My dog has thyroid cancer. What are the treatment options?

Hello, I'm sorry to hear about Foxy's squamous cell carcinoma. The decision to pursue radiation and chemo is a very personal one, and it's difficult to offer specific input without any knowledge about how aggressive Foxy's tumor is, and specifically where it's located. I'm gathering from your reference to cherry eye that the tumor is growing at the margin of the eye. The goal with radiation and chemotherapy in dogs is often a bit different than with people. In people, the goal is to be as aggressive as it takes to try to cure the cancer - and in the meantime, people can consent to feeling pretty crummy throughout treatment, because they understand the final goal. In animals, since they cannot consent nor understand the long-term benefit of chemo, our goal is more often to slow down and shrink the cancer, with the hope of buying more time with our pets - but it is much less commonly curative. Generally the oncologist with a dog will try to find the dose of chemo that will slow/shrink the tumor, while allowing the dog to continue to feel pretty good. So, there really is no right or wrong answer. For what it's worth, I think if financial aspect of the treatment is feasible, then there are few downsides to pursuing treatment. However, if there are financial limitations, it is important to keep in mind that usually these treatments do not cure the cancer, but simply slow it down for awhile. Again, this input is all without having specific knowledge about Foxy or her tumor - so I do encourage you to have this conversation with your vet, or request referral to an oncologist. Even if you choose not to pursue chemo/radiation, the initial consultation fee may be worth doing in order to have all of your questions answered and discuss all the pros/cons of different courses of treatment. Hope this helps.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Lymphoma is in fact a cancer. This is typically treated with chemotherapy. There are many chemotherapy options that can be considered such as a multi agent protocol called CHOP. There are other chemotherapeutic medications that can be considered depending on what your veterinarian has available. In general, chemotherapy is well-tolerated in dogs when done appropriately. If not able to proceed with chemotherapy, there are other options like prednisone therapy alone which in itself can help dogs with lymphoma though for a very short amount of time. The prognosis with chemotherapy varies and depends on the type of lymphoma he has (B-cell vs. T-cell) and the treatment chosen. The prognosis varies between 6 to 12 months with chemotherapy and about 2 months on just prednisone. Please feel free to request a consultation with me if you have more specific questions. Good luck!

I'm sorry Buddu was just diagnosed with cancer. The answer to your question depends on the type of cancer he has, and if and how much it has spread. You can talk to your vet about treatment options such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Again, I'm sorry :-(

Sorry to hear this...it must be very sad to see him like this. The lymphoma does seem rather advanced, but treatment is a possibility. In-fact, it could still make a big difference in slowing the progression of the cancer and actually make him feel better. There are a few different options for chemotherapy that can range in price and efficacy. The decision about what treatment is best for Kratos takes into account multiple different factors, so this will definitely have to be a discussion between you and the vet that diagnosed the lymphoma. I hope that helps and Kratos feels better soon.

So sorry to hear that Skylla has this problem. Depending on the location of the cancer in the bladder, surgery would be the best option followed by radiation. Radiation alone is not usually recommended as the bladder tends to get very damaged and non-functional. As far as non-surgical options, your vet is correct to give an NSAID like Previcoxx however, a better NSAID to use would be piroxicam but I do not know if it is available in your country. If an NSAID alone is not working we then go to using NSAID plus chemotherapy (mitoxantrone). A third option is chemotherapy alone with vinblastine or other combinations of drugs. You will need to speak to your vet to see what options are available in your country and the costs involved. Also, it depends on where in the bladder Skylla's cancer is located. You could also refer your vet to this article if they are not used to treating this type of cancer. ( https://www.purdue.edu/vet/pcop/files/docs/CanineUrinaryBladderCancer.pdf ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.

I am so sorry you have to face this. This question is best answered by an oncologist and neurologist. They will have to do a CT scan or MRI to see what all is affected. From there they will consult with a surgeon to see if it can be biopsies. This will determine what type of cancer it is m. Each cancer responds differently to radiation and chemo. This must be done a referral level which is usually limited to big cities and universities. The cost for the testing alone can be around $1500-$2500. Then you can get options for treatments and prognosis.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Your veterinarian may be referring to a thyroid tumor. The next step before considering surgery would be proceeding with a CT scan to check on how invasive the tumor appears to be. Then the next treatment option can be determined. A FNA can be performed at the time to determine the tumor type. If not too invasive surgery may be possible. If too invasive, and this is a thyroid carcinoma (the most common tumor in that region), radiation therapy or chemotherapy may be next best options. The prognosis with these tumors depends on the type which is why that needs to be tested. Also, it depends on how invasive it is and if it can be resected. If you think you have more information on the case that you did not describe in the question, feel free to request a consultation with me and I can continue to help. Best of luck and have a blessed day!