Cancer and your dog – What you should know – What you can do

Cancer is not an easy topic to discuss, period.

If you would rather watch my YouTube video, click on the video below.

In my over 30 years of owning dogs, I’ve had/have Boston Terriers, Labs, Dobermans, and German Shepherds, but cancer has always struck my Bostons. I lost two Bostons to cancer, one from uterine cancer, and one from a brain glioma, and that one after years of having several bouts with Grade II mast cell tumors. A third Boston was felled by a highly inflammatory brain infection known as meningoencephalitis. She had similar symptoms to cancer, and actually was being treated with a cancer drug, Cytosar.

Now, keep in mind, that I’m speaking only from my first-hand experience. There are many kinds of cancers, and I am only speaking about the cancers that I experienced with my dogs. So it is with this background that I hope I can help you.

First, one thing to note, cancer is not only found in elderly, senior dogs. My Boston who passed from uterine cancer was 7 years old, which is still relatively young when you consider that some Bostons can live to 13/14 years of age. My Boston, Chipper, was diagnosed with his first mast cell tumor at age 6, he lost his brother to brain cancer at age 5 yrs. It can strike younger, adult dogs.

So how do you identify something potentially dangerous in your dog? The way I look at it, there are two kinds of potential cancer, and I use the word potential because you will not know for certain it is cancer until you have a vet’s diagnosis, the kind you can see, and the kind you can’t. 

Let’s take the one that you can see first. 

If you’re like me, your hands are on your dog every day. When you pet them, when you play with them. Short-hair, long-hair, my hands always go over my dogs on top, underneath. When you’re playing with your dog, and he/she is rolling over on the floor, on the grass, when they’re lying next to you, you look them over. Or you should.

My Chipper was a mast cell tumor magnet. He had little tumor bumps on his legs, his paws, his abdomen, his hind end. I first noticed the tumor on Chipper one morning when he was laying on his back in bed next to my other pup. It was like a small, hard, pea-sized bump. It hadn’t been there the day before, it just suddenly appeared, which is what this kind of tumor does, and it didn’t look good. 

Now sometimes, dogs can develop what is known as fatty tumors, sort of fibroid cysts, which are 99% of the time benign. Sometimes, they’re a little soft or somewhat squishy. My German Shepherd, Czarina, had one at age 10/11, and most recently, my German Shepherd, Nabucco had one and he was only 18 months. These little tumors/cysts usually go away by themselves. So when you find something, don’t always assume that it is cancer. 

But you have to watch these bumps carefully for changes in size, shape, and color.

I know that the last thing people want to incur is the cost of a trip to the vet. But when it comes to these bumps out of nowhere, if they are cancerous, which was the case for 4 out of 5 tumors with Chip, then if they’re caught early, the tumor isn’t necessarily the death sentence. A key point I will add here, when Chip had these cancerous tumors, there was no change in his appetite, his activity level, his temperament, and just by looking at him, you’d never know he had cancer. 

So err on the safe side, and if you find a lump or bump, take your dog to the vet.

When you get to the vet, the course of action will usually be a needle aspiration of the bump, which is kind of a biopsy. Cancer is not something that can be found in a blood test. In each of Chipper’s cases, my vet and the technicians were able to ascertain abnormal cells on a glass slide under the microscope. Then, they would send the tissue sample out to a lab, like Idexx, where a pathologist would do a much fuller investigation, which takes several days. It is at this point that the pathologist will grade the tumor. If the sample comes back positive, then most likely surgery will be needed to remove the tumor.

Whether the tumor is removed locally by your vet, or you have to go to a specialist/animal hospital with vets who have multiple acronyms behind their names, like DACVIM, will be determined by the test results, the location of the tumor, how far/fast it’s spread, and if there are extenuating circumstances, like previous surgeries or other underlying conditions. In Chipper’s cases, the surgeries were performed by my vet who looked after him since he was nine weeks old. Normally, when these surgeries are done, the vet operating will remove not only the actual tumor, but also tissue from the surrounding area to try and be sure that all the cancer cells have been removed. There was only one case, where a tumor was located on his abdomen in such a place where she couldn’t make a larger swath, that I was referred to an oncologist for potential chemotherapy. 

