Does anyone have experience with cancer in dogs?

[kezza]

I have posted the story about my Staffordshire Bull Terrier in the 'Yorkie brothers & sisters' section but don't get a very big response from members in there although the kind words i have received so far have been comforting.
My Bruce aged 7 had a lump removed from his chest last week and it was sent away to be analysed..the vet phoned today to say that it was a malignant mass and that it is stage 2 cancer..not 100% sure how bad this is ..but they have sent his details to a cancer specialist to see if they recommend any further treatment (chemo etc) i'm hoping that they got rid of it all when they removed the lump and some of the surrounding skin..he has his stitches removed on friday so hopefully we will know more then as to what action we need to take. This has been pretty tough to take after having my Yorkie Heidi pts back in may this year. feeling a bit down today..this has taken the shine off getting my new baby yorkie Pixie in a couple of weeks.
Just wondered if anyone has any experience with malignant tumours in dogs and could let me know maybe what to expect?

[Patti]

My sisters friend had an Irish Water Spaniel that had cancer and did the chemo and she lived another year. The I had a friend who had a chichauaha that had a cancer and she had it removed and started the chemo which she stopped after 2 times because it was so hard on the dog , but the cancer never returned and the dog kived until 15 and died of something else. We had a Sheltie when I was growing up that had a large cancerous tumor on his side and we had it removed and back then they didn't have all the technology they have today but he was good for a pretty long time before it came back. Good luck I will keep him in my prayers.

[kalina82]

if the vet got good margins on the tumor then there is a good chance they got all of the malignant cancer cells. Did the vet also do chest and abdominal x-rays to make sure it didn't spread? if he did and there is nothing else there then i'd say your pup has a pretty good chance of a having a few more good years. Chemo and radiation treatments are very popular now. I've seen dogs and cats that have done well for years on chemo. You can always ask your vet to refer you to an oncologist if you want to talk to a specialist about it.

[Sugar's Mom]

We have had two champion beagles die from cancer. They didn't even act sick until a couple of days before we took them to the vet. The vet took them right in for surgery and both times called us and said it's too late and they had to be put to sleep.

[stedmansmommy]

My Cocker Spaniel had a Cancerous Tumor on her stomach. It oozed alot scabbed up - it was just awful After this spot on her stomach was tested and confirmed to be malignant, our vet did x-rays of her chest and also saw that it had spread to her Lungs She also had an Enlarged Heart and was almost completely blind, and had arthritis. We took her in for surgery so that she could have the Cancer spot removed, and the night before that she started having heart attacks Our vet put her on several different medications the day that he confirmed that the spot on her stomach was indeed Cancer, and the next day is when she started having the heart attacks - she had never ever had these before a day in her life, so I have always wondered if the heart attacks that she started having were caused by the meds that the vet gave her And that makes me SO SAD as I feel bad that I gave them to her I don't know if this was even the case, but it sure seemed strange to me that the heart attacks started the day AFTER she started taking the meds The day after the heart attacks happened, we took her in for surgery to have the Cancer spot removed, she made it through the surgery ok, but about an hour and 1/2 afterword, she started having more heart attacks and passed away Since we didn't get her when she was a puppy, we are not sure what her exact age was, but we are guessing that she was somewhere between 14-16 years old. I myself had her for over 11 wonderful years and I miss her SO MUCH. This all happened in January of last year

R.I.P. my sweet baby girl, we love you and miss you so very, very much

[Iheartroxie]

My thoughts and prayers are with you and Bruce. The news of cancer is heartbreaking. I am going through it right now with my boyfriends family:

My boyfriends twin brother has a 6 yr old pitbull,Isis, who has stage 2 cancer. She has been receiving Chemo treatments for the past few months. Isis has been doing very well with her treatments thus far. The treatment will last for a total of 6 months.

My boyfriends Mom has a Boxer, Rocky, who is almost 8 years old. He also has stage 2 cancer. Rocky has had several tumors removed but has not had to have Chemo. About a month ago Rocky had one of his front toes removed. He has recovered well. It seems like we find new suspicious bumps on Rocky every week. Rocky just had two bumps aspirated and we are waiting for the results.

