When your dog has been diagnosed with lymph node cancer, you are faced with many questions.
So that you know what to expect for you and your dog, this article explains everything you need to know about the diagnosis and treatment of lymphoma.
Symptoms: How can I recognize lymph node cancer in my dog?
Lymph gland cancer, or a lymphoma, describes a whole group of canine cancers that affect the lymphatic system.
Because the lymphatic system works throughout the body, tumors everywhere appear. Therefore, the symptoms are often very different from case to case.
To make matters worse, the symptoms cannot always be clearly assigned to cancer, but are also characteristic of many other diseases.
Typically it comes to skin redness with itching or oozingwithout any apparent cause.
Vomit, loss of appetite and weight loss, anemia and an audible one shortness of breath occur more frequently in lymphomas, but are not significant.
tiredness and exhaustion with no apparent exertion indicate the stress to which the immune system is exposed.
In some cases, however, you can even remove the lymph node touch. However, this can also be the result of another disease that the lymphatic system is currently fighting.
What are the causes of lymph node cancer?
The exact cause of lymph node cancer is not yet clear. According to the current state of research, every dog will get sick.
However, it more often affects older dogs or dogs that already have a weakened immune system.
Some purebred dogs appear to transmit a susceptibility genetically, but this is not fully understood.
In addition, of course, play as with humans environmental factors a role. In an unhealthy environment, dogs generally get sick much more often.
Is lymph node cancer in dogs curable?
Lymph node cancer is in dogs not completely curablebut very treatable.
This means that a dog’s quality of life is usually maintained and that the lymphoma only slightly or not at all restricts it in everyday life.
Especially when the tumor frecognized there is a high chance of making it much smaller with suitable therapy. Then the symptoms sometimes even disappear completely.
However, the cancer remains in the body, even if your dog appears symptom-free and healthy. This is called remission.
It can then always happen that the tumor grows faster than expected or spreads metastases in the body.
How does the treatment and therapy at the vet work?
Treatment for lymph node cancer depends on stage from when it was discovered.
Cancer is divided into 5 stages, 1 being the earliest stage and 5 being the terminal stage.
Your veterinarians will usually diagnose the problem with an ultrasound scan or X-ray of the suspected region and a biopsy for clarification.
That depends on where the tumor is located. Because not all parts of the body can be detected by the ultrasound examination.
If the biopsy shows that your dog has cancer cells, the first course of action is therapy chemotherapy.
This is similar to that in humans, but with significantly fewer side effects. The type and frequency of administration depends on the type of cancer and the exact diagnosis.
Then maybe that will follow surgical removal of the tumor. If this is possible without complications, this is always recommended.
In addition to the chemotherapy comes the cortisone treatment more and more fashionable as additional support.
Because cortisone kills the degenerated cells, but also healthy lymphocytes. Although this weakens the immune system in addition to chemotherapy, it is very effective.
However, cortisone has far more side effects than chemotherapy, above all increased thirst and appetite and the resulting weight gain, some of which is serious.
Under certain circumstances, as in human medicine, there is one radiotherapy considered, but only a few veterinary practices are equipped for it.
What can I do for my dog?
Since lymph node cancer can be better treated the earlier it is detected regular checkups recommended at the vet.
There your dog will be expertly palpated and examined so that knots are noticed that you would not have noticed yourself.
Since the symptoms of lymphoma are often so unspecific, you should request a veterinary clarification if they occur frequently or last a long time.
If your dog has already confirmed the diagnosis, you can above all support his treatment.
Make sure he quiet places has to which he can always retreat for recreation. Also, scale down play, snuggles, and exercise to the least strenuous level possible.
Encourage him to drink, too, especially if he’s vomiting. You can also mix a little tasty taste with his drinking water, like a spoonful of quark or tuna.
Stand up during therapy easily digestible food um, which is low in carbohydrates and high in Omgea-3 fatty acids.
But if your dog hardly shows any appetite and does not tend to vomit, he can of course also get his favorite food so that he eats at all.
Lymph node cancer in dogs: when to get rid of?
Sometimes lymph node cancer is not diagnosed until it is in its final stages, when it is already too late.
With some tumors, things can go downhill rapidly within a short time.
Euthanasia is only ever an option when the quality of life is severely impaired.
Your vet will also advise you on this if she sees no chance of your dog getting back on its feet.
However, since most lymphomas can be treated well, the diagnosis does not mean that your beloved four-legged friend is about to die.
Experiences of other dog owners with lymph node cancer in dogs
“Luna, my Labrador, was diagnosed with lymph gland cancer quite late. She was already 13 years old and a real dog grandma: gray snout and everything.
We then discussed with the vet that we should have low-dose chemotherapy since she was already so old. So she had hardly any symptoms and we were able to say goodbye.”
«Paulchen Panther was never a sports star, but when he could hardly get out of the basket, I became suspicious.
At some point while stroking, I noticed this lump under the left front leg.
So off to the vet and then the hammer diagnosis: lymph gland cancer. I think I cried all day!
We were still at the very beginning! Then there was chemo and surgery and that was it. symptom free. Within less than three months!”
Conclusion
Lymph node cancer is a terrible diagnosis at first.
However, it is one of the types of cancer that can be treated very well. Detected early enough, your dog may be able to go on living without any impairment.
Unfortunately, the symptoms are often too unspecific, so that not every lymphoma is discovered in the early stages.
Has your dog ever had lymph gland cancer? How well did he tolerate the treatment? What helped him? Tell us about your experience in the comments.