My senior dog has a tumor, can't afford surgery. What home care?

I am so sorry, but there is nothing you can do at home for this, other than try to keep it clean if it breaks open and bleeds (which it looks like it could do at any time). Short of taking her in, there really just aren’t any options... this would require surgical removal. If she’s comfortable, eating, and happy, it’s not wrong to just love on her for the time she has left and not pursue treating the tumor. Again, I’m sorry I don’t have more options to offer you. Thank you for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

The option is to do nothing and just wait until the tumor is so big that is causes problems or pain or ulcerates. There really are no other options other than surgery (debulking the tumor), maybe radiation (this willl depend on the kind of tumor) or chemotherapy (which also depends on the kind of tumor. I suggest you discuss palliative care (just treat symptoms until euthanasia) with your veterinarian. I am sorry your Rusty is so ill.

I am sorry, but there is no cure for cancer. Small tumors can be removed surgically and then undergo chemotherapy or radiation therapy depending on the type of tumor and if clean margins were made during surgery. If this is not an option for Hundoll, then he would be considered for hospice-type care. I would recommend that you have have him evaluated by a vet for pain. You can feed him whatever he wants at this point. Acupuncture may help with some of the pain, but it won't be able to stop the growth of the tumor. You may be able to find a vet in your area that uses herbal remedies, but they need to be prescribed after careful examination of the dog.

I'm really sorry to hear this. Unfortunately, surgery is the mainstay of treatment. It is the only proven method to influence survival of dogs with these tumors. Usually dogs with this type of tumors also have kidney failure or high calcium as well which can complicate things. Metastasis (spread) can also be a problem. There is a drug called Palladia (a chemotherapy agent) that is usually given to the dogs after surgery however, I am unsure if it is helpful without surgery being done first. You would have to consult with a veterinary oncologist about that. That being said, that medication is extremely expensive. There is not much that can be done short of surgery and chemotherapy. If you cannot afford treatment then all you can do is make her as comfortable as possible and when it gets to the point that her quality of life is no longer good then you should consider humane euthanasia so she does not suffer. There are no over the counter medications that can be recommended. Hopefully this article will answer more of your questions. ( https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/anal-gland-tumors ) Again, I am sorry to hear this. I hope this helps. Best wishes.

Liver tumors may or may not be truly "cancerous", i.e. Cause metastasis to other parts of the body and severe disease. Dogs can have benign liver tumors that don't metastasize, however they can get very large and impact liver function. There's really no way to know which type of tumor - benign or malignant - your dog has without a biopsy of the tumor. Ultimately the increase in water consumption is concerning, as polydipsia (increased water intake) can be a sign of severe liver disease. Some blood work would help to understand whether there is significant disease, as well as possibly an ultrasound exam of the liver. There may be medications that she could benefit from that would improve how she feels, however ultimately it's likely that addressing the tumor surgically - if that's even possibly - is the only way to definitively improve the situation.

I'm so sorry Abbey has a tumor on her stomach! I would speak to your vet to see if they will accept payment plans, if there is a low cost clinic in your area, see if the local RSPCA can help you, or you can apply for Vet Pay. I hope one of these resources helps you! https://www.vetpay.com.au

If your dog is happy and you feel that she has a good quality of life and can poop fairly easily, there is no reason to put her down. Listen to your dog. She will tell you when it is time to go. Your dog knows. Apart from that there are quite a few ways to control pain. 1) arthritis pain is probably the worst and worse than tumor pain at this stage. So if she is stiff and wobbly you may want to ask your vet about giving her an NSAIDs for arthritis (she needs to have normal kidney and liver parameters, though, but since you had surgery done recently, your vet may be able to use those blood work results). 2) if she cannot take NSAIDs, then there are other pain medicines available. The lumps under the skin either side of her anus could be filled anal sacs which could be expressed. They may not be tumors. Your vet may be able to stop the bleeding of the tumor by cauterising it, or you can get some Yunnan Baiyao powder or capsules and put the powder on the bleeding wound. It should stop the bleeding for a while.