All Entries Tagged With: "tumors"

Important Facts about Lymphosarcoma – Fatal Dog Cancer

Lymphosarcoma is one of the most aggressive types of dog cancer. This kind of cancer affects the lymphocytes. Where does it occur? The usual zones that are being attacked are mainly: liver, spleen and lymph nodes. The mortality rate for this kind of cancer in dogs is quite high. This is alarming for most dog owners and dog lovers. For you to avoid the fear and the anxiety of losing your pet, prevention is the key.

According to statistics, out of 100, 000 dogs, 24 are affected with Lymphosarcoma. 80% of canine tumors originated from blood cells. This means that maintaining a healthy circulatory system can help minimize the possibilities of cancer. As an owner, you have to be very keen in providing the needs of your dog as for it to stay healthy and free from the ailment.

How do you prevent this to happen? Take this – a genetic defect in the lymphatic tissue is one major cause of dog cancer. This is inevitable. However, other common causes like radiation exposure, immune system abnormalities and effects of environmental carcinogens can be prevented. Therefore you can observe the following practices in order for your dog not to go through the pain that other dog cancer victims have gone through:

•    Avoid exposing your pet to too much sun and radiation
•    Provide healthy food, clean housing and proper exercise
•    Keep it active, Provide healthful activities
•    Maintain it’s proper hygiene and cleanliness
•    Clean your yard and make sure hazards are absent

The experts have found out that lymphosarcoma is common to specific breeds of dogs. Check out this list: Airedale Terriers, Basset Hounds, Boxers, Cocker Spaniels, Dobermans, English Bulldogs, Golden Retrievers, Rottweilers, Scottish Terriers and St. Bernard’s. The age that seems likely to acquire such ailment is about 5 years and above. As to sex, there are no research studies that show or compare if male dogs have higher incidence of this specific kind of cancer than the females.

Grades and Stages of Dog Skin Cancer Explained

There are many articles on cancer readily available, but not all of them are forgiving when using unfamiliar medical jargon. What is Stage II cancer? What is Grade II cancer? In this article, you will find out what all these terminologies mean.

The seriousness of skin cancer is indicated by its “grade”. Consequently, this means that the higher the grade, the more serious the cancer is.

Grade I indicates that the skin cancer isn’t very serious. Tumors classified under this grade mostly grow but do not spread out from the origin. Surgical excision is usually employed to remove these tumors.

Grade II cancer is used to classify it if the cancer’s response is unpredictable towads treatment and prognosis. When placed under this grade, skin cancer may have appeared underneath the skin or subcutaneous tissue, and may be as malignant as they are benign. About 80% of these cases are found to be treatable through radiation and therapy.

Grade III denotes a very aggressive and invasive cancer. 25% of skin cancers are found under this classification. The normal course of action to cope with cancer of this grade are chemotherapy along with surgical excision.

Skin Cancer Stage

Stages of skin cancer determine the extend of spread of the tumor. To properly assess the spread, biopsies and probing of the other lymphoid organs are conducted. The higher the stage, the more serious the tumor spread.

Stage 0 means that there is one tumor growth on the skin, and it has not been completely excised. No lymph node is affected.

Stage I means there is one tumor confined to the skin, with no lymph node involved.

Stage II indicates there is one tumor confined to the skin with regional lymph nodes involved.

Stage III will be used to classify cancer wherein there are multiple, large, and deep-infiltrating tumors in the skin, with no lymph nodes affected.

Stage IV indicates there are one or more multiple tumors in the skin, including metastasis, and lymph notes are involved.

This stage is classified into:

Substage A: no obvious clinical signs of illness

Substage B: apparent clinical signs of illness