Ask the Vet About Cancer in Dogs and Cats
As a practicing veterinarian, Dr. Dym has over 19 years of experience and dedication to enhancing the overall health and well-being of pets. His commitment and passion for pet health continuously drives him to learn more about the art and science of homeopathy through ongoing training and education.
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Question:I am having my horse scoped in 2 days however I am so worried if it is cancer and not ulcers. Symptoms seem to fall under both categories... he eats a lot!!! But never outs on weight, looks like skin and bone, he had eye removal surgery about 2 months ago. Went into this eye trauma seemingly healthy and over 2 months later he is still losing condition. Tried to save the eye for about 2 weeks at vet hospital with specialists etc... but had to have it removed. He has been on ulcer paste for about one week but no change yet. He seems alert and eats 2 hard feeds a day, hay or lucern twice a day and grazes all day. He seems sad and depressed... he is 19.
Answer:I am solely a small animal (just dogs and cats) veterinarian so contact a veterinarian that specializes in large animals for help with your horse. You can often find them at your local veterinary school or on websites like Justanswer.com.
Question:Going for a ultrasound sound tomorrow I am worried but dog acts perfect Found spleen large from a X-ray due to hacking cough and vomiting due to acid stomach only 8 years what should I expect
Answer:They will be looking to see if the spleen is generally, diffusely enlarged which might mean it is just working too hard vs/ a discrete mass that might be cancer - this will tell them what direction to go next: either run more tests to see why it is working too hard vs. surgical removal if they see a mass.
Question:She has a mole like growth on the top of her head, can you please tell me what that could be?
Answer:Masses can be benign, malignant and everything in between. It is impossible to tell, just by looking at a mass, what kind of cells it contains. Have your veterinarian check it out - they will usually do a "fine needle aspirate" - a little mini-biopsy where they stick a small needle in it and suck some cells out and either look at it right there in their office or send it off to a pathologist. Then you can make a plan for it - if it is definitely benign, your veterinarian may recommend doing nothing.
Question:what is golden paste and how do I make it? is there any holistic treatment that can help my pet?
Answer:I would need to know a LOT more about your dog to really give you any advice - what kind of cancer, how old, etc. Golden paste is made up of turmeric and may help but there are no good studies out there and oral cancer can be aggressive so something stronger from a veterinary oncologist is usually ideal.
Question:what is golden paste and how do I make it?
Answer:Consult a holistic veterinarian for the best advice about exactly how to make golden paste.
Question:Is it safe to give my senior dog Denamarin & Cosequin products together? She has cancer in the mammary glands & her vet believes it is also in her liver (through blood panel), and arthritis. He also advises she take an iron supplement called Lixotinic, but I don't see this on the PetMeds website.
Answer:I would really need to see her blood work and know her entire history to perfectly advise you, so your veterinarian, who has access to all of that information, is definitely the best one to ask, but in general, yes, they can take all of those. Pet Tinic is similar to Lixotinic - ask your veterinarian if that will work for her. Here is a link to read about it, with the price: https://www.1800petmeds.com/Pet+Tinic-prod12024.html
Question:My 9 year old Lab was diagnosed with cancer 9 months ago. He had a spleenectomy at that time due to a ruptured tumor/spleen. Treated him with herbal supplements. He was doing great but now cancer is back. He is lethargic and anemic from the tumor bleeds. This lasts for a day then he bounces back. But for the past week his stomach is rather large and he makes this awful retching sound. Is this typical of the hemangiosarcoma?
Answer:Typical? Not really, only because the average they usually survive after splenectomy is only about 2 months, so it's great that he has done well for 9 months. I would have your veterinarian check him out to see what is going on and whether it is related to the cancer - it may not be, but it's impossible for me to guess without examining him and probably running some tests (bloodwork, x-rays, ultrasound).
Question:My dog is on about 7 mg of prednisone , she has mast tumor that has metastasized she is 22 pounds is 7 mg a lot for that size and would side effect be less if the dose is lower ?
Answer:There is a VERY wide dosage range for prednisone and cancer requires a higher dosage so that is a high dosage but within her cancer dosage range, but yes, decreasing the dosage will decrease the side effects, but definitely go over the plusses and minusses of doing that with your veterinarian before doing it.
Question:Would like to know if you sale:: Yunnan baiyao jiaonang..
