# Dogs Get Breast Cancer Too



## vjw (Dec 20, 2006)

Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I thought I'd post a link to this article. Wouldn't be a bad idea to routinely check our female dogs for mammary lumps.


October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month | Star-Exponent


----------



## 3Maltmom (May 23, 2005)

Yup, my Lulu had seven tumors. Two were cancerous. I did not notice this. I still can't believe she had seven, going without notice. Makes me sick. I check them on a regular basis. 

Good post. :thumbsup:


----------



## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

If I might add....

Spaying your dog before she ever comes into heat eliminates her chance of ever getting mammary cancer. If you spay her after her first heat her risk rises to 7%. If she isn't spayed until after her second heat, her risk of cancer jumps to 25%.

Spaying your female also eliminates her risk of ever getting pyometra, a life threatening uterine infection.

A spayed female is a much healthier dog!


----------



## suzimalteselover (Mar 27, 2006)

Thank you. Excellent post and reminder. I would love to see this thread as a sticky, too.


----------



## honeybun (Mar 6, 2007)

delete this


----------



## honeybun (Mar 6, 2007)

Honey had six small tumours when she was entire I was worried when she had seasons about pyometra aninfection of the womb that undesed bitches can get. 
I didnt think of Mammary tumours until she had them.


----------



## Maidto2Maltese (Oct 19, 2004)

Since Naddie was between 1-2 ( guesstimate) when turned into shelter and still intact I examine her all the time for fear of the mammory tumors developing. I have vet check on reg basis as well. 
This is a great post to remind inform everyone!


----------



## uniquelovdolce (Mar 10, 2010)

so sad , i hate cancer


----------



## michellerobison (Dec 17, 2009)

We only had to deal w/ one mammory tumour when we had Buffy,we didnt; get her spayed since I ws afraid of loosing her to surgery like I had lost one of my other pups. But surgery had come a long way since then,and faced w/ that the vet removed the tumour and we had Buffy spayed. Seeing her come through all of that like a champ made me realize I can't take that chance.
Now all our babies are spayed,one mammory or breast tumour is one too many. Never again...if I could help it...

I've lost friends to breast cancer,it's so hard to fathom....


----------



## michellerobison (Dec 17, 2009)

3Maltmom said:


> Yup, my Lulu had seven tumors. Two were cancerous. I did not notice this. I still can't believe she had seven, going without notice. Makes me sick. I check them on a regular basis.
> 
> Good post. :thumbsup:


My buffy had a very fast growing tumour plus a full long coat,I didn't notice it at first either.Makes you wonder how you can miss it,but where they're located,lots of fur and fast growing,they can be missed. Buffy wasn't one for belly rubs but one day she rolled over and there it was about the size of a raddish...by the time the vet got her in for surgery,4 days later,it was the size of an egg.. so it's not hard to see how it can be missed...
I check all my babies,even though they've all been spayed since 6 months of age,except Bitsy,especially Bitsy since she was bred so much and wasn't spayed until age 6 or 7 from what I was told...


----------



## honeybun (Mar 6, 2007)

With the messup that the vets made with Honey and losing the tumour they say that the tumours were beign but I will never have a definite answer whether she is cancer free. Just have to continually watch and examine her.


----------



## Sandcastles (Jul 7, 2010)

vjw said:


> Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I thought I'd post a link to this article. Wouldn't be a bad idea to routinely check our female dogs for mammary lumps.
> 
> 
> October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month | Star-Exponent


 
:goodpost: Thank you for sharing this information.


----------



## Tracy and Tessa (Sep 22, 2010)

I had to put my first baby girl Mindy down because of Breast Cancer. She was a rescue that I got from a family member who I only had for 2 years. The best 2 years of her life was being spoiled with me. Since Mindy, I have always made sure to Spay my girls. Never will I take the chance. The tumours appear so fast and spread even quicker. Mindy loved having belly rubs and from one day to the next she had developed tumours. It was almost 3 months to the day from when we found the first 3 tumours to when we had to say goodbye. We let her go and the first sign of trouble as we knew we did not want her to suffer ever again.


----------



## uniquelovdolce (Mar 10, 2010)

i know men can get mammary cancer as well , can the male dogs?


----------



## honeybun (Mar 6, 2007)

According to this article Mammary gland tumors in male dogs. [J Vet Intern Med. 2007 Sep-Oct] - PubMed result they can but it is rare.


----------



## vjw (Dec 20, 2006)

honeybun said:


> According to this article Mammary gland tumors in male dogs. [J Vet Intern Med. 2007 Sep-Oct] - PubMed result they can but it is rare.


 
Thank you for posting the link. I had meant to post a link to a dvm360 article that said the same thing, but I forgot to post it. Here's a link to the dvm360 article if anyone is interested:

Prognosis, treatment of canine mammary tumors - DVM


The role of sex hormones and the obesity factor in the incidence of mammary cancer is both interesting and scary.




Joy


----------

