My dog has swollen lymph nodes, suspected cancer. Are injections good?

Antibiotics and steroids would be a guess of a treatment simply used to cover the possibilities. Enlarged lymph nodes can be a sign of cancer (lymphoma) or an infection. Steroids can interfere with a diagnosis of cancer but also help keep them comfortable for a short while It is best to have the gland aspirated or biopsied. The results can be back in 24-72 hours so you know exactly what you are dealing with. Generally a steroid and antibiotic can be started to cover your basis until you get a definitive answer. If it is cancer, then the antibiotics are pointless and can be stopped. IF it is inflammation or infection, then you are already on antibiotics to help cover you.

I would recommend removal or at least a biopsy of the lymphnodes (where a little piece of the lymph node is removed). This can be done under geeneral anesthesia, which nowadays is very safe or, if your dog is very quiet, may be done under sedation and a local anesthesia (I would prefer the general anesthesia though). This could indeed be lymphoma or it could be reactive lymph nodes, swelling because they are filtering out bacteria and other material that the body does not deem healthy. Should it be lymphoma and you do not want chemotherapy , your dog can indeed be made comfortable with steroids. Rather than hoping and guessing whether it is lymphoma or not, the biopsy, whether done by taking the whole lymphnode or just part of it, will give you a diagnosis and then you can deal with the disease.

I would await her biopsy results (preliminary cytology results should be available within 72hours) before embarking on such as radical diet change in a puppy as many 'cancer' diets are designed to starve the tumour of easily available energy (as well as being enriched with antioxidants etc) which is not necessarily an ideal diet for such a young puppy and tumours are quite rare although not impossible in this age group. In the rare event of a positive result. referral to a specialist oncologist would be recommended with such a young dog

If Georgia is only a year old and only has a single swollen lymph node it is more likely infection related. However, the only way to know for sure is to have her examined and a needle aspirate sample obtained from the lymph node. Your veterinarian can evaluate the sample under the microscope to help determine if it is infection or cancer related. I'd recommend getting it checked out fairly soon as Georgia may need antibiotics or other supportive treatment if it is related to infection. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and I'm hoping for a good prognosis for Georgia May!

This depends on the underlying cause of the welling. In some cases water tablets/diuretics may help but I would be concerned with her history that there may be a physical mass which is putting pressure on the draining blood vessels and lymphatics preventing the fluid from moving out her abdomen and legs in which case this will not respond to medical treatment and euthanasia would be strongly advised before clots or severe infection develops in the swollen tissue

First off, I'm sorry that Roxy has lymphoma (cancer of the lymph nodes)! Yes, your vet is correct that this treatment protocol can give her more time with you. Each dog responds differently to the treatment, but with chemotherapy, the median survival time is 6-12 months. Given I can't see her in person, I can't say for certain how long she is survive, but I do recommend following your vet's recommendations to increase your time with her. Again, I'm sorry about her diagnosis :-(

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am sorry to hear Diesel isn’t feeling well. The prednisone is supposed to help slow the growth of the cancer but eventually it won’t be effective. Prednisone alone isn’t enough to cure him. If he is getting worse and the lymph nodes are growing it is likely the prednisone is no longer helping. I would discuss your options with the vet that diagnosed him but there isn’t much more they can do for him. I am so sorry and I hope the rest of his life is pain free. Good luck and kisses to Diesel!