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Dog stomach cancer

Dog Abdomen Cancer Causes, Treatments

Normally stomach cancer is linked with humans.



However even dogs are known to suffer from stomach cancer. Stomach cancer is normally considered to be a fatal health problem among dogs and is found to be more among certain dog breeds like the Belgian sheepdog, the Scottish terrier etc. Normally canine stomach cancer is detected among dogs that are older than 8 to 10 years.



Very rarely does one fine dog stomach cancer cases that affect the puppies. Stomach cancer in a dog can be of different type’s mainly gastrointestinal stromal tumors, mast cell tumors or leiomyosarcoma.

Some of the dog stomach cancer symptoms include the dog having difficulty while digesting its food.



This can further lead to drastic decrease in the dog’s appetite and thus a decrease in the dog’s weight. Some of the other symptoms of this problem include diarrhea, vomiting, there may even be traces of blood in the vomiting, the dog’s tools may be dark and tarry, the dog may also show signs of weakness and even lethargy. Stomach cancer in dog can be treated with either chemotherapy or even with radiation therapy just like in the case of humans. Dog stomach cancer treatments are different when the ailment has been detected in its early stages. The chemotherapy that is done is beneficial in killing the cancer cells. Radiation therapy is known to be helpful in some measure in stopping the cancer from spreading.  At times radiation therapy is not recommended by the vets as the organs that are close to the stomach can also get damaged by this treatment. In a large number of the cases the cancer that has grown is surgically removed from the dog’s body. Bypass surgery is done in those cases where the larger tumors only allow a very small quantity of the food to pass into the stomach. If a dog has been diagnosed with a cancer that is malignant then its chances of survival are extremely slim. This is so as the surgical removal of the growing tumor will only provide temporary relief from the problem. Treatment in these cases is not really the remedy for the malignancy. It is done primarily to try and extend the dog’s life as much as possible. Dog stomach cancer causes can include inordinate stress in the dog’s life. Consumption of food products that are linked to cancer growths with high preservatives, additives etc. Traces of Sodium Pentobarbital found in various packaged dog products have been found to be cancerous; it can affect those with weaker immune systems too.

 
  Submitted on March 30, 2010  
 
 
 

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