My dog's breast cancer returned. Why in the same place after surgery?

Hello I would check with your veterinarian about doing xrays to see if there is any evidence of spread to her lungs. Also discuss with your veterinarian if all of the mass was removed ("clean margins") or if additional surgery is needed. In some cases if there is no spread of the cancer and it was completely removed do further treatment is needed.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! That is certainly possible and recommended. Age is not necessarily a contraindication to surgery if they are being careful with the anesthesia. Keep in mind that most dogs that develop mammary tumors are older and have surgery and do fine. Best of luck!

I'm very sorry to hear that, it's because the tumor was probably not removed entirely or because it is a malignant tumor that has already spread to other places. you will need to take him back to the vet to get it checked and assessed, your vet might tell you that it should not be operated again if he thinks it will keeps growing back.

Unfortunately you do not say whether the melanoma is in his eye ball or the eye lid or skin around the eye ball. If it is in the eye ball it likely would be best to remove the eye. Removing the melanoma from the eye lids or skin around the eye is also advisable if it is returning with a vengeance, ie growing again. The major problem there will be complete removal having skin left to close the skin defect. Unfortunately, if it is not removed there is a chance of metastastes. I would not worry so much about her age, if she is fairly healthy and even in dogs with heart disease, for example, we can do special anesthesia tailored to your dog that is very safe.

Eighteen years is quite old for a dog, so I understand why you may be hesitant to go through any procedures that may decrease her quality of life. At this age it's uncertain how much longer she will live (with or without the tumor) and it seems like she may have other problems,or possible spread of the tumor that would not give a favorable prognosis for recovering from surgery. I would definitely want to solve the problem of not eating before recommending surgery for the tumor. It was helpful to see the notes and lab work, but I would need to further evaluate her and discuss this more in order to give you some more helpful advice. I think it would be worthwhile to discuss this with your veterinarian again and ask what they would do if it were their dog. This may help you with your decision. I hope that helps and Candy gets better soon.

To be completely honest, having her spayed at this point of her life will not prevent future tumors but it can prevent pyometra (uterine infection), the tumors do need to be removed surgically though as they tend to grow and ulcerate at some point and the dog can no longer live this way, having them removed often solves the problem.

This is not usually how things work, the surgeon cannot know if he managed to remove the tumor with clean borders and this is why it is sent to the lab. i have rarely heard about vet repeating such a surgery for free because the tumor wasn't removed with clean borders. Unfortunately at this point, it sounds as the cancer has spread and it would not make sense to perform surgery in her condition.