Breast Cancer? - Page 1

Over a 30 year period I have lost two females with mammary tumours and my mum has also lost one. They were all over 9 years old so they had reasonable life spans - but that doesn't make it easier!

The first one we lost we did not spot the growths until they were quite advanced and lost her quite soon after diagnosis.

The second one was spotted sooner and all teats were stripped of all glands, she did go on for some time after that but it had already spread and we did lose her eventually.

The last one was diagnosed aged seven and in the very early stages as I spotted a pea like lump in a teat when she was feeding a pup. As soon as she had finished feeding her pups the lump was removed and she was spayed. She lived for a further 3 years (happily and energetically) until she died of a secondary cancer.

I now have an eleven year old who had a tumour removed 18 months ago and is still going strong - she was already spayed when the tumour was spotted.

My tips....as for humans - examination is paramount because the earlier you spot it the better - feel every teat thoroughly using your finger tips.

I am convinced that spaying is beneficial to reducing the spread and aggressiveness of this type of tumour and suggest you consider it for any adult female who is not going to be bred from or has finished breeding.

I feel for all of you who have a girl with this at the moment and hope that you have caught it early - if not then just keep them as comfortable as possible for as long as possible - you will know when it is time.

texgsd, I presume that your vet sent the tumor out to a pathologist to find out exactly what type of cancer is present?  Fifty percent of mammary cancers are malignant, which also means that fifty percent of them are benign, so discovery of a tumor does not automatically mean the cancer has already spread elsewhere in the body--the type of cancer needs to be identified in order to know what to expect next.  Chest x-rays are usually suggested before any surgery is done to determine if there's any evidence of metastases to the lungs--it there's already cancer in the lungs, the anesthesia risk is higher and surgery might not be the best course of action.  Since Zira's already had her surgery, hopefully that means your vet already did the chest films and they were clear.  If they weren't done, I would urge you to strongly consider doing them soon so you have a baseline you can use if the pathologist's report comes back with findings of malignancy.  More info can be found here:
https://app.vetconnect.com/5min/data/08020803.htm

My experience with mammary cancer in one of my current dogs so far: Found small lump in right rear mammary gland in February 2008, chest films clear, tumor removed. Bitch is 12 years of age. Pathology report indicated 'dirty' margins, mammary adenocarcinoma with tubular infiltration, recommended removing entire mammary chain and inguinal lymph node on that side. March 2008, mammary chain and lymph node removed with wide, deep margins. Path report indicated clean margins. March 2009, bitch is 13 years old, chest films show metastases to lungs, but no clinicial signs evident.  November 2009, chest films show no changes to lungs, still no clinical signs.  December 2009, bitch is 14 years old,  developed hyphema (blood in the anterior chamber) in the right eye. Exam shows small mass behind iris, likely additional metastases from mammary adenocarcinoma, expected to be slow-growing.  To date, no evidence of tumors in left mammary chain, and all remaining lymph nodes are normal.  Bitch was not spayed until she was 8 years of age.

Let us know what the biopsy report comes back with, and how Zira's doing.  With luck, this will be a benign tumor and you won't have to give it another thought.