My dog's oral mass isn't shrinking. What are other treatment options?

I'm sorry to hear about Stephanie's problem. To know for sure what the type of growth is and what to expect from it, a pathologist should look at a sample of the tissue from a surgical biopsy. Without this info, we are just guessing by its appearance, rate of growth and our experience. I am very concerned by the appearance of this mass and the rapid growth after it was initially removed. It is suggestive of a malignant mouth cancer. These are typically very aggressive and very difficult to treat. Your best bet is to ask your veterinarian to refer you to a veterinary oncologist. This is a specialized doctor that can give you the best treatment options. My guess is that they could combine radical surgical resection of the growth and the portion of the jaw that it is growing from. This may be preceded by or followed by radiation treatment. They can go over the prognosis and what exactly to expect, but your regular veterinarian is probably limited to the surgery that was already done. It can be repeated, but the outcome will be the same....rapid tumor re growth. Ask your veterinarian if there is a good specialist that you can see to find out all of your options and decide if treatment is feasible.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Based on these reports, I would recommend a referral to an oncologist to talk about treatment options for this cancerous mass. These types of tumors can be quite aggressive and may involve surgical debulking of the mass in addition to radiation therapy and chemotherapy. I would discuss this with the veterinarian that performed these diagnostics in regards to who he / she would recommend for an oncologist so that you can discuss your options for Tiny. I wish you the best of luck and please do not hesitate to contact us further if you have any other questions / concerns.

I'm sorry to hear that Bodhi is having this problem. The lab work you have posted here looks pretty good - no anemia or significant thrombocytopenia, so I'm unsure why you say he seems to be regressing? If he hasn't been able to keep his medications down, this could certainly be a reason for the disease to relapse - so I would recommend discussing this with your veterinarian to see what he/she suggests. Using an anti-nausea medication such as Cerenia can help to prevent vomiting if this is the main problem. If the current meds simply don't seem to be working well, then a different immunosuppressive medication like cyclosporine or azathioprine could potentially be added. Fluid in his belly is definitely concerning, so I would want to find out what this is. Your veterinarian may be able to aspirate some of it to determine if it's blood, clear fluid, or something else. If he's bleeding into his abdomen, I would be concerned about a clotting disorder of some kind, or possibly a mass on his liver or spleen that may be bleeding - these are not always visible on ultrasound. If the fluid is clear, then it's more likely to be related to cancer or heart disease. So all in all, I would recommend talking with your veterinarian about what he/she recommends as the next step from here. You can ask about the options I've mentioned above, if you wish.

Hi there. I am sorry that Cain is having this issue. When clients cannot afford to do the long course of chemotherapy the next best option is to do high doses of oral steroids (prednisone) which is extremely inexpensive. A dog his size would it would probably only cost you $20 or less a month to do this. Did your vet not offer you this option? The prednisone will not cure the lymphoma but it will certainly slow the course of disease. It will reduce the swelling of the lymph nodes for sure. This may only help for a few months but it is better than no treatment. If you are not going to do any treatment at all the best option is humane euthanasia so that Cain does not suffer. Really, I think you and Cain will be very happy with steroid therapy. Please call your vet back and ask about this option. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

I agree with Dr. Botinas. Histiocytomas are very common in dogs this age and since she had one previously it is likely this is one as well. This one does look pretty advanced though and "angry". I think this should be surgically removed and sent to the lab for a histopathology as well. If you don't believe this is a histiocytoma then it is especially important to have it removed because the other options for tumors it could be are not good....... Changing the diet is not likely to help. If it is a histiocytoma usually they regress on their own within 3 months. If you keep bothering them it makes them "angry" and they will increase in size. I suggest you leave it alone if you are not going to have it surgically removed. If it does not regress then you can have surgery done at that time. The only supplement I would suggest is an immune boosting supplement. ( https://www.allivet.com/p-1542-vetri-science-vetri-dmg-liquid-for-dogs-cats.aspx ) Here is more information on histiocytomas. ( https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952066 ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Antibiotics will only decrease the size of a mass if the mass is infected. If it is a benign mass, it will likely stay the same size and will not go away without surgery. If your veterinarian took a sample of the mass, they may be able to tell you what they think it is. Benign masses tend to stay the same size or grow very slowly over time. If it is enlarging quickly, it should be evaluated again. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I'm sorry Jackie Boy has cancer! If you don't want to do chemo, you can see about doing another surgery to remove as much of the regrowth as possible. Other than that, I would keep him as comfortable as possible and keep a close eye on his quality of life. Once his quality of life is low, letting him go is the best option. I'm sorry.