I have a Giant Schnauzer that has had two toes amputated due to squamous cell carcinoma. Her last amputation was in February but now she is exhibiting symptoms in another toe. I have three questions:
a) Is there significance in it occurring in a new site so quickly? (last time it was 3 years between amputations)
b) If we amputate again, should we also take off the remaining, (so far) healthy toe?
c) Is there some sort follow up treatment we should be doing? The last amputation we caught it very early with very little evidence of the cancer.
This is hard to answer without knowing your dog. If you are not certain that the new lesion is a recurrence, I would highly recommend a punch biopsy of the area to confirm. Radiation treatments and some new chemotherapy options may help manage the disease without further amputation if such a surgery would reduce her quality of life.
