One of the most common cancers that affect dogs is called Canine Lymphoma or lymphosarcoma. This
is caused by malignant tumors in the dog’s organs, most notably the lymph nodes, liver, and spleen.
There have been cases of Canine Lymphoma occurring in the intestinal tract, skin, and eyes as well.
The first case of lymphoma in dogs was documented in a 9 year old crossbred dog in the 1980s. This
dog was found to have a malignant tumor in its prostate and, although it was treated with cytotoxic
drugs, the dog did not survive.
With today’s technology and the advancement in knowledge of Canine Lymphoma, there is a fairly high
remission rate with this cancer. Catching it early on is the key to such successful remissions and
keeping an eye out for common symptoms will help you in catching it soon enough to make sure your
dog can win this battle. While lymphoma can affect any breed of dog, you should be aware that there
are some breeds that are more prone to contracting Canine Lymphoma than others. For instance, Golden
Retrievers have a much higher rate of Canine Lymphoma than Chihuahuas.
While there are medical advancements that can help put the lymphoma into remission, it takes a lot
of care to get your dog healthy enough to live out its years once it’s been diagnosed. With regular
chemotherapy and medical care your dog has a 50% chance of survival and with intensive chemo you
could see a remission rate of 60 to 90%. If you do nothing, then your dog will probably only survive
for a couple of months and these couple of months will be lived out in excruciating pain for your
dog. No one wants to see their dog live like this in so much pain.
Lymphoma can be present anywhere that there is lymph tissue and, once infected, these tumors can
travel quickly to infect nearby organs. Once these organs have been infected by these tumorous cancers,
those organs will begin to fail. As such, your dog could end up starving to death because of lymphoma
tumors in the intestinal tract, which cause the food to not be digested properly. Or it could suffocate
due to lack of oxygen as the tumors are taking up too much room in its lungs. Either way, it’s not
something you would want your dog to suffer through.
While lymphoma can be a fatal condition for your dog, it does have a higher remission rate than
some other cancers that can affect canines. With intensive treatment and prompt diagnosis though,
your dog could very well make it through without too many issues and have a long lasting, and well
loved life ahead of it. With the advances in medical technologies these days, your dog could live
a very long time.