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Older Dog Doing Well Long After a Lung Cancer Diagnosis

by Chris


Reader Question
We have a 14-year-old German Shorthaired Pointer who was diagnosed by X-ray with primary lung cancer: two golf-ball-size tumors in one lobe. Surgery and radiation weren't options because of the location. But he's extremely active, still jumps a 4-foot berm, plays with his toys and chases the cats. He has an occasional dry cough when he gets up from lying down, he eats well, and he's been drooling a bit lately. He lost some weight over the past year, but it has stabilized, and he's been more active since starting a joint supplement for arthritis. Our vet said he probably wouldn't live a year, and that's coming up soon with no change at all. The X-ray was taken when we asked about his cough, and there was no biopsy. He's always outside hunting and sniffing through bushes. Could he have been misdiagnosed and have some kind of fungal infection instead?


Answer from Our Team

It's wonderful that he's still so active. X-rays can strongly suggest a lung tumor, but a definite diagnosis needs a needle sample or biopsy, so it's fair to wonder. Without a sample, an X-ray can't say for certain what the masses are. Ask your vet whether a needle sample, a CT scan or a fungal blood or urine test, especially given his time in the bushes, would change what you'd do.

If it is a primary lung tumor, his course isn't unusual. These tumors often grow slowly, about 1 in 4 dogs has no signs, and a mild dry cough is the most common one. Survival varies widely from dog to dog. Predictions are averages and can't tell exactly how an individual dog will do.

Keep an eye on his breathing at rest, his appetite and his weight, and see your vet if his cough changes, he coughs up blood, or he tires more easily. Mention the drooling too, since it's a new sign.

See lung cancer in dogs.

This is general information, not a diagnosis. Please follow your own vet's advice.

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