DUBAI October is breast cancer awareness month all right, but chances are you never imagined your pets could be victims too.
According to a local veterinary hospital there is a growing number of pets being diagnosed with benign and malignant tumours of the mammary glands.
“Every week we see at least two cases with breast tumour. In most cases it is during a routine health examination when we find the tumour. Last week we saw four dogs – all with a mass around their mammary gland,” said Dr. Sara Elliott, director, British veterinary hospital.
Take the case of a 10-year old male English Setter (Chad) who came in for a grooming session at the hospital last week, only to be diagnosed with a lump in his breast. “It has devastated us. And to think that my male dog has a breast tumour shocks me even more. My children have grown up with Chad and they are anxious about his condition. We have sent the tumour for biopsy and are awaiting results,” said Australian pet owner Adriana De Koeyer.
Lack of awareness
Paris, a 10-year-old Chihuahua came to the hospital for a booster vaccination when doctors found a mass in her mammary gland. “I never thought dogs could have breast cancer. Thankfully her results have come back negative. But I am still worried sick and I will need to get her checked regularly,” said British pet owner Linton Crockford-Moore.
According to Dr Elliot, breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in unsterilised pets. She said 50 per cent of the biopsy results conducted by the hospital come back positive for malignant tumours in dogs and a staggering 85 per cent in cats.
“However, there is a 90 per cent chance of preventing cancer if owners sterilise their pets before they are one year old. In the UAE the issue is bigger with dogs than with cats. This is because while a number of welfare groups have aggressive campaigns to sterilise cats, the same cannot be said for dogs. Also some people think a litter will make their dogs happy and protect them from cancer. But that is not true,” said Dr Elliot.
Emirati pet owner Shamsa Lootah is regretting not having sterilised her 14-year-old Cocker Spaniel when she was young. “I got Genie spayed when she was six years old and by then she had had two litters. Before Genie, I did not know dogs could get breast cancer too. If I had been more aware, I would have surely taken her for regular check-ups. We discovered her tumour only recently and it is going to be harder for her to deal with it as she is a senior dog.”
Dr. Elliot said a regular check-up of all the nipples and surrounding areas is a must. “What a lot of people don’t think about is that as humans we have only two breasts. A majority of dogs and cats have up to 12 and that is a lot of checking to do. Some pet owners don’t realise their male dogs have nipples too.”
This month the British Veterinary Hospital is doing free health checks for pets. “We will also teach owners how to do it properly at home.”
The hospital is offering a 10 per cent discount on spays and neuters this month. Sterilisation costs for dogs range between Dh1,300 and Dh2,000. For cats it is Dh995.
