Dog Bone Cancer Information
Dog Bone Cancer Information
Dogs with bone cancer have a very tough and painfully disease to conquer. Bone cancer isn’t genetically selective although some breeds seem to get it more often than others. There is no known reason why bone cancer will strike. Even healthy dogs can suddenly fall victim to the disease.
Bone cancer usually appears in the long bones and can afflict the wrist, ankle, hips or shoulders. The skull, spine, pelvis and ribs can be attacked by the disease as well although these are not the bones of first choice.
There are four primary types of bone cancer in tumor form:
Osteosarcoma –
The most common type of bone cancer, with over 85% of cases diagnosed as such, the tumors occur within the limbs and figures show that over 8,000 dogs come down with it each year. While there is no substantive data that can conclusively point to a specific cause, theories about bone fractures, viral infections, and genetic predispositions have been touted as a bases for common culpability. Other reasons like previous radiation treatments, repetitive injuries to the bones or another undetected or previous illness have been sited as possible causes of bone cancer.
Chondrosarcoma –
Number 2 on the list of types of bone cancers that will affect dogs; this type hit 5 to 10% of dogs with primary bone cancer tumors. A cartilage tumor that usually is not as malignant as OSA, you can find this in flat bones like the skull and ribs. It can also settle in larger bones like the thighs.
Fibrosarcoma –
Accounting for less than 5% of bone cancer tumors, it primarily occurs in the jaw bone, facial structure, ribs and the vertebrae of the spine. It can also occur in the limps but this is rare scenario. There are two different types: Central and Parosteal.
Hemangiosarcoma -
Another rare type of bone cancer affecting less than 5% of all bone cancer tumors, this type tends to happen in younger dogs. Dogs with bone cancer of this type can have it affect either limbs, skull, ribs or vertebrae. It also has a greater prevalence to metastasize.
Multilobular Osteochondrosarcoma –
A bone cancer tumor that grows off the lining of the bone, it is considered uncommon and most often attacks the skull, pelvis, hard palate or ribs.
Primary Joint Tumors -
This bone cancer develops from the cells in joints, bursae and tendon sheaths. Synovial cell sarcomas are two types of synovial cell sarcomas: epithelioid and spindle.
There are other kinds of bone cancer joint tumors: histiocytic sarcoma and malignant fibrous histiocytoma, synovial myxoma and myxosarcoma, OSA, FSA, CSA, HSA, liposarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, and undifferentiated sarcoma. These can be particularly painfully for dogs since the joints play vital roles for all gross and simple movements.
Dog Bone Symptoms
The first signs of dogs with bone cancer will be simply their inability to move around like they used. Similar to other illnesses that can cause a lack of energy, dogs bone cancer will cause great pain as the dog tries to walk or climb. There is a definitive difference between the walk of a dog with arthritis and dogs with bone cancer was the latter will exhibit pronounced lameness as opposed to just a painful gait.
Other warning signs of dogs with bone cancer can be:
1. Swelling of the bones.
2. The affected area is tender to the touch.
3. Facial swelling.
4. Weight loss
5. Trouble chewing.
6. Nasal discharge (bone cancer of the skull and facial structure)
7. Depression
8. Lack of activity and decreased energy.
9. A hard lump on below the skin but on the bone such as a rib or leg.
Sometimes if the dog has had a fracture and is not healing properly or in a timely matter, this could be an indication of bone cancer.
Dog Bone Cancer Treatments
Because dogs with bone cancer have a life threatening disease, early detection is paramount. When discovered early on, bone cancer treatments can be less intrusive and the response more encouraging. This is because the disease is still in the beginning stages and hasn’t ravaged vital organs making the fight against harder. Also your pet’s immune system is still working properly and is a strong adversary against the bone cancer.
Once dogs with bone cancer have invaded organs and the lymph node system, more drastic and aggressive measures need to be applied. The rule of thumb is basically the further along the bone cancer is the more intense the therapy.
1. Chemotherapy – While this common bone cancer treatment attacks the cancer cells, it also damages healthy cells as well, making the treatment a double edged sword. The good news is that dogs respond well to this kind of treatment. Plus, unlike humans who often have a very hard time dealing with the side effects, dogs seem to tolerate it very well. This treatment is usually accompanied with radiation treatments.
2. Surgery – Dogs with bone cancer malignant tumors are extremely dangerous and can spread quickly. The option to surgically remove them is not taken lightly but is a sound recourse of action to prevent them from doing further damage to the body as well as preventing their proliferation. Most times surgery is coupled with Chemotherapy and radiation sessions.
3. Strengthen the Immune System – When the decision to use Chemotherapy against dogs with bone cancer is given it is equally important that supplemental nutrition is provided that will counter act the damage the drugs will be doing to healthy cells and digestive track’s intestinal flora.
Fundamentally the first stage of any remedy is to ensure dogs have a fighting chance against bone cancer is a proper diet and balanced nutrition. Providing good food that is full of quality protein and low on grains, corn and possibly tainted meat by-products is paramount for your pet to achieve a healthy digestive system and strong immune system. When you supplement dogs with a vitamin supplement that has been engineered to support vital organs and have ingredients that can attack disease causing free radicals which can make a big difference in their battle against bone cancer.
Nutritional supplements that contain a rich supply of vitamins, mineral and essential enzymes offer a matrix of antioxidants that help protect dogs from the ravages of opportunistic bone cancer. Formulas that contain quality calcium, a full range of amino acids, Blue Green Algae as one its source of protein and chlorophyll plus L Methionine as an essential amino acid that help to detoxify the blood stream. Shark Cartilage has been shown to help dogs with bone cancer by shrinking tumors all together.
As with any vitamin and nutritional supplement, the quality of ingredients combined with the manufacturing process is what determines how effective it will be for your favorite dogs. Supplement makers that are willing to put in the time to develop a truly scientifically based formula that has proven positive results against dogs with bone cancer are the only kind to consider. But it should also be noted that superior formulation can only go as far as the processing practices will take them. Companies that use human grade ingredients begin on the best foot and when combined with manufacturing operations that are approved for human products production by the FDA, this equates to a supplement that goes beyond mere commercial value. It shows a company that puts the health of dogs ahead of everything else.
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