Does my dog have cancer? What NOT to rely on!
Dr. Demian Dressler is internationally recognized as “the dog cancer vet” because of his innovations in the field of dog cancer management, and the popularity of his blog here at Dog Cancer Blog. The owner of South Shore Veterinary Care, a full-service veterinary hospital in Maui, Hawaii, Dr. Dressler studied Animal Physiology and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California at Davis before earning his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University. After practicing at Killewald Animal Hospital in Amherst, New York, he returned to his home state, Hawaii, to practice at the East Honolulu Pet Hospital before heading home to Maui to open his own hospital. Dr. Dressler consults both dog lovers and veterinary professionals, and is sought after as a speaker on topics ranging from the links between lifestyle choices and disease, nutrition and cancer, and animal ethics. His television appearances include “Ask the Vet” segments on local news programs. He is the author of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide: Full Spectrum Treatments to Optimize Your Dog’s Life Quality and Longevity. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Avian Veterinarians, the National Animal Supplement Council and CORE (Comparative Orthopedic Research Evaluation). He is also an advisory board member for Pacific Primate Sanctuary.
Updated: December 11th, 2018
Hi!
Glad to see so many readers these days! Thanks everyone.
I have noticed that there are some misconceptions about dog cancer floating around that perhaps could be clarified a little bit. Specifically, there are things that people are looking at to deduce that their dog’s lump is NOT cancer…but the problem is that some of the reasons (to support a theory that their dog’s growth is “fine”) are not valid.
Here are some classics in the area of:
What Not To Rely On With Certainty
1. Your dog’s behavior. Dogs can have pretty serious health problems and still walk around, eat, be in no apparent pain, etc. Malignant tumors may not show any overall body signs whatsoever. Anyone heard the phrase….”the doctor found a lump in my breast?” Let’s think about this for a minute. The doctor found a lump. The woman was totally unaware there was a lump!! This tells us that you can have a life- threatening cancer going on that is utterly without any overall signs.
2. How the lump feels and looks on a physical examination at the vet’s. Okay, all of us vets have been guilty of feeling a mass and proclaiming the diagnosis (Fatty Tumor! Cyst! Adenoma! or whatever). Folks, the reality is this: a very high percentage of masses with that feel and appearance actually are what they feel like and look like. But, not all of them! If I see 20 dogs with a soft mass under the skin that feels like a fatty tumor, I would not be surprised if one or two were not. I have encountered growths that for all the world feel like fatty tumors (lipomas) and turned out to be mast cell tumors or hemangiopericytomas (nerve sheath tumors), or even sometimes hematomas (blood pockets from some kind of impact or trauma).
Both of these (exam findings and your dog’s behavior) are unreliable. Yes, sometimes we can get a high probability of a diagnosis and everyone is comfortable playing the odds. But consider this: how many of us wear our seat belts and how many of us wreck our cars?
Take home message: make sure you are aware that if you opt against a fine needle aspirate (see the last blog) or a biopsy (see the entry about Bjorn), you are playing an odds game that is not 100% versus 0%. Some of the dogs with masses that look like they are benign growths and will fool everyone. They come back to bite us later.
Best to everyone,
Dr Dressler
Dr. Demian Dressler is internationally recognized as “the dog cancer vet” because of his innovations in the field of dog cancer management, and the popularity of his blog here at Dog Cancer Blog. The owner of South Shore Veterinary Care, a full-service veterinary hospital in Maui, Hawaii, Dr. Dressler studied Animal Physiology and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California at Davis before earning his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University. After practicing at Killewald Animal Hospital in Amherst, New York, he returned to his home state, Hawaii, to practice at the East Honolulu Pet Hospital before heading home to Maui to open his own hospital. Dr. Dressler consults both dog lovers and veterinary professionals, and is sought after as a speaker on topics ranging from the links between lifestyle choices and disease, nutrition and cancer, and animal ethics. His television appearances include “Ask the Vet” segments on local news programs. He is the author of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide: Full Spectrum Treatments to Optimize Your Dog’s Life Quality and Longevity. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Avian Veterinarians, the National Animal Supplement Council and CORE (Comparative Orthopedic Research Evaluation). He is also an advisory board member for Pacific Primate Sanctuary.
