My dog is on chemo and has an open sore. Is it related? How to help?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. From the pictures, it does appear that this is a sizable hole. Unfortunately, when dealing with cancer cells, anytime a cancerous mass is removed this is a possible complication. Flushing the area may help this heal faster or this may not heal well at all due to the cancerous nature of the area. I would say that if this is not looking like it is developing healthy tissue within a week of flushing and caring for the open wound, I would recommend having this closed with stitches again. I would have the veterinarian check the wound every 3 days to monitor it's progression. This area is hard to bandage and most likely a bandage would not stay in place in this area. I would leave this exposed to the air so it heals better. When she goes to sleep at night, I would put a shirt around her or a pair of boxer shorts to keep it protected. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hello, I am so sorry for you poor Xena, but there is nothing topical that you will have at home that will have any effect on cancer cells. Until you can have her seen by your veterinarian, I would bandage up the leg to prevent further trauma & self-mutilation. You might want to try using Manuka Honey under the dressing to help dry out the lesion & act as a natural antibiotic. Good luck & thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I'd have to say that I'm concerned about that focal mass area that is pigmented black, but the rest of this lesion does not look like any type of skin cancer I have seen. If the vet is concerned that this is cancer, typically we debulk (remove as much as possible) or completely remove what we can before attempting chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is also best guided when we know exactly the type of tumor we are dealing with, as there are several types of cancers that can affect the skin of dogs. My advice would be to get a biopsy performed of this lesion and get an exact diagnosis before proceeding with treatment.

Hello, thank you for using PetCoach. I'm sorry you and Pitoune are dealing with this. Please be advised that to prevent this from happening to future pets, they need to be spayed before their first heat cycle. The chance of getting mammary tumors is virtually zero when a female dog is spayed young. It is very difficult for me to tell the orientation of what is going on in this photo. I'm assuming the photo is of the abdomen since you said they are mammary tumors but again, it is hard to tell what is going on based on this one photo. You are not going to get these to clear up and will likely only get worse; they are malignant cancer. They will only stop weeping when she stops scratching them. All you can do is exactly what you are doing although I don't think you should blow dry them - it is very easy to burn the skin making it worse. Everything else you are doing is fine. I'm not sure what you are using to cover her but I suggest a recovery suit and to put a feminine maxi pad between the skin lesions and the suit to catch any discharge. This protective layer should stop her from traumatizing the area. You can also put a human baby sock on her back feet so it covers the nails so if she does scratch she cannot hurt the area. ( https://www.amazon.com/s?k=surgery+suit+small+dog&crid=ZTVVO4IRU78L&sprefix=surgery+suit+small+dog%2Caps%2C120&ref=nb_sb_noss_1 ) If they are worsening I suggest you speak to your vet about possibly increasing the dose of Prednisone. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

I'm sorry to hear that Cookie is having this problem. From your pictures, it looks like the center of the area is a little raw, but crusted over and the entire area looks a little red. Unfortunately, dogs with Cushing's disease have a suppressed immune system, so they have a harder time healing and are more likely to develop infections. For that reason, I would have Cookie evaluated by your veterinarian before that area get infected. I think you will have a very hard time getting it to heal by itself without some professional help and medication. If the area in the center is oozing, I would have it evaluated sooner rather than later. Please let me know if that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

This can happen , as wounds like that, even with tension cuts, often slough the skin, The skin will have to grow in slowly and it will. However the wound will need regular bandaging and moisture, so you will need to discuss a bandaging schedule with your vet, Have the vet or his techs show you how to bandage the wound, and give you supplies , (ointments, etc),

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear that Aries has a scab/wounded area that is struggling to heal. Any lump/mass on the skin could potentially be cancerous, but the only way to definitively diagnose this is by a veterinarian sampling cells from the area and examining them under a microscope. Sometimes the entire affected area needs to be removed and submitted to a lab for biopsy in order to see what type of mass it is. If it turns out to just be a non-healing wound, your veterinarian can make recommendations about how to help the area heal. If you want, you can post on the forum again with a few photos of this area and someone may be able to give you additional information. I hope this is helpful!