have a 7 year old lab. I noticed that he has a fairly large bumb on both of his rear legs. He has lost weight in the past month and I am starting to wonder could it be cancer. They are both blue/purple in color. I have not taken him to a vet yet, since money is an issue and I am not even sure of what it is. What do you think?
Thanks,
Mrs. Knighton
My 13 year old dog has an epulis on lower incisor area measuring about 1 inch diameter. The vet wants to remove it using laser surgery. What are the chances it will return? Thank you.
I have a 7 year old golden retriever. About 2 months ago he had bloody diahrea, which the vet said was a viral infection. About 2 weeks ago he was running and began limping on his back leg, and within 20 min he was running around like normal. For the past week he has not been eating, and been very lethargic. We took him to the vet and they performed an x-ray and ultrasound, both of which showed no masses. His blood work revealed levels of white blood cells and red blood cells that are consistent with cancer. The blood test also revealed that he was anemic. The doctor’s say that they are baffled because they don’t know what was wrong. What are the chances that it is cancer in the bone marrow? If so how long would he have to live?
Can you truly determine hemangiosarcoma from an ultra sound only? Our dog was ill one time and we took him to the vet, told it was viral. Two weeks later, started to throw up again and when we took him back she felt a mass and did an ultra sound. We were told it could be any day and he is still here and doing well after 6 weeks since diagnosis. He is eating well, running, has energy, but tender when touched in the area of the mass. Is it possible that it could be benign? We would risk the procedure of a biopsy if there were some positive benefit to knowing. Just want to know if an ultra sound could tell if a mass is malignant or benign.
Thanks for your help!
Dear Reader,
yes, it is possible the mass is benign. Sometimes the appearance on ultrasound is so suggestive of a malignancy one can make the call with a fairly high degree of certainty, but not 100%. Multiple masses in a single organ with certain appearances often are malignant, but a single cavitated mass in, say, the spleen may not be malignant. Single growths in the spleen in particular are sometimes hematomas, and removal of the spleen cures the problem.
Best,
Dr D
Hi,
I have a couple of unanswered questions, about lymphoma in a dog. Sadly I just put my 1 1/2 year old female chihuahua to sleep yesterday at 8:40 pm. I am really frustrated and I feel somewhat lost as to the cause of the cancer. I know that there is no “definite” known cause(s) of cancer, but I just thought I could run some of her life facts by you. She was the runt of the liter, only two,we have her brother.she had her first heat cycle at 7 1/2, we planned on getting her fixed soon after that but we were told to wait by the vet. Not long after the first heat cycle, about 4 months later in may she goes into heat again. I dont believe that is normal, but compared to the rest of what happened to her following the spaying, this stayed in the back of my mind. Folllowing the spaying, not to mention all the “necessary” vaccinations, she starts developing breathing problems. we then have her examined and we are told her enlarged tonsil is the issue. We are advised w/ putting her on antibiotics, and we do, to no avail. Maybe one month after her spaying, we take her in for tonsil surgery to have the tonsil removed. she comes home to us and after about two weeks seemed to be getting better, then the vet says she is due for her DHPP or something like that. We go ahead with it, and she went down hill from there. for months she went down hill we did tests and the pathology that there were signs of emerging lymphoma in the tonsilar crypt( Sorry i failed to mention that we had a biopsy done on the crypt where the tonsil was removed because a sore/bump developed after the tonsil was removed). In all of the this the vet and his 2nd opinion the pathologist ended up stating that she may or may not have lymphoma, both in the end being sceptical. I am extremely dissappointed in the way our case was handled I never felt that our vet cared to answer any of our questions. He came recommended from the woman we bought the pups from. I am extremely saddened by our loss she was a wonderful dog who had potential for a great life. Our decision in putting her down came after seeing the quality of life decline tremendously. she was not eating on her own, had not had a bowel movement in week, prior to that the bm’s went for days at a time. she would not eat on her own, we had been syringe feeding her for months prior. She was really tired all the time and would just lay there.
If you can please answer my “questions” to the best of your ability. Your reply alone would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Dear Reader,
this sounds like a horrible experience. I am so sorry all of this happened to you and to your dog. I think you did the right thing, and I believe that you did everything that you could.
Could you please help me by letting me know what I can answer for you?
Are you asking whether I think the biopsy was correct? Or if the vaccine could have worsened your dogs health? If so, my opinion is yes on both counts. Sometimes the best we can do is look using hindsight and use the wisdom we gain in the future.