Hello my dog is 13 years old she has a very large lump in her breast. The nipple on her breast also looks infected. What could it be??!!
Hello Evee,
It could be anything from a localized infection from a scratch to cancer. Please get her to your vet to be checked as soon as possible. Hopefully it will be a quick, easy fix and you’ll both feel better. Good luck!
How big are lymph nodes on a 60-70 lb dog supposed to be?
Background: My 10 year old Husky/Boxer mix had a tennis ball sized growth on her leg. We chose not to send it off to testing due to the extra cost and due to the fact that it would not change out decision on her treatment. Right after her surgery I found two other lumps on her body. Very small dime size (they have not grown and are hard to find even though I know they are there). It has now been about 6 months since her surgery. Yesterday I noticed that her lymph nodes under her jaw on both sides of her throat are both swollen. To me they feel huge. They each are about 1 inch thick and two inches wide. I’m pretty sure they are not supposed to be that big. You can’t tell they are big from looking at her as her skin is saggier with old age. Once I saw how large they were other things that she was doing started to click. She is not nearly as active as she once was but that is probably age related. But I have noticed that she has trouble eating now. She used to finish her food every single time as quickly as possible. Now she will eat some but usually just sits by it to make sure none of our other dogs get her food but it takes her a long time to eat. We thought it was because our neighbors were feeding her as she didn’t seem to be losing weight and was instead quite plump looking. However, here recently (in the past month) she seems to be looking slimmer and maybe that is why I noticed that her neck looked big and so checked her out.
I can’t take her to the vet until Saturday and am worried about her. I actually don’t even know if the vets around here will be open on Saturday due to Thanksgiving.
Hello, The size of the lymph nodes you’re describing on your dog are most certainly larger than they should normally be. That combined with the other changes you have noticed indicate that a vet visit is the wisest thing you can do. Until you know what she may be dealing with you can only worry. Please call your vet office before the Thursday holiday to ask what their hours will be… they may very likely be open on Saturday, or be able to recommend a vet’s office that will be open. Please don’t wait. There is so much you can do with good nutrition and supportive supplementation even if you decide not to use conventional treatment, but until you know what you’re dealing with it’s all theoretical. Good luck.
I have a 7 year old yellow lab named Coors and two weeks ago we noticed he was having trouble defecating and it was softer than usually and not much was coming out and there was blood. Two days later nothing was coming out anymore just drops of blood. He went about a week like that and still no feces just blood even after the vet gave enema’s and laxatone and pumped him with fluids. Brought him home and he started to vomit a little bit and still only blood would come out when defecating and he would have to go a lot. He has been straining this whole time too! Took him back to doctor for ultrasound and they said they did see several spots in his bowel that was suspicious and looked like it may be cancer. He had a Needle Aspriration done the other day and I am awaiting results and I asked again what they saw. They told me that there was one big tumor that was blocking off his bowels so no feces was getting through. I finally got some feces to go through by feeding him cream of chicken soup with a can of water some kibbles and 3 to 4 teaspoons of mineral oil. Its not much coming out but something is better than nothing. It is still bloody and he hasn’t vomited in a few days now. I am just wondering if this sounds like cancer to you?
My dog has these Masses that keep filling up and popping the area keeps getting bigger, my Vet says she has never seen anything like this and thinks it my be cancer. Because of it’s size surgery is not a option. And wants me to put her down. Could these masses that keep filling up and then popping be cancer?
my cousins dog has the same type ! She’s a cocker spaniel and the vet tells her it’s common with cockers….adding small sprinkles of tumeric to the food daily is having a positive affect on the spots.
My 11 yr old male aussie was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma two months ago in his rectum. The mass protrudes now and has grown and while his appetite is good and he still enjoys his ride in the car he is licking it more and more. I have rimidyl but I don’t like giving him much because of the contraindications. Is there something else I can get that may relieve his discomfort? I am after quality of life not quantity. Or should I just give him the rimidyl daily?
