oral cacer in dogs? (how much, labrador, vet, aggressive)
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Not sure even where to start this question. My dog of ten years has a growth in the lower jaw mid-way back on his jaw. The Vets took biopsies, X-rays, and an ultra sound on Thu. with results on the biopsies due back on Mon. I was told it was not good, and when I picked up my buddy from NC States Vet Hospital the doctor said he did not want to get my hopes up, but there was a slight chance it was not malignant. I found the spot last Sat. when I noticed a small bit of blood on the dogs lip. It was about 1/8 inch in dia. A week later it is the size of a small egg. It bleeds a lot, enough to have me worried if he has enough blood, but the vet said his red count was good. I know if the cancer malignant I will have to make a hard decision for my dog. I keep reverting back to if it is benign, which my wife thinks is denial. I don’t think it is as I know the odds aren’t good. I have also noticed a light amine smell on his breath, which I like to think, is him fighting an infection. He has no fever, and eats as if nothing is wrong, I can’t see any signs of pain but he is sleeping a lot more than normal.
Have any on here had a dog with oral cancer, and if so was it benign, and what did you do? I think if it is malignant I will not let them cut his jaw off, or give him chemo and radiation which is what they said would be needed, right after telling me he would only survive 60 to 90 days. He has been too good a dog to put him through that, and I don’t think he would do it to me if the position was reversed.
Is it osteosarcoma? That is what my girl had. If so it tends to be a very aggressive cancer.
We initially had them just remove the tumor but it grew back very quickly. I also decided not to have them remove the lower jaw. I thought it would be too traumatic and would have a huge impact on her quality of life. She was 14 and I was told chemo probably wouldnt help much. We ended up putting her down when the tumor started getting larger. It was a really hard choice to make as she was perfectly healthy otherwise.
I wish you the best, it is not an easy thing to deal with.
My yellow labrador was just 8. She had a small tumor on her maxilla and it just kept growing. No Univ Vet Schools could help her even though I took her everywhere, paid for all the tests...it just kept growing until this dog who just lived to eat, could only down hot dog buns, broken down to small bits and pieces of watermelon. Everything else, she just looked at me, "sorry, can't do it" and walked away. Such a fast spreading, insidious disease. I would have cut off her leg or tail to keep her around, but a dog who cannot eat, cannot live long. I feel very sorry for you and your family. We made a deal, she and I, that I would not let her suffer or bleed to death or gasp for breath. My vet was very understanding, but this was, without question, one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. I sure hope there is a Rainbow Bridge.
I think you may be jumping to conclusions. I would wait until you get the results before worrying so much about it. Let's hope that your dog is fine and attribute it to other minor causes. Last week I had my 14 year old Pit at the doctors because he wouldn't eat, drink, and couldn't walk too well. He also had his head tilted to one side. Going to the doctors thinking that I had to put him to sleep it turned out that he was depressed because he couldn't come upstairs anymore and his little brother (13 years old) was able to come up. I wish you the best of luck but wait for a proper diagnosis before thinking the worst.
This has me worried about my 12 year old mix. She broke a tooth saturday night and after alot of blood, we finally got it stopped. On Sunday evening, it started bleeding again and we couldn't stop it so we took her to the emergency vet. They stopped the bleeding but then told me that she had a tumor in her mouth that was also bleeding. We have an appointment to get the tooth pulled tomorrow and hopefully get an answer about the tumor. The tumor bleeds bad when she eats something and only mildly other times. We are both very worried about this but praying for the best.
I got the biopsy results back last night. It is a form of OSA known as chondrosarcoma or CSA. The form my dog has is in the lower jaw and cartilage, it also was listed as medium to fast on the aggressive scale. We were given three options. One is to remove the lower jaw, do radiation and chemo; the next is do Chemo and radiation; the last is to do radiation to control soft tissue issues and pain. I also will not let them take the lower jaw off my dog. From what I have read the chemo is not effective on this form of cancer, but an antibiotic called Fluoroquinolone has been shown to kill the cancer cells in the cartilage but not the bone. I will be meeting with the doctors at NC state Vet School this afternoon and will have a better idea of what to do.
Just an update. The CSA cancer was very aggressive. Nine days after it was found it had grown to the size of a hen egg, and was making eating and breathing hard for my dog. We had him put to sleep on Mon. the 27th. Hardest thing I ever had to do, but I knew it was the only option. Still no answer to why he came down with the cancers.
I'm so very sorry about your dog. It's so shocking when they go downhill so fast, but maybe for the best that he didn't have to suffer too long with his illness. My thoughts are with you.
Just an update. The CSA cancer was very aggressive. Nine days after it was found it had grown to the size of a hen egg, and was making eating and breathing hard for my dog. We had him put to sleep on Mon. the 27th. Hardest thing I ever had to do, but I knew it was the only option. Still no answer to why he came down with the cancers.
Having just had to let go of my 9 year old Chessie 2 weeks ago, I do know how much it hurts for you right now. You did the right thing to not let your friend suffer. My very heartfelt condolences to you and your family.
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