I actually did go to the oncologist, who reviewed Chipper’s file and then went into detail about what chemo would cost, the number of weeks it would be administered, and the side effects/quality of life Chipper would have. I made the decision I did NOT want to put Chipper through that, he was 10 going on 11 years old, so I chose to risk that my vet had caught all the cancerous cells.

As tough as chemo is on people, it’s equally tough on dogs, so you have weigh your decisions very carefully. Is the better answer palliative care, because again, it depends on what kind of cancer, was it caught in time, and where was it located.

Now for the potential problems that you don’t see physically on your dog, there are also signs to watch for when a cancer is internal. In my case with Chipper, and the brain tumor that finally killed him, the signs were how he walked, his leg would slide out sideways where his balance was off, a slight head tilt, staring into space, abnormal panting, circling, and seizures. In some cases, like my little Poco, who had meningoencephalitis, she experienced cluster seizures.  She was not in any pain, but you feel so helpless.

I took Chipper to the neurologist, when this photo of Chipper and I was taken by her, and she examined him and he had an MRI performed.  She gave me the news that he had a glioma in his brain, it was inoperable, and that at most she gave him six weeks. Little Chipper died in three.

So what do you do if your dog has been diagnosed?

When you are faced with a problem such as cancer, or potential cancer, I can’t stress enough to get onto the internet and start googling what you’ve been told by your vet, so you know exactly what you’re dealing with.  Get the exact name of the cancer, the spelling, the location on your dog, because there are so many research papers by veterinary hospitals and university veterinary schools, along with photos so that you can entirely educate yourself.

The surgery and chemo, should you choose to do it, is very, very costly. With one of Chip’s mast cell tumors, the chemo alone was over $5000, on top of the $3500 surgery bill. There are companies like Care Credit, which is offered and accepted by thousands of veterinary clinics and hospitals, that offer you interest-free, over time payments, usually in the 6-12 month range.  Many of you might already have pet insurance. I have had pet insurance for the last 20 years, and in Chip’s cases, throughout his entire life, my reimbursements were close to $20,000, and that’s on top of what I paid out of pocket.  But, by searching the internet, as I did, you can sometimes, find resources that can help you, help your dog, and help other dogs.

By resources, I mean this. With two of Chip’s tumors, I was able to find two university veterinary schools that were running clinical trials on cancer in dogs. With these clinical trials, the cost of the tests, treatment protocols, surgery if the trial involves that, and recovery is borne by the veterinary school. Your expense is getting you and your dog to the University. 

In Chip’s cases, one was the University of Tennessee which was running a trial on mast cell tumors. However, the cost that I would have to incur for two weeks staying in Tennessee near the University while they were running the trial, as well as boarding my other dogs while I was away was about, equal with the cost of the surgery at my vet. With the University of Minnesota’s trial, they were looking for pups with brain tumors, but Chip had an underlying condition, a benign heart tumor so that trial was a non-starter when they learned that.

And in closing, when it comes to the million dollar question, what do you do if your dog has been diagnosed with cancer? 

I’ve already explained that not all cancer diagnoses are fatal. But for the ones that are, the key question to ask yourself, and to ask the vet is, is my dog in pain? Because if the answer to that is yes, then do the brave thing and euthanize your pup. Remember that at times like this, it’s not about you, it’s about them.

Don’t make the mistake I did. I waited too long. When little Chip was diagnosed with his glioma, and even before that, I was in constant contact with his breeder and had been through most of his life. She encouraged me to take one day at a time with him, and not to be too hasty, he would have his good days and his bad.

After going through the cluster seizures and the heartbreak with my dear beloved Poco, I promised myself that I would not let Chip go through the same thing and suffer seizures like Poco. On the day this video was taken, Chipper later had a seizure and fell off the sofa. I immediately cradled him in my arms and called the vet telling them what had happened and I was bringing him for euthanasia.

On my way to vet, Chip seized in the car and fell off the front seat.  By the time I got to the vet, which was only five minutes from my house, Chip was seizuring again while I was carrying him in my arms. I still beat myself up that I put him through him this. Chipper died in my arms about 20 minutes later.

So for all of you out there, who have this predicament, like me who tries to move heaven and earth for my dogs, you have to be realistic too. When they are suffering and their quality of life deteriorates, say a prayer, if you are so inclined, and do the right thing. Of all the years that you will spend owning and loving a dog, when they are sick and when they are about to pass on, is when they need you the most.

And with that, I will close this not very pleasant topic. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below.