Dogs and Cancer

November is "Pet Cancer Awareness Month". This past September one of our dogs was diagnosed with a Mast Cell Cancer. He is currently undergoing treatment, and I thought it might be fitting to share some thoughts.

My wife and I have had many dogs in our lives. She had a dog 35 years ago that died from a blood cancer. Until our recent dog's cancer, we have not had to deal with any other cancers in our pets. We first noticed a small bump on our 8 yr old's belly one evening while petting him. When it didn't go away after a few weeks, we went to our Vet. A stain of some needle aspirate led her to believe this was a Mast Cell Tumor (MCT), and he underwent surgery 1 week later. Pathology confirmed the MCT diagnosis.

His surgical recovery was fairly uneventful. We used a Thundershirt to prevent licking at sutures (vs an Elizabethan collar), and help with a small seroma that developed. One week post-op we also met with Veterinarian Oncologist who ordered additional tissue testing. This provided helpful information on potential therapies, and we decided on a 3 month Chemo regimen. While there are many types of cancer, all requiring Veterinary guidance on available interventions, our journey has provided some insights I'd like to share.

First, dog's are upbeat! They often handle things differently than people. The news one of our dogs had cancer was very unsettling for us. But 2-3 days post-op, our dog was back to 90% of normal daily activities. Through chemo treatments to date, other than not liking the Vet visits, you wouldn't know anything was wrong with our dog. This journey has certainly been more stressful for us than him.

Second, cancer therapies are designed to be well tolerated for dogs. Our dog's Veterinary Oncologist said that they never want to degrade a dog's life with any treatments. We were even provided 4-5 different treatment options for our dog's particular cancer. After 4 rounds of chemo (with 4 more pending), he only had some slight GI issues after the first round. That resolved in 2 days , and he's had no other clinical issues, no signs that he feels poorly in any way. He's also been prescribed Prednisone for 1 month, and that has increased his drinking and urinating. But other than being up a few times at night to go out, and a 1-2 hr appointment every week or two a the Vet, not much has changed.

Finally, there's been a great deal of cancer research taking place for dogs. In fact, many cancers in dogs and humans are similar, so therapeutic gains in Veterinary medicine often benefit people in short order. And while MCTs are one tumor type that differs greatly between dogs and humans, there have even been some very impressive oncologic viral trials for this type of cancer. Who knows what the future may hold.

In any event, we are hopeful our dog will get through this health issue, and have many years remaining with us. But for now, he's doing well, and the surgical and post-operative interventions have not been too difficult for him. We're very grateful for that. And we'll be keeping good thoughts for all the pets (and parents) who have had to deal with cancer.

UPDATE 2020: Our dog referenced in this article did pass away in August 2020 from his illness. He had several new tumors in 2019 and continued therapy. He also did very well - being happy, active, and eating well - until his last week of life. This page remembers him, and the last picture there was taken a few days before he passed.