Is this mammary tumor cancerous?

Dr. Marie replied:

It sounds like Precious has had her share of medical issues! I bet you she is a sweetheart of a dog...it seems like it is always the super nice dogs that have multiple health issues.

The good news is that the vast majority of the time when a dog has been spayed before her first heat, a mammary tumor will end up being benign.

When the vet removes the tumor, the first thing they will likely do is to cut it open. I find that sometimes what I thought was a mammary tumor is actually a lipoma which is just a fat lump and absolutely nothing to worry about.

If they are not sure about what the tumor is then they will send it away to a pathologist. The pathologist will tell you what kind of mass it is and how likely it is to be cancerous. While I don't have access to statistics that say exactly how likely this is to be cancerous, what the textbooks say is that when a dog who was spayed before her first heat has a mammary tumor it is very rare for it to be cancerous.

She will likely come through surgery with no problems at all. It is generally not a major surgery unless it was a very very large mass. Things like this usually heal quickly as well and with minimal discomfort.

I hope everything goes well!

Let me know if you have more questions!

Dr. Marie


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Dr. Marie replied:

I'm so glad my reply has helped. :)

I don't usually do much in the way of pain relief after removing a 1 cm lump. I usually give a 24 hour anti-inflammatory injection and that seems to do the trick. However, there is no harm in asking your vet for a few days of a pain reliever just to be sure. Ultimately your vet will be the best judge of whether or not it is necessary.

Hope all goes well!

Dr. Marie

Dr. Marie replied:

Thanks for the update! It sounds like Precious is in excellent hands!