Dear Katherine,
That sounds pretty sore. I assume debulking is out (no palliative surgery??) The problem of course is the mass itself, which needs to be removed to create relief, as pills usually will not do this. Essentially the question is what can be done about the cancer itself, not about the licking. Conventional Options: surgical removal, standard chemo, low dose chemo (metronomic) with things like low dose Palladia or cyclophosphamide/piroxicam/doxycycline, all under veterinary supervision. Other options: Apocaps, K-9 immunity, low dose oral Neoplasene along with a medicine like mirtazapine to prevent upset tummy with oral neoplasene, also under vet supervision. The basic issue is we need to reduce the number of tumor cells as opposed to trying to suppress irritation. could try prednisolone/tramadol and don’t forget good old preparation H, which can help a bit. Discuss with your vet and take a look at this blog: https://www.dogcancerblog.com/blog/an-overview-of-what-else-can-i-do/ which discusses other full spectrum steps too.
I hope this helps
Dr D
My 4 year old great dane was diagnosed with bone cancer back in late July. Brcause of his large size he was not a good candidate for amputation or limb saving surgery. Anyway here we are in February qhich is way longer then what time frame the vet gave us and we know we are getting closer. He has recently started licking his tumor constantly and is now getting red and alittle weapy. Why is he doing this? Is this a sign he is ready to move on? Torn on what to do. I dont want him to suffer and is he trying to say he wanrs the fight to stop?
Tara,
I am sorry about your dane. If he is licking the site, it may be painful, inflamed or infected. Is he still weight bearing? I’d check in with your vet and consider an X-ray.
All my best, Dr Sue
Hi my dog went to the vet today his 9 and they said he has some small floating lumps inside his rectum I understand that cancer lumps usually don’t feel like that his left gland on his bum cheek was swallown as well but went Dow. After the vet done something inside do u think the lumps spud like cancer he is not passing blood or having trouble going to the toilet please any info would be great
Dear Dr.D.
My 8Year old boston terrior has a small lump slightly near his armpit. It has never changed in size in many months. My vet still wants to do a lumpectomy.My concern is couldn’t that make things worse? What if it is a cancer? Couldn’t that make it spread? No, I would never want my baby to suffer but don’t think I could handle the cost of treatment.
I’m sick over this..so scared of what to do.
Kristin
Kristen,
Cancer is a scary thing but there are many different cancers and making a diagnosis is key to helping your pet. I recommend finding out what it is before it gets too big for surgery. You could start with an aspirate or a small biopsy so you know what it is before surgery, and that allows the vet/surgeon to prepare for the right type of surgery. I know you are scared, but knowledge is power.
All my best, Dr Sue
My dog is 3-4 years old, black lab mix. I got her a year ago, and she was spayed at that time (in the shelter). Six months later she had an abscess at the spay site. When they opened her up, they saw she had never fully healed and there was a significant amount of scar tissue and infection. The vet removed the scar tissue and drained the abscess and fixed her up. Everything seemed to heal really nicely – barely even a scar. Now, eight months later, there is a small bump beneath the skin, in the same location. The bump moves with the skin and does not appear to be attached to anything underneath it. It is about half the diameter of a pea and has a bluish tinge. I brought her to my vet tonight, and was told it was a cyst or scar tissue – which can both have this bluish tint. My vet is often very cautious (we have already done two aspirates this year), but she did not feel an aspirate was necessary at this time,and told me that it is so small she doesn’t think that she would even be able to pull anything out on an aspirate (it is so small I had trouble finding it to show her). She said I can do warm compresses several times each day and that it may get smaller/go away. I’m concerned, because I don’t want to wait on it if it is cancer. I do like my vet, and she has provided very good care over the past year, but I am frustrated. Is it possible for a mass to be too small to successfully aspirate? Obviously I will keep an eye on it and if it gets any bigger we’ll be back in the office, but I can’t stop myself from worrying about it right now. For full disclosure, I have had bad experiences with cancer (in human loved ones) in the past, and I work in cancer research (again, for humans), so I think everything is cancer until proven benign. But, you say all lumps/bumps should be aspirated, so I don’t feel I’m being totally unreasonable…am I?
Dear Chrissy,
this could indeed be something benign, but I feel you are being reasonable and a lump is not normal. Why don’t you just communicate with your vet that you would really like her to get it checked out, if for no other reason than to be safe? Nothing wrong with that.
Best
Dr D
My dog is a 7yr old westie btw, sorry for the spelling mistakes above its predictive text on iPhone…… Basically she either has some kind of cyst or a Tumour I think i should send it for a biopsy to get some closure though? The cyst has been removed now.