Older Doggies

BCSnob wrote:

rockhillmanor wrote:

About tumors. Talk with your vet. I was told by my vet that once you open up a tumor and/or aspirate it to check for cancer cells or to remove it it then spreads like wildfire.

I was curious and searched with google scholar using the terms: fine needle aspirate cancer seeding

As I expected, this technique was correlated to spreading cancer like a wildfire after a Nor'easter; can happen but very rare (the correlation has not been proven to be causation) and
localized to the needle tract in the rare

cases when it occurred.

Don't take my word or Rock's look up the scientific literature yourself.

Choice is yours if you want to take the chance with your pet. I don't.

When researching this for 'my' dog I was working with UMW who's team of doctors pointed out these facts to me to assist me in my decisions.

Perhaps maybe I should not have used the word wildfire for those that feel the need to take it sooo literally.:R All I know is the team of doctors at the University told me that aspiration does open up clear documented possibilities for spreading and that includes opening up for surgery also whether all the tumor is deemed removed.

AND yes human hospitals do use a sealed type {laymens term)of procedure when extracting cancerous tumors that the veterinary industry does not use. I was informed of this it by qualified professionals at two different Universities. And NO I am not going to spend the day looking up a link for anyone to prove it.

Our dogs don't live as long as humans. Do we allow them to live the short lives they already have 'with' a tumor or shorten it up in half by increasing the chance that it did spread by aspiration etc.?

Just saying the more you ask questions and research the more you will find out to help you make an appropriate decision for your own pets health.

No one can tell you what to do with 'your' pet based on what they did with 'their' pet. But one CAN take the additional information offered you may not be aware of to further assist you in a decision and/or discuss with your vet. :C