Answer:This is the Ask the Vet section for medical questions. Contact customer service for product information. Here is their contact information: Toll Free Number (Call or Text) 1-800-PetMeds® (1-800-738-6337) Email Address customerservice@1800petmeds.com
Question:My dog has a lump on the middle part of his tail. It is fairly hard, light pink in color with a black center. He has had this for around two years now. I havent noticed any growth. He's a healthy 5 year old tibetian terrier. Should i be worried?
Answer:Masses can be benign, malignant and everything in between. It is impossible to tell, just by looking at a mass, what kind of cells it contains. Have your veterinarian check it out - they will usually do a "fine needle aspirate" - a little mini-biopsy where they stick a small needle in it and suck some cells out and either look at it right there in their office or send it off to a pathologist. Then you can make a plan for it - if it is definitely benign, your veterinarian may recommend doing nothing.
Question:I have a female cat who developed bulbous looking growth/tumor attached on the outside behind the ear that appears to have fluid of some kind. It bothers her and is sensitive to the touch. Should I worry?
Answer:Masses can be benign, malignant and everything in between. It is impossible to tell, just by looking at a mass, what kind of cells it contains. Have your veterinarian check it out - they will usually do a "fine needle aspirate" - a little mini-biopsy where they stick a small needle in it and suck some cells out and either look at it right there in their office or send it off to a pathologist. Then you can make a plan for it - if it is definitely benign, your veterinarian may recommend doing nothing.
Question:My 12 year old Labrador retriever has had what we think is a fatty tumor but we never got it checked out for about a year now. Yesterday the fatty tumor became really tight and hard instead of squishy. A couple hours after that, his whole leg became much bigger and looks swollen. He can barely walk and cannot get up on his own. He has lost his appetite a little bit and I read somewhere that that means he is in pain. What should we do? What is wrong with him.
Answer:It sounds like it may be infected, but it also may be cancer growing, so definitely have your veterinarian check it out as soon as you can so you can make a plan for it.
Question:Hello, We have a 12 1/2 year old Shitzu that was diagnosed one month ago from an ultrasound with a adrenal tumor on one side possibly both sides, a mass on her spleen and multiple swollen lymph nodes. It definitely was a mestastized disease and the probability of cancer was at a high percentage. We chose to let her live her life with us as long as she possibly could with out any suffering. She is taking Pepcid every 12 hours and Cerenia for nausea as needed usually every 3 days ( her issues started with continuous vomiting ). In the past 2 weeks she is not eating as well as she is getting very fussy and she continuously “chomps” on her food and drops it out of her mouth in pieces, has had 3 seizures( never had siezures) wants to go out more to urinate and has had two accidents in the house with huge puddles of urine. She is pooping normal. She also arches her back constantly like she is stretching and her heartbeat is very rapid. But she still acts normal and wants to play all the time. She has lost weight. We are keeping in contact with our Vet but would like another opinion. What are your thoughts on this and how much time do you think she has left before we have to make this dreaded decision? Thank you!
Answer:I'm sorry you are going through this - I know it's hard. I would really need to see her radiographs and blood work and her medical records to really properly advise you. It does sound like cancer, especially at her age. (To get specific advice, if you have her blood work and x-rays, you can upload them and speak to veterinarian on sites like JustAnswer.com for a small fee.)
Question:My pet, dog, was recently diagnosed with a MCT about the size of a quarter. I had it surgically removed and the mass sent off to pathology. I was informed that the results showed it was a low grade MCT and that all was removed in the surgical procedure. I was also informed that the lymph nodes did not appear to be swollen or affected. Should i have more testing to see if it has spread elsewhere or should i just monitor her. She is a young 3 and half year old playful happy lab. I'm not sure how to proceed at this point.
Answer:Not really - at this point, it sounds like you have done everything that you need to. Monitor for more masses and have them checked quickly and remoeved because dogs that get MCT are generically predisposed to more, but often they will just have the one.
Question:I have had an X-ray of Romeos wrist & nothing is broken. I have been told that arthritis does not cause swelling. He is not walking on it at all. He does have MCTs & I’m wanting to knw if it’s cancer ? How can I tell?
Answer:A biopsy is usually necessary to definitively diagnose cancer. Biopsies have many plusses and minuses. Sometimes radiographic changes are very suggestive of cancer.
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