Best,
Dr D
hello,
Thankyou for your reply,I apologize if the prior post was confusing, her death was really fresh, and I was very upset. Now that you are somewhat familiar with the case, I have a better idea of what I would like to ask. I guess the questions I had were as follows. In the case of a runt of the litter, in your experience, how often have you seen the dog not live a longer life? The fact that she had two heat cycles before her first birthday, the first being in Dec and the second being in late april/early may( the month of her first birthday), could this have been a possible sign that something was wrong? in regards to the dhpp vaccine, is your opinion that the vaccine worsened our dogs health or do you mean actually caused the cancer to surface, sooner, or if at all? Her parents never have had any form of cancer, she did, I understand genetics, it just seems bizarre that she had lymphoma and so young. What could have brought this on??? we have her brother, he is a healthy dog, I am praying that lymphoma does not show up in him. Have you ever heard of food, and the preservatives in dog food triggering Cancer cells? I believe she had gastrointestinal lymphoma, she had an awful smell coming from her mouth for months. when we put her on prednisone at 2ml the smell went away she seemed to get better, ate on her own, had bowel movements normally, and so on. we then gradually weened her off then at a 1/2 ml the smell showed up again. what makes me think she had the gastro type was that she was lethargic, did not eat or drink on her own and had bw issues. Not once did her lymph nodes around her neck or hind legs get inflammed visibly or palpably. Can you tell me if this is pretty much the case in the gastro type, or from your experience how has the gastro type presented itself?
I know she is gone, but these are questions that I need answered. we all loved her and miss her. What is sad is we paid our vet to answer some of these questions for us, but he just continued to show apathy towards our case. Needless to say we will not be seeing that vet any more. I am grateful that I have heard from a professional who actually cares. Your response again will be much appreciated. many thanks and a happy new year- Marlene
Hi,
Our 13.5 year old Lab/Border Collie Mix was just diagnosed with bone cancer in his right hind leg. Our vet has informed us that he wil only be with us another 2-3 months. We are trying to keep him comfortable with pain control (tramadol) and he seems to be getting around alright hopping on three legs. He has started signs of trying to use the bad leg. Should we try to limit his activity i.e. no running around yard? We don’t want him to fracture it.
He does not want to eat any of his dry food and everything we have read says to stay away from grains and carbs. What specific diet should be be feeding him? He will not touch vegetables even if disguised with other food. We have been feeding him eggs and chicken the last few days which he seems to enjoy.
Paul and Kelly
Dear Paul and Kelly, as I assume removal of the tumor has been decided against (and thus removal of the source of the pain), options to consider to discuss with a vet who is up to date on pain control would be increasing the dose of Tramadol, adding and anti inflammatory like Deramaxx or Metacam, adding gabapentin, adding amantadine, and considering whether or not Tylenol with codeine would be helpful (not to be used with the other anti inflammatories). All should be done under vet supervision. More options include a fentanyl patch.
Hope that helps
Dr D
Dear Reader, here are some answers:
In the case of a runt of the litter, in your experience, how often have you seen the dog not live a longer life? Often
The fact that she had two heat cycles before her first birthday, the first being in Dec and the second being in late april/early may( the month of her first birthday), could this have been a possible sign that something was wrong? Not really, slightly irregular heats are not that rare nor anything diabolical.
The fact that she had two heat cycles before her first birthday, the first being in Dec and the second being in late april/early may( the month of her first birthday), could this have been a possible sign that something was wrong? Cancer is caused by many different things all added together. I wrote about half a book on the topic! Bloodlines, carbohydrate excess, melatonin deficiency, stress hormones, omega 6 fatty acid excess, superheated oils and carbs, viruses, sodium nitrate and nitrite, aromated hydrocarbons in the air from auto exhaust, solar radiation, high voltage electrical fields, pesticides and herbicides, second hand smoke…the list is endless. You add up all these things and wammo, the body can no longer compensate for the DNA mutations and immune system suppression and cancer develops.
Can you tell me if this is pretty much the case in the gastro type, or from your experience how has the gastro type presented itself? Usually vomiting and/or diarrhea, weight loss, eventual loss of energy level and appetite is typical.
I hope this fills in the gaps for you a bit…
Best
Dr D
My dog with MCT was more hungry than before! Instead of loosin weight, he became heavier. I thought the cancer was costing him al lot of energy,or the tumor inside his lymp node (which had become the size of a grapefruit) was so heavy that his weight got more?
Cause his head had gotten smaller (also by the prednison) and all his dog collars got too big. But his weight was about 3 kilo’s more. And his appetite remained untill his very last day……….
Dear Reader,
it sounds like the medication was causing these changes. Pred will cause increase in appetite and sometimes weight gain…
Best,
D
hello
this week we sent our 11 year, 65 lb, terrier/wolfhound x to green pastures and bluer waters. in 2001 we moved to hawaii for a couple years and then back to the mainland. (she was quarantined for a month) we had to up her rabies/titer to get her there. my question is, how true is the correlation between rabies and osteosarcoma?
curious, k.wolf
Our 5yr old Australian Cattledog had pups back in March. She seems very healthy, mad as a Hatter as usual, still loves her food, but has one bleeding Nipple. Did a bit of Reiki on her tonight, and the Nipple just oozed blood everywhere? A couple of small lumps in this boob. What should I do please? Do I need to get this checked out? Am on limited money, cannot afford Chemo if she has Cancer that is for sure eh? All advice gratefully received, cheers, Cheryl, Renmark, South Australia. x
Dear Cheryl,
There is some good news hear possibly…it could be (maybe) that the blood is from an infection and not cancer. It really is best to get it checked out before coming up with a plan. Even if it is a tumor sometimes they can be removed. Stay in touch,
Best,
Dr D