I lost a German Shepherd to cancer last year. All her lymph nodes swelled and that's how we found the cancer. Now, I have another shepherd. Yesterday, I noticed 2 lumps in her throat...one on each side of her swallowing tube. She breaths heavy most of the time. (snoring while she's awake), though the vet never gets to hear it. Could this be the same thing our other one had?
Experienced Advisor Deepa Gopinath says:
April 21st, 2008 at 11:37 PM
Hi there. The lumps you are describing could very well be a similar problem to your previous shepherd, ie. lymphoma, or cancer of the lymph nodes. However, if these lumps are, indeed lymph node, they can be reactive for other reasons, including any infectious process in the head/neck region. She is a young dog and hence is less likely to have cancer, however lymphoma is one of the more common cancers of young dogs. I would take her to the vet in the next few days to have the lumps investigated. The easiest way to do this is for the vet to try and aspirate a few cells from the lumps with a needle and send it to the lab for analysis. This method is not always diagnostic however, and a minor surgery may be required to take a biopsy. In the meantime, please examine her body for any other lumps. Apart from lymph nodes, these lumps could also be enlarged thyroid or salivary glands. Please don't panic just yet, she is a young dog and hopefully whatever this problem is is treatable.
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