Soft Tissue Sarcomas in Dogs (cont.)
Hemangiosarcoma is a tumor of the vascular tissues. This cancer may be noticed as a lump on a rib or an abdominal swelling, but can progress unnoticed while growing on the heart, liver, or spleen. The cancerous growths are quite fragile and often break off, “seeding” cancer throughout the body. Alternatively, the first sign may be sudden death as a large area of tumor ruptures and the dog bleeds to death internally.
Treatment: Surgery and chemotherapy may help prolong survival times but cures are virtually never seen, even with surgery done before there are detectable metastases.
This article is excerpted from “Dog Owner’s Home Veterinary Handbook” with permission from Wiley Publishing, Inc.
Copyright © 2007 by Howell Book House. All rights reserved.