Does anyone know anything about metastatic disease in dogs

C

catherine22

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 January 2006
Messages
1,075
Location
New forest
Visit site
Have googled it along with cancer of the spleen and other spleen masses, which is what my dog seems to have? but just wondered if anyone had any experiences of it or any other knowledge or a good website to look at that hopefully doesnt tell me shes going to die even if she has surgery to remove her spleen in 3 months :-(

I know this should be in dogs but more of you are here!
 
My lady had a mass on her spleen which burst and was bleeding internally. She very nearly died and had to have several blood transfusions. I can't remember the name of it but it was cancerous and they often return and prognosis is not good if they do.
2 years down the line she is fine and at 10 years old like a spring chicken. I'm not sure why the vet is waiting 3 months to operate, it may be a different disease altogether.
 
Ive worded that last bit badly, shes being operated on/investigated 2moro but a lot of the websites seem to say that even if she has it removed the prognosis isnt much longer than 3 months

sorry for the confusion
 
Never say never. My vet told me that it is a 50/50 kind of thing. As I say Matty is fine (rushes off to touch wood) so it doesn't have to be doom and gloom. However, the flip side is that it may return or the vet may not be able to remove it all. Apparently it is quite common. Me and mine are keeping our fingers and paws crossed for you and your girlie.
 
As a VN I've seen many dogs with splenic masses but it depends on what the mass on the spleen is - if its a heamangiosarcoma, then the outcome is very poor (3 months ish) as these are very agressive and spread quickly even if there is little evidence of spread at the time of surgery. If its not one of these the prognosis will be different (some are non-cancerous and don't spread but to know it should be sent off for analysis) but haemangiosarcomas are the more common splenic tumours. Please also be warned that if there is any evidence that it has already spread when they operate there is a possibility that the vet will suggest putting the dog to sleep while they are still under anaesthetic, though it depends on how unwell your dog is at them moment. I'm sorry its not good news. Have they done an ultrasound scan or are they doing that tomorrow as that will give a better idea if has spread (most common place is the liver), before they do surgery.
 
In middle aged and older dogs a reasonable proportion of masses on the spleen are not cancerous. They can be pretty large and make them pretty poorly because of the space they take up, but surgical removal is curative.

Unfortunately cancerous splenic tumours tend to be nasty and have often spread to other organs by the time they are noticed. Sadly in these cases the prognosis is not good.

Hopefully your dog has the former- it is very difficult to tell the difference without sending a sample of the mass away for histology, so don't loose hope yet. I know of several dogs who have been sent home following surgery with a poor prognosis that are still going strong years later.
 
Hi,
I'm in no way an expert in dog spleen cancer, but I may be about to state the obvious but 'metastatic' basically means that the cancer has spread outside of the primary organ (spleen) and that you have secondary tumours elsewhere.
As soon as a cancer becomes metastatic it is far more difficult to treat. Sorry.
 
[ QUOTE ]
if its a heamangiosarcoma, then the outcome is very poor (3 months ish) as these are very agressive and spread quickly even if there is little evidence of spread at the time of surgery.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thankyou. That is what Matty had. I guess she is one lucky girlie.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top