JACK - CANCER Question

Or anyone else who can help.

Got a bitch, over 12 years old. Not my dog. Actually belongs to my buddy, but he asked me about some lumps on her breasts. Had he caught it or paid attention early on, I would know what to do with the rubberbands and all - however, I have never banded anything this large. I would say it's a mass the size of a small potato, but a handful for the average man. The size of a snickers bar I guess.

My question is this too large to band? Other than this, this bitch is extremely healthy and looks great.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks and have a great weekend.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by No Quarter Kennel

Or anyone else who can help.

Got a bitch, over 12 years old. Not my dog. Actually belongs to my buddy, but he asked me about some lumps on her breasts. Had he caught it or paid attention early on, I would know what to do with the rubberbands and all - however, I have never banded anything this large. I would say it's a mass the size of a small potato, but a handful for the average man. The size of a snickers bar I guess.

My question is this too large to band? Other than this, this bitch is extremely healthy and looks great.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks and have a great weekend.

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If I could band it, I would.

If I couldn't, I would leave it alone.


Every bit of my experience says if you do surgery for cancer on the tits, she dies within 2-4 months.

Jack

Thanks for responding.
I agree about the surgery too. My experience exactly.
What do you think of this idea.
I thought of buying ear trimming clamps b/c this tumor is about the length of one of those things. Clamp it off and hope for the same as a band.
My only concern with the band on one this big is that once it fell off, there would be a much larger hole.

For the record, I CAN band it. I would be able to put in through the band with a little work.

With this info - what are your thoughts.

Thank you for replying. Your advice is greatly appreciated.

Whichever way you choose to remove it I'd like to know how it goes. Pics would be good to, good luck.

S_B

I wonder if freezing something like this with dry ice might be effective? Just thinking out loud, but I would be tempted.

I was thinking about this old bitch with the cancer on her teats. Having recently gone thru cancer with my old bitch, and losing her to it at age 14, I had a few thoughts about this one.

How fast is the cancer growing on her teats? Is it growing quickly or slowly?

Some cancers are more aggressive and grow fast while others are slower. And with a 12 yr old dog, shouldn't one think about what one expects for her future. Is she a valuable brood bitch with hopes of being bred and having a last litter? Is she an old house pet or a chain dog?

I think with cancer and a 12 year old dog, one should consider the quality of life for that dog.

If she is doing well and the cancer is not growing quickly, would it be right to put her thru the pain and discomfort of doing the banding?

It takes some time for that tight band to do its work and for the mass to fall off, and that has to be painful and itch like hell…. Is it worth it to do this to her? 12 years is pretty old… what's her future look like.

Some older dogs do well with chemo but really, how long are you giving them with treatment, or without it?

Freezing the mass off is an interesting idea, and I wonder how well that would work?

Or if the mass is slow growing, is it better to leave it alone and let her live as long as she can until the cancer gets too bad?

I do not think surgically removing the growth is good either for all the reasons stated, i.e. the fact it usually makes the cancer spread, the discomfort for the dog, etc, all for what gain? Chemo in this case might be an option, but nothing is gonna buy her much more time with cancer…

With my old dog, I chose to do no treatments outside of a course of antibiotics in the hopes that she had an infection. But when I found she had lymphoma cancer, I just kept her comfortable as long as I could and then had her put to sleep when I felt she was suffering. At 14 yrs of age, she'd lived a good long life.

These dogs are tough and stoic and they do not show pain much. So we may find we must make these decisions to the best of our ability.

Cancer sucks, I wish your buddy the best with her treatment whatever route is decided.