What is Foot or Toe Cancer?
One-third of all dogs get cancer, and it is fatal for half of those. In fact, cancer is the leading cause of death in older dogs (10 years and over). The most important thing about cancer is finding and treating it early. There are several different types of foot and toe cancer in dogs and each have unique signs, causes, diagnoses, and prognoses. For that reason, it is essential to be vigilant with your dog’s health and grooming so you can pick up on some of the subtle changes that can give you early warning of cancer, such as swelling, sores that will not heal, and deformed or missing toenails.
Foot or toe cancer (digital and soft tissue cancer), which can include squamous cell carcinoma, melanoma, osteosarcoma, mast cell tumor, and malignant soft tissue sarcoma is common in dogs. Each of these types of cancer has their own set of signs and treatment, but the main sign in all of these is a swelling or ulcer on the foot or toe. If the cancer is found before it metastasizes (spreads), it is possible that it might be completely contained by amputating the affected toe or foot.Youtube Play
Foot or Toe Cancer Average Cost
From 64 quotes ranging from $3,000 – $12,000
Causes of Foot or Toe Cancer in Dogs
Squamous cell carcinoma
Malignant melanoma
Osteosarcoma
Mast cell tumor
Malignant soft tissue sarcoma
Most Common Types of Cancer in Dogs
The top five most common cancers in dogs are:
Hemangiosarcoma is a cancer of blood vessels. The spleen and the heart are common sites for this cancer to grow. This type of cancer grows quietly inside with few symptoms until it ruptures, so your dog may not actually show any signs ahead of his condition becoming an emergency. You may be able to pick up on a small splenic rupture, as the symptoms include pale gums and lethargy on your dogs part, but often the rupture of either a mass on the spleen or on the heart simply causes your dog to significantly bleed internally, which can quickly lead to death, so its very important to mention any signs of change in your dogs health, demeanor, or behavior to your vet. Thankfully, it does not seem to be a painful cancer.
Lymphoma is sometimes detected by pet owners who feel enlarged lymph nodes on their dog—under the chin, behind the stifle on the rear legs, or in front of the shoulders. Lymphoma is one of the cancers that can truly be considered curable with early and aggressive treatment.
Melanomas are almost always cancers noted for their black pigment. They tend to grow inside the mouth or on black toes. Sometimes, these will be without pigment, but the black color is characteristic.
Mast cell tumors are usually skin growths that may be confusing. Depending on the action of the cells within, these growths may appear to grow or shrink—even over the course of one day. Often, the growths are noticed due to redness and sometimes ulceration of the area.
Another name for osteosarcoma is bone cancer. This tends to be a malignant cancer that may sneak up on you as you dismiss your dogs lameness as arthritis at first. Generally, families notice lameness and a firm growth located on the dogs leg.
Mammary tumors are growths in the breast tissue of female dogs—most commonly seen in intact (un-spayed) dogs. You may notice a growth, even as small as pea-sized, along the mammary chain when rubbing your dogs belly. Not all mammary cancers are malignant, but even benign ones should be removed.
Credit: Bogdan Sonjachnyj / Shutterstock
Diagnosing your dogs cancer will depend partly on what clinical signs you and your veterinarian have noticed. Surgery is often involved—even if not for diagnosis or treatment—to help with staging or grading the cancer. The more information you have, the better you can customize a plan for helping your dog. X-rays are usually part of the diagnostic plan because you want to see if the cancer has spread (lungs are a common place for cancers to spread to). If your dogs cancer has already spread when you diagnose it, the prognosis and treatment plans are very different.
Treatment now has many options. Surgery is one and may be curative. Many times, surgery will be followed by chemotherapy and/or radiation, and immunotherapies are constantly being developed. For example, a vaccine is being used for dogs with oral melanoma as a treatment.
In some cases, you may choose palliative care and simply keep your dog comfortable with a good quality of life as long as possible.