Please PM me if you ever need to talk. Get well soon Bruce!

[kalina82]

Originally Posted by Iheartroxie

My thoughts and prayers are with you and Bruce. The news of cancer is heartbreaking. I am going through it right now with my boyfriends family:

My boyfriends twin brother has a 6 yr old pitbull,Isis, who has stage 2 cancer. She has been receiving Chemo treatments for the past few months. Isis has been doing very well with her treatments thus far. The treatment will last for a total of 6 months.

My boyfriends Mom has a Boxer, Rocky, who is almost 8 years old. He also has stage 2 cancer. Rocky has had several tumors removed but has not had to have Chemo. About a month ago Rocky had one of his front toes removed. He has recovered well. It seems like we find new suspicious bumps on Rocky every week. Rocky just had two bumps aspirated and we are waiting for the results.

Please PM me if you ever need to talk. Get well soon Bruce!

its sad but unfortunately boxers are big cancer factories. every time you get one mast cell tumor taken off by the vet you end up finding two more somewhere else. We had a boxer in recently to have a couple taken off and as we were shaving and preping her we found a bunch more. Its best to take off as many as you can in one or two surgery procedures and then start chem. poor boxers.

[kezza]

Thanks for all the responses so far..i guess we will see what the specialists say..i have no experience with cancer in dogs and the treatments etc so it is all a bit daunting to me..

[Andie68]

Kerry Im so sorry to hear about Bruce, Im still here if you want to chat, I follow your posts. It always seems to be the way, when things are going great something happens to knock you back down to earth!
I had a Jack Russell who had cancer, they removed the lump and she was fine, it was on her nipple and apparently was the equivalent to female breast cancer, but she didnt need treatment afterwards and went on to live till she was 15, however I was warned that if she did need chemo it would be very expensive and ongoing so I had to make a decision what to do if the worst came to the worst. I hope Bruce will be ok, it will be difficult with a new puppy and a sick dog in the house, keep us informed on his progress. Take Care!

[kezza]

Originally Posted by Andie68

Kerry Im so sorry to hear about Bruce, Im still here if you want to chat, I follow your posts. It always seems to be the way, when things are going great something happens to knock you back down to earth!
I had a Jack Russell who had cancer, they removed the lump and she was fine, it was on her nipple and apparently was the equivalent to female breast cancer, but she didnt need treatment afterwards and went on to live till she was 15, however I was warned that if she did need chemo it would be very expensive and ongoing so I had to make a decision what to do if the worst came to the worst. I hope Bruce will be ok, it will be difficult with a new puppy and a sick dog in the house, keep us informed on his progress. Take Care!

Hi Andrea! How are you?

I'm hoping the specialists will say he should be ok without Chemo..i'm hoping they got it all out when they removed the lump.
I love my Bruce so much..he is like another child to me..i love nothing more than lying on his bed next to him for a cuddle..he is the most affectionate, obedient and wonderful dog to have around..practically perfect!
I'm starting to think maybe getting another Yorkie is a bad idea now..am i doing the right thing?..I want her so much & i'm looking forward to getting her.
Bruce is still his usual normal self..he is a very happy bouncy dog..always up for a game or running after his ball..i think he would like a bit of company as he was brought up with a yorkie..what do you guys all think? do you think i'm doing the right thing? i'm so unsure about everything at the moment.

[Yorkiekids]

I guess it's like cancer in people. Different treatments will work on different dogs. I'm praying they got all the cancer out of your baby, and if he does have to do chemo that he takes it well. So sorry to hear this.

[WV~Yorkies]

My Toto had testicle cancer and had it removed. He didn't have any problems after that.

[Andie68]

Your new baby is waiting for you, go get her!!! It might be just the tonic that Bruce needs, having another Yorkie around. Im as excited as you are about Pixie, Im sure things will be okay.