Pet Cancer: Early Warning Signs
July 3rd, 2009
Did you know that close to half of pets over 10 years old die of cancer? Every responsible owner should keep a close eye on their furry friend for early warning signs of this disease that affect many humans as well.
In addition to taking your dog to the vet for annual checkups, always check for the following:
- A growing lump or sore that doesn’t heal
- Discharge or bleeding from any body opening
- Weight loss despite normal appetite and activity
- Chronic vomiting or diarrhea
- Going more than a day or two without eating
- Demonstrating an unusually excessive appetite
- Over-consumption of water, followed by frequent urination
- Difficulty chewing or swallowing
- Any unusually bad smell coming from your pup
- Tiring easily and unwillingness to exercise
- Swollen lymph nodes (most easy detected behind the jaw or knee)
- Swollen belly
- Dry coughing (in older pets, this is the most common sign of lung cancer)
- Lameness (especially in large breeds, this may be a sign of bone cancer)
- Difficulty and blood with urinating
- Oral odor, change in food preference or chewing habits (may be caused by an oral tumor)
Any or a combination of these signs should prompt you to visit your veterinarian.
Sources:
In the News: FDA Approves First Canine Cancer Drug
Pfizer Animal Health estimates 1.2 million families have pets diagnosed with cancer each year. Fortunately, we live in a an era of advanced veterinary medicine. In June 2009 the U.S. Federal Drug Administration approved the very first cancer drug specifically designed to treat dogs. The drug is called Palladia and starting in 2010 it may offer some canine cancer patients another chance at life.
“This cancer drug approval for dogs is an important step forward for veterinary medicine,” Bernadette Dunham, director of FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, said in a statement. “Prior to this approval, veterinarians had to rely on human oncology drugs without knowledge of how safe or effective they would be for dogs,” she explained.
Palladia was made, tested and approved for use in dogs with potentially serious mast cell tumors, often seen as skin lumps, which can spread to lymph nodes and other parts of the body if left untreated. This type of cancer accounts for about 20 percent of canine skin tumors. The drug works by cutting off the tumors’ blood supply and killing tumor cells.
The results are compelling. In clinical trials, skin tumors disappeared, shrunk or stopped growing altogether in 60 percent of dogs that were treated with Palladia. But not everybody is raving about the news. Jim Edwards of industry news website BNet Pharma warns that “Palladia can shrink tumors, but only until they start growing again. In fact, dogs with systemic tumors were excluded from the study.” He also sites side effects such as diarrhea, anorexia, lethargy, vomiting, lameness and weight loss as reasons to reconsider treatment. The drug “may extend your dog’s life,” says Edwards. But points out that it can also “potentially put a lot of dogs through some unnecessary pain.”
Palladia presents the first pup-approved choice for cancer treatment, and that’s big progress. Prescribed in conjunction with other therapies and of course, love, it may be the right fit for some dogs with cancer. Luckily, many vets won’t need to wait until next year to start using Palladia. The drug is available to certain veterinary oncology specialists before the early-2010 release date.
Article Source: Woof Report
So I come home from work yesterday evening to find my male Shih Tzu, Murphy, limping. I told my husband he probably got hurt during his failed attempt at jumping up to the bed–I distinctly remember him jumping and not making it, his hind legs smashing against the side of the mattress, the day before. I immediately checked his leg and tried to massage it and stretch it out, but he didn’t seem to be in any pain. It looked like he had been licking part of his leg perhaps because it was bothering him, though I didn’t find anything else wrong.
