GSDowner Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 (edited) My German Shepherd male dog is 8.5 year old. I noticed that his nipple is brown and somewhat enlarged, however it has not changed in size for a very long time and I was told by my vet not to worry. Lately I noticed it started to bleed and a piece of pink flesh (cone-shaped) is protruding from the nipple (the pink fleshy bit is surrounded by a brown circle). The brown circle is not changing in shape or size but the flesh pink piece became a bit bigger. I saw my vet, who said that he will have to undergo biopsy, but in the meantime he has been put on antibiotics and had an injection to stop scratching (my dog sometimes has skin allergy). As soon as dog's skin condition clears, he is going to have biopsy. In the meantime I am worried sick. Has anyone heard of such a problem? Edited April 16, 2011 by GSDowner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keira&Phoenix Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Sorry i have no experience with anything like this but wanted to say I hope he is ok. sending healing vibes from me and my girls! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSDowner Posted April 16, 2011 Author Share Posted April 16, 2011 Thank you Keira and Phoenix, I really appreciate it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Sorry, no advice. Hope all is going to be ok! Please give us an update asap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 Is your boy o.k.? Update appreciated. G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSDowner Posted July 16, 2011 Author Share Posted July 16, 2011 (edited) I am sorry for the delay in responding (I started this topic, only Keira@Phoenix replied so I thought noone else was interested in my topic; but checked today and found more replies). Thank you all and for asking how my dog was. I also thought that this story would be helpful to those in my situation. As I mentioned in my previous post two vets were sure the growth was benign. I also did my research on the internet and everywhere I read that it could not be serious in case of a male dog. Once my dog stopped scratching. I took him for his operation. The vet said the operation went well , “everything was cut out” and the growth was sent to pathology. After 5 days the vet called me. He said the tumour turned out to be cancer (I was shocked but hoped it was a benign type of cancer). Then he followed : “and it is malignant. I couldn’t believe it.. After 2 weeks his stitches came off. The doctor said the tumour was malignant named mixed apocrine carcinoma: that it is a very unusual type of cancer, so not much is known about it ; but that it has a tendency to spread He said to be watchful for any new growth on the skin . My dog has a tiny growth on his head and the vet said to observe it. I am to get in touch with him straight away if I notice any change in my dog (his behaviour, breathing etc). I have to mention that I am lucky that the vets I have been seeing are good professionals and kind people. I was scared to ask how long my dog will live (perhaps it's hard to tell?) Is there a chance that he may still live many more years? Could his scratching due to his skin allergies caused this??. Was I too late taking him to the vet? I also thought my story (or rather my dog’s story) will help others who may have found themselves in a similar situation. Edited July 16, 2011 by GSDowner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Miss Emma Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 No good that it was malignant. Fingers crossed that he will be ok now, and also that you don't get too stressed about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 I'm sorry I can't answer any of your questions .. but I hope your boy is able to live many more years with you , in good health , and that the surgery did get rid of the cancer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ams Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 I found this article which explains the different types. I'm not sure if it will be helpful or not. http://dogtime.com/apocrine-gland-tumors-canine-cancer-library.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Baggins Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 GSDowner I am really sorry for your boy but one wonders about the vets. Signs of cancer "any unusual bleeding" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harley Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 I hope your boy is doing well now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Has your vet done chest and abdomen xrays? I'd be asking for those to be done as a precautionary measure after any malignant cancer removal - just to make sure that there are no secondary (or worse, primary) tumours happening inside that need to be treated... Better safe than sorry in my book - and I'd not be waiting for my dog to be displaying obvious symptoms of internal cancer - like shortness of breath, etc - if I could have known about an issue very early in the piece... T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumabaar Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 I hope everything works out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSDowner Posted July 16, 2011 Author Share Posted July 16, 2011 Thanks so much to everyone for your compassion and sending good vibes, it helps a lot. The excised tumour from his nipple was close to the area of the upper body lymph nodes. The vet said that if the cancer spreads it would attack my dog's lymph nodes and then his lungs. He said that he could do blood tests and X-rays but that often such tests come clear(by the way his pre-op blood test came clear), inspite of cancer being there. He also said that once this cancer attacks organs, it's too late anyway. (I am inclined to think that maybe he suspecs that cancer spread?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isabel964 Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 You are right about this helpful to other dog owners - when I saw the topic I clicked on it to learn, in case it happens to one of my dogs. So thank you for posting. Sometimes this forum just gets super busy and topics we'd normally respond to we don't even see. with busy lives and such an active forum, it happens. Sorry to hear its a malignant cancer. of course only your vet knows the prognosis though you can research it - google it, see if there is a yahoo group for that kind of cancer in dogs - those groups can be incredibly knowledgeable and supportive. No mater what anyone says, as with humans, you just never know what time you have. I bet we have all met people who were told they had 6 months to live and 10 year later they are still walking around and living life. I hope you have plenty more time with your special boy. I'll be sending good vibes for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwaY Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 (edited) wishing your dog all the best. Edited July 16, 2011 by SwaY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Thanks so much to everyone for your compassion and sending good vibes, it helps a lot. The excised tumour from his nipple was close to the area of the upper body lymph nodes. The vet said that if the cancer spreads it would attack my dog's lymph nodes and then his lungs. He said that he could do blood tests and X-rays but that often such tests come clear(by the way his pre-op blood test came clear), inspite of cancer being there. He also said that once this cancer attacks organs, it's too late anyway. (I am inclined to think that maybe he suspecs that cancer spread?) I'd be doing a chest and abdomen xray every 6 months as a precaution anyways. I'd rather know that something was brewing before the dog starts showing symptoms of end stage internal cancer like shortness of breath, etc... Will your boy lie still for an xray? My boy that had to have regular xrays for similar reasons used to just lie there for them, so he didn't need to have an anaesthetic to get it done. Made it a whole lot cheaper when there was no anaesthetic cost for a 47kg dog... *grin* T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Your vet should have taken a lymph node to see if it had already invaded the lymph system. Your vet should also have offered a more thorough explanation of diagnosis. Were there clear margins when the tumor was removed? If yes then that is really good news. If not then further investigation is warranted. I hope your boy has clear margins and all will be well but I still would have thought if the vet even suspected it could be in the lymph system that they would have at least sampled this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSDowner Posted July 16, 2011 Author Share Posted July 16, 2011 I am really grateful for good vibes and hugs Ams - thank you, the article was most helpful Tdierkx – I will speak with the vet about further X-Ray thanks for the advice Staffyluv: The vet read to me the pathology report and it said that Gross morphology showed the margins appear clear but the diagnosis is that it is malignant mixed apocrine carcinoma presumed to be of apocrine gland origin; and that spreading may occur in an unpredictable fashion usually to regional lymph nodes and lungs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkhe Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 God, so sorry to hear of that outcome GSDowner - I wish I could be more helpful than just sending good vibes. Good on you for acting as quickly as you did though. Hope everything picks up for you guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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