How long can an older dog live with aggressive mammary cancer?

Hello. I am sorry to hear about Brown Cow. Life expectancy for malignant mammary cancer is unfortunately not very good. It will vary depending on the stage and grade of the cancer. You can get this information from the biopsies and also x-rays of the chest and ultrasound of the abdomen to look for spread into other organs. Overall, life-expectancy ranges are a general estimate, but actual life-expectancy will vary from animal to animal. I would recommend having a consult with an oncologist to get the best estimate based on Brown Cow's specific case, and also to discuss if any chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery are recommended. Good luck with her.

Assuming Kara is in good health otherwise - which should be established with blood work and x-rays of the chest, to ensure that the tumor hasn't metastasized - then I would recommend proceeding with surgery. Mammary tumors can be quite invasive and aggressive, but depending on the grade surgery can be curative. Just because a dog is old, it doesn't necessarily mean they can't have anesthesia - you just have to take precautions, and find a vet who is capable of taking special care. I would also get a definitive diagnosis as to what the mass is before making any decisions, There are lots of benign lumps that grow all over dogs' bodies, and just because this one is in the mammary area, it isn't necessarily an aggressive cancer. A fine needle aspiration biopsy can usually tell you what these are.

With no treatment, and depending on the severity and spread of the tumor, Shep may only have a couple of months left. I would speak to her vet who will give you a better idea of her survival time. I'm sorry you are facing this!

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!

If you want additional treatments, I would recommend that you discuss referral with your vet to a veterinary oncologist. This question isn't an easy one to answer since it depends on the type, location, current health, potential for spread, etc.

Hi there. I'm afraid I don't understand all the abbreviations in your question, so it's hard for me to make sense of what you're asking. In general, I can tell you that osteosarcoma (the most common type of bone tumor in dogs) is a very aggressive type of cancer, and most dogs do not live more than a few weeks to months after diagnosis without amputation and chemotherapy. So if your dog lived for 1.5 years after the initial diagnosis, he may have simply been very fortunate, or he may have had some other type of bone tumor, or some other problem entirely - since I didn't get to examine him and the time and have not seen his x-rays, I have no way of knowing. If your dog has now passed away and you would like to get a more definitive answer as to what was wrong, I would recommend having an autopsy done - called a necropsy in animals. Your veterinarian should be able to advise you on how to arrange this, if you wish.

I'm so sorry to hear about Reshmk's diagnosis. There are many variables that come into play when discussing life expectancy, and unfortunately not all of them can be predicted. Anal gland adenocarcinoma can be locally invasive and sometimes the tumor gets big enough to cause significant pain and discomfort for the dog, or can grow to a size that inhibits normal/comfortable defecation. So, sometimes the limiting factor is a determination of quality of life based on the direct activity of the mass and its effects on a dog's comfort level. Other times, we can have less direct symptoms related to the cancer, either due to metastasis and those effects on the organs, or due to hypercalcemia, which is a common secondary issue with this type of cancer. Hypercalcemia can lead to excessive thirst and urination most commonly, or can cause GI upset, vomiting, and decreased appetite. These symptoms of hypercalcemia can sometimes initially be managed with medications, but often decisions about quality of life are made when the dog feels ill and medications can no longer control the symptoms. The best one to offer input on a specific survival time would be your vet, who knows the details with Reshmk's cancer and how aggressive it appears, but with the knowledge that it has already been diagnosed in the regional lymph nodes, I would anticipate a survival time of 6 months or less, as the general survival time even with surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy is still less than 3 years. I'm so sorry again about this sad news. I hope this helps.