ONE MORE REASON TO SPAY YOUR PET
This is a case study on an eight year old female Toy Poodle named “Rosie”. Rosie was presented for an exam after the owners found a lump on her belly. The owners had noticed the lump several months earlier, but also noticed an increase in size over the last 3 weeks. Rosie had not been spayed and her last heat cycle had occurred about 2 months prior to her exam.
Upon examination by Dr. Cindy Goldsmith, a total of 3 lumps located on different mammary glands were found. Since Rosie had not been spayed prior to her first heat cycle, we strongly suspected a malignant mammary gland tumor. Rosie’s owners were advised to have a surgery performed to remove the lump and then have them evaluated by a laboratory to identify if Rosie had cancer. It was also advised to spay Rosie at the same time.
Statistics indicate that a female dog that is spayed prior to her first heat cycle greatly reduces the chances of mammary gland cancer. The risk increases with every heat cycle until the age of four years. After four years old, the risk remains the same whether the dog is spayed or not. Tumors that develop in the mammary tissue grow much faster following a heat cycle. Mammary cancer can spread throughout the body.
Prior to Rosie’s surgery, a blood sample was taken as well as chest x-rays. The blood work was normal and the chest did not show any evidence that a cancer had spread throughout her body. Dr. Goldsmith removed the three tumors from Rosie’s mammary glands, taking wide margins to ensure the lumps were completely removed. A routine spay was also performed. Rosie recovered from surgery very well and was sent home the same evening with antibiotics and pain killers.
Three days after the surgery we found out from the laboratory that the lumps were not malignant. It turns out that Rosie was lucky and did not have a bad cancer after all. Her lumps were found to be benign and removal of the lumps was curative. This was excellent news for Rosie and her owners!
Rosie will continue to be monitored by her veterinarian to ensure there are no more lump formations. Since the lumps were benign, Rosie will not require chemotherapy or radiation therapy. However, any new lumps that form will need to be removed and tested since Rosie was over 4 years of age before she was spayed.
At Animal Health Services we are devoted to animal health through preventative medicine. This includes spaying our pets before their first heat cycle. While Rosie was lucky and did not have a malignant cancer, we have seen many patients that have not been so lucky. Spaying or neutering your pet early can prevent deadly diseases down the road.
by Cindy Goldsmith, DVM
