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urgent/. possible cancer/boxer


Sent to Pet Experts February 26, 2006 8:18 p.m.
I have a 5 year old boxer in good health until a day or 2 ago i noticed him drooling out of the right side of his mouth for no reason, not related to meals. Only today did I notice that he was having difficulty chewing or eating his food and he has not decreased fluid or food intake at all so far. I did notice it appeared hard for him to chew today. When i inspected his mouth today,, and upon seeing him yawn, I saw this big abscess/growth half the size of a jumbo gumball on the lateral inferior aspect of his toungue; I cannot tell if it is looped underneath or not. I took him to the emergency vet, thinking it was an abcess of some sort, only to have the ER vet tell me she thinks he has squamous cell carcinoma or fibrocarcinoma regarding the salivary gland and or low jaw. . The growth does appear to be ulcerated, there is a foul odor coming from his mouth. temp was only .3 above normal . When i palpate at the bottom jaw and starting at front and moving my hands anteriorly, I wind up where I think the lymph nodes are , feeling normal on the left side but on the same side as the ulcerated growth i feel like i can grab a small tangerine sized thing below the jaw. I always tug on his neck etc and I am quite confident that 3 or 4 days ago there was absolutely no growth in the mouth and no hardening of the area around the lymphnodes and bottom jaw.. He seems a little down , sleeping a lot today but when motivated or on walks outside seems normal to me. Had I not noticed the drooling, I would not have thought anything was wrong.. For some reason, the drooling has stopped. I switched him to canned food tonite as so not to aggravate him with the chewing. Is it possible that a tumor could just virtually show up overnite ? Could the hardening in the lymph node area be indicative of a generalized infection and a coincidence? He shows no tenderness, just doesnt want his mouth forced open . The ER vet didnt want to aspirate any fluid from it. She referred me back to my vet for sedate and explore . She said whatever she did feel felt a little squishy, however she didnt get a good feel and couldnt see real well. In addition, she didnt know it was ulcerated until i got his mouth open enough for her to see . I am wondering if there is any advice you can give me? Does this sound like cancer of fatal origin? we havent even had any bloodwork or a biopsy done. .. Thank you for any feedback.. she also mentioned a salivary mucocele (sialocele),)DEFINITION i found: is basically a leakage of saliva into the tissues around a ruptured
salivary duct or salivary gland and the resulting inflammation. These can get abscessed at times and get pretty awful in a hurry. Opening them widely and placing drains usually will allow them to heal.

If it is a mucoele, could there be that hardness where the lymphnode is at all or anything feeling like a tangerine size behind the jaw? maybe an infection could cause that
Thank you for any feedback.. Rick

Optional Information:
Age: 4; Male; Breed: boxer

Already Tried:
ER VET
Customer (name blocked for privacy)
Status: Closed   Value: $10   
Answer
February 26, 2006 8:28 p.m. (10 minutes and 8 seconds later) 		ACCEPTED Check Mark

It's really hard to say when you are dealing with emergency vets and their findings. They do not know your dog, your dog's history or your feelings about your dog. They are there to assist you in emergency situations so they see the worst side of things. Unfortunatley, this can make them a little jaded and they will sometimes jump to the worst conclusions first.

That said -

The lymph nodes will swell any time there is an infection within the body. A root tooth issue is certainly a common cause of this.

I would not jump to any conclusions until you get to see the vet and have a fine needle aspiration. Be sure to do this tomorrow. Root tooth issues are one of the leading causes of heart disease in dogs because of the amount of bacteria that enters the bloodstream via the tooth issue.

Let me know if you want to discuss this more. And keep your chin up!
PictureTammy F.  -- Pet Care Expert -- 99% Positive Feedback on 5064 Pet Accepts
15+ years-Pet care, Veterinary shelter medicine and infectious disease, Behavior training, Rescue
Reply
Sent February 26, 2006 9:03 p.m. (34 minutes and 50 seconds later)
I MADE A MISTAKE>> I WROTE When i palpate at the bottom jaw and starting at front and moving my hands ANTERIORLY>>> i meant POSTERIORLY>.. the abscess growth etc is more attached to the tongue and salivary area.. does that make a difference in your answer?
Customer (name blocked for privacy)

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