Health

National Canine Lymphoma Awareness Day

Apparently, today, Nov. 7, is National Canine Lymphoma Awareness Day, so of course I couldn’t let today go by without posting something about it. The goal of the day is to raise awareness about this condition.

I’ve thought a lot about what I should post. It’s been over a year since Toby passed away, and all of you know his story. Instead of rehashing that, I thought about some of the most common questions I get about canine lymphoma, and other than the question about life expectancy, the most common questions I get are centered around how I found out about Toby’s cancer, especially when he came out of remission.

The answer is simple: I inspect every inch of my dogs’ bodies and know when so,thing is off.

Regular readers or social media followers of our Facebook page might remember the scare we had over the summer with Maddux, because one side of this neck was swollen, which at first seems liked a lymphnode. It wasn’t, thank goodness. But, what’s of note is that the doctors couldn’t believe I could even feel the lump.

This might be the best of piece of advice I can give you when it comes to canine lymphoma. Get to know what your dog’s neck feels like, know what their “normal” lymphnodes feel like and where they are located. If you are not sure, ask your veterinarian during your next visit.

On National Canine Lymphoma Awareness Day, I cannot stress enough how important it is to know your dog’s body.

If you do want to know more about canine lymphoma, here are a few sites I find helpful:

Perdue University College of Veterinary Medicine: Canine Lymphomas

Malignant Lymphoma in Dogs: Merck Veterinary Manual

Canine Lymphoma and Trials: PennVetNational Canine Awareness Day

I hope anyone reading this never has to go through canine lymphoma, but if you do, pleaseknow that I am here to help. Having gone through it for 17 months, it made a big impact on my life. I’m always here if you have questions.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.