What I don't understand is people worrying whyen their dog is well. All this talk about greyhounds and cancer might lead people to suspect that the greyhound is in general a short lived and cancer prone dog - its not.

Over the years we have overcome the myths about greyhounds being fierce or needing lots of excercise, all I ask is that we excercise caution when speculating about disease so that we don't create another myth which puts peole off ownership

Peter, maybe me saying " I am worried sick " was a bit OTT, but seeing as I lost 2 greyhounds last year to cancer at what I would call a fairly early age it is understandably on my mind occasionally. It does seem however that cancer is quite prone in greyhounds .

I'd agree with you that cancer seems very prevalent in greys ... I asked my greyhound vet what she thought was the cause after we lost a number of retireds in a short space of time and she considered that poor nutrition in the dogs early growing years plus over work contributed to the high incidence of cancer. I'm sure a Kennel CLub survey done about 3 years ago which also included Show Greyhounds found that cancer was the major reason for losing dogs and maybe their size is a contributory factor.

On the other hand my last lurcher had a malignant tumour off his leg about 6 years ago, he had radiotherapy and it didn't affect him at all plus it cured the cancer and gave him another 5 years. At the time we knew a number of dogs having Chemo .. some had dreaful reactions like Robynne little dog and others seemed to hve little or no reaction at all so I'd always give my dog a chance and stop the treatment if it was too much.

I know it's not a pleasant topic but there seems to be so much of it about that people should be aware so they can hassle their non-greyhound vets to look deeper .. I know a few dogs who have finally been diagnosed with cancer but have had loads of other tests and treatment first ..

Best wishes
Julie

The loss of your dogs was indeed tragic and it fills me with sadness when I hear such stories. We all worry about our dogs, mine's 10 and I have to admit to constantly checking him for lamenes and lumps. Its a natural behavior for people who care.

We need to remain vigilant and ensure our dogs get the best care that they can get. However,looking at the greyhound breed from a strictly cold and analylitical point of view, all of the evidence points to the fact that greyhounds tend to get cancer simply because they tend not to get anything else. Unfortunatly some die young of the disease but the same can be said of people. When it happens to a young dog or young person it has to be appriciated that this is a tragedy not a trend.

Greyhounds do appear to have a higher incidence of osteosarcoma. Our eight-year-old, 85-pound white dog, Gary, adopted in September 2010, began limping by December and radiographs indicated a cancerous lesion in the femur of his right hind leg, about an inch above the knee. Given the painful progress of bone cancer, the high cost of fighting the disease and what we believed to be a grim outlook of a few months at best, we were prepared to merely give Gary painkillers until his quality of life deteriorated to the point that he should be euthanized.

We got some excellent advice, however, from the director of our adoption group and from the former race track veterinarian in Wisconsin, that The Ohio State University's Greyhound Health and Wellness Program (GWHP) was breaking new ground in treating osteosarcoma. Within a week, Gary was in the program. A radical amputation was performed, because otherwise bone cancer spreads very quickly to other organs in the chest and elsewhere. Without the amputation, Gary would not be alive today.

Chemotherapy was the essential next step. Fortunately, Gary was eligible to participate in a current university research study into a new chemotherapy protocol. Beginning two weeks after surgery, he began five biweekly chemo sessions at OSU that involved the infusion of suramin followed a couple hours later by a doxorubicin infusion. When that was completed, he was put on a schedule of oral drugs at home. Gary now receives a daily capsule of artemisinin, a well-known Chinese antimalarial herb that shows promise as a toxic bullet against cancer cells in the blood. On alternating days he receives cytoxan, a powerful anticancer medication, and Palladia, which in 2009 became the first drug specifically approved for cancer treatment in dogs by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

By coincidence, two other greyhounds in the Chicago area - Mindy and Bar - were diagnosed with osteosarcoma within a week of Gary, both in their left forelegs. Minday and Bar are both 10 years old. It's a 700-mile round trip between Chicago and Columbus, so the other owners and I drove the three dogs together in a minivan for the biweekly chemo sessions. In all, each dog has logged more than 5,000 miles since the beginning of the year, but the results have been worth it. They are all doing well.

Now almost four months after the amputation, Gary is without pain and looking very fit, with a promising prognosis. His mobility is excellent and his weight and appetite are fine. Gary has a tremendous, outgoing personality that is back in full flower and he is enjoying life to the fullest. With any luck, he'll continue to have an excellent quality of life for a considerable time longer.