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My boy, Forrest did go to a canine oncologist. He had a tumor on his spine that was eating through the bone, we were trying to find the cause but when we discovered it was nasal cancer that was throwing tumors throughout his body it was far too late to help at all. My advice is if it can be removed and you can enjoy some quality of life with your pup and have the financial means to do so then go for it but if it has spread and surgery isn't and option spoil your pup, get a good supply of pain killers and cherish every moment.
Has anyone here taken their dog to a canine oncologist?
We've taken two dogs to canine oncologists. The first was for a too-late discovered tumor on the dog's soft palate (waaayyy in the back of his mouth -- and he was a slow eater anyway, so we did not realize he was eating EVEN MORE slowly until too late). For that dog, we just went into palliative care mode and he lived another 6 weeks or so.
The second dog had early-stage multiple myeloma (caught on blood-work taken for a different reason), and we managed that with medications for another 6 years or so. In the course of that dog's treatments, we moved to a different city and then the first canine oncologist in the new city closed his practice after a few years, so she saw three different canine oncologists in all. Poor sweetie.
Quick Update: We found another, long-time vet in the area who examined our girl & is going to remove the melanoma in 2 weeks. He said next step would be lymph node biopsy for metastasis but doesn't feel it's needed now, as melanoma on eyelid of dogs is usually not malignant, as it is with melanomas in the mouth & on feet.
This is more in line with what I was thinking. I don't know why the other vet just skipped over this step & referred us directly to a canine oncology clinic. She's 10 years old & has been through a lot. I want her to continue to lead her best life with us with as little stress & invasive procedures as possible.
Thanks to all who responded & I hope this thread can help someone in the future.
We took one dog to a canine oncologist after she developed a mass on her abdomen overnight. She was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma, and the oncologist said that in 20 years not one dog with that cancer lived very long. She died a few weeks later.
Another dog was diagnosed with lymphoma. We went to the same oncologist, who treated her, and she lived another 2 years.
We took one dog to a canine oncologist after she developed a mass on her abdomen overnight. She was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma, and the oncologist said that in 20 years not one dog with that cancer lived very long. She died a few weeks later.
Another dog was diagnosed with lymphoma. We went to the same oncologist, who treated her, and she lived another 2 years.
Thank you for sharing that. I lost a dog to lymphoma in 2009. It was fast & aggressive & she didn't have a chance. She was also a rescue who had been abused but had just blossomed with us so it was pretty devastating.
I had a dog with oral melanoma. Tried chemo, but he couldn't stand it. I put him on a grain-free dog food and gave him Chinese herbs--reishi(?) mushrooms and astragalus among them. The vet predicted he'd live three months; he lived a year. He had a few surgeries to remove tumors. When the time came that he didn't feel good, I had him put to sleep.
After a lot of thought, I contacted another vet for a 2nd opinion. Spouse remembered that a co-worker had recommended them years ago. We thought they had closed permamently during the pandemic, but that wasn't the case. Their patient load is full, but after explaining the situation, we were able to take her in & vet surgically removed the melanoma, last Thursday. Vet also told us that the right eye bump is likely not melanoma.
This was all we wanted & I will never understand why first vet dropped the ball. Our girl is doing great, really cooperative with her eyedrops & tolerating the lampshade on her head.
I just love this girl so much & want her to continue beyond her 10 years with as little trauma as possible.
Possibly I am a conspiracy theorist by nature, but I suspect that general pet foods contain some not-very-nice things in them which promote the formations of lumps in our 4-legged loved ones.
Almost all of our yellow labs (about 5 or 6) developed lumps and died. It might have been old age but then again it might have been the PAL tins we always fed them. Not saying PAL (by Pedigree Pet Foods) is any worse than any other tinned meat pet food of course.
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