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Featuring Demian Dressler, DVM and Sue Ettinger, DVM, Dip. ACVIM (Oncology), authors of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide
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Found a Bump/Lump on My Dog

Carcinoma of the Anal Gland

One of the less common cancers is carcinoma of the anal gland. Carcinoma of the anal gland occurs on the rear end of dogs, and are found on the anus, in it, or on the edge where the haired skin starts.  Sometimes they can be found only by doing a rectal exam, which is a…

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Signs of Dog Lymph Node Cancer

Many find a bump or a lump on their canine companion at home.  The first question is usually, “what is this?” Sometimes the second question is, “Is it a gland or a lymph node?” These are good questions.  The reason is that glands, or lymph nodes, become swollen for different reasons.  Like in people, infection…

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A Sign of Dog Cancer to Know About

What are the signs of dog cancer? That’s a tough question.  There are internal cancers and there are external cancers. With the external cancers, those that are found in the skin, the space under the skin, superficial muscles, or in bony structures that are close to the outside of the body, many times we see…

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My dog is limping. Pug laying on the floor.

“My Dog Is Limping, But No Pain” – What You Should Know

If you find yourself thinking “my dog is limping but no pain is there,” think again. Limping is a sign you should take seriously.

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Help! Found A Lump On The Dog… Now What?

Dr. Demian Dressler, best-selling author of “The Dog Cancer Survival Guide”, explains exactly what to do when you find a lump on your dog.

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Diagnosis of Nasal Tumors

Tumors of the nose and sinus in dogs are often difficult to diagnose at first. These tumors are located inside the nasal passages, invisible to the naked eye, at least in the earlier stages. Many times a guardian will notice that their four legged family member starts to sneeze more often.  The first thought can…

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Bone Tumors and Doxcycline

Osteosarcoma, and other types of canine bone cancer, can be especially hard for a dog lover to cope with.  Not only are most of these cancers very malignant, but often they require major surgeries to help deal with the immediate crisis. Once the decision is made and the surgery performed, we are faced with cancer…

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New Approaches to Squamous Cell Cancer

A cancer we see in from time to time veterinary hospitals is called squamous cell carcinoma. Even though it is not as common as other cancers in dogs, for any dog lover coping with this diagnosis, it is a huge issue. These cancers are not fun. First of all, especially in advanced cases, they are…

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What Makes Canine Lymphoma Different?

Canine lymphoma, also called lymphosarcoma, is a strange cancer.  Not that cancer is not strange in general, because it is.  But lympho is different. This cancer involves a certain type of white blood cell, the lymphocyte.  Most have heard that white blood cells are an important part of the immune system.  It turns out there is…

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Mirtazapine for Dog Cancer

Dear Dog Lovers, A newer drug is being used frequently lately, and I would like to make sure everyone dealing with a canine cancer diagnosis has heard of it.  This medication may help some dogs out there, so let’s keep everyone up to date. The drug is mirtazapine, also called Remeron. Now granted, many of…

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Diet for Dogs With Mast Cell Tumors

Friends, Today’s post will likely be met with some skepticism from those immersed (and confined) to our Western medical approach.  So if this is your framework, please keep an open mind.  You will be pleased to know that the information here is taken from little known, but still Western, data banks. I have recently been…

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Using Black Salve in Dog Cancer

Dear Dog Lovers, I wanted to touch base with you about some information from the real-life streets of veterinary medicine. Occasionally I will get a question about the use of “black salve”.  This rather ugly looking ointment is in a group of medicinals called the escharotics.  An escharotic is a preparation that injures the tissue…

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Be Careful What You Read!!

One of the difficulties dog lovers have is in getting good data about dog cancer. Sometimes questions surface after your visit to the vet or oncologist, and you may not be able to reach your dog’s doctor. Logically, the internet is a good place to start. You will find lots of information about dog cancer…

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The Two Sides of Sunlight in Dog Cancer, part 1

I practice veterinary medicine and surgery in a sunny area.  For those of you with a loved dog who gets a lot of sun, you may have wondered about the effects of sun on canine cancer. As with many topics in medicine, there are a couple different things that have to be considered, as it…

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Hemangiosarcoma, Mammary Cancers and Plastic Link?

Many of you will remember a media stir over BPA, that stuff found in plastic baby bottles that could be hazardous. BPA is Bishenol A.  It is found in many different types of plastic. The most common is the clear, hard plastic called polycarbonate. BPA is also found in plastic food and beverage containers, “carbonless”…

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Why Is There No Standard of Care?

I was recently sent an interesting question from a reader about the right way to deal with a lump. The question revolved around standard veterinary practices upon finding an external mass in a dog. Is it correct to simply monitor and wait for a cancer to grow before doing something about it? Good question! The…

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Dog Tumor Surgery and Anesthetics

In the last post we looked at why surgery ends up often being a good option for malignant dog tumors. Of course, this is a simple answer, but it may not be all that simple in reality. Why? Well, aside from the cost-benefit considerations, surgery itself varies from vet to vet. I have worked with…

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Dog Tumor Surgery: It Matters

Many dogs afflicted with cancer face a surgery.  In spite of how far we have come in medical science, our most reliable way of getting rid of canine cancer is still a bit old fashioned: cut it out. Indeed, most of the time surgical removal is the treatment of choice for tumor cure in the…

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Lipoma and liposarcoma: Fatty tumors in dogs. Black dog laying on floor.

Lipoma and Liposarcoma in the Dog: Fatty Tumors

Is that soft squishy lump on your dog something to worry about? It depends.

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Dog Cancer Surgery: They Didn’t Get It All Out

Sound familiar? Did this happen to anyone out there? Removal of all the cancer cells from the body during surgery is pretty important.  How can we tell? The most important thing to do is get that biopsy report.  Some don’t want the extra cost.  “Just get it out” is a line I have heard from…

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Does my dog have cancer? What NOT to rely on!

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…

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Signs of Cancer in Dogs

Many people ask me what to look for to tell if their dogs have cancer. I thought I should give you a little summary of some of the biggies.

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