| I honestly don't know how common it is. I suspect, though, that it is sometimes not diagnosed until it's already metasticized. If a biopsy's not done it could be misdiagnosed. Cancer probably is more common than it used to be but I also believe that with better diagnostic tools it is more easily identified than it used to be. I remember having cats when I was a child that *wasted* away & vets didn't know what was wrong with them. Nowdays it would probably be diagnosed as feline leukemia, etc. I do know that treatment for bone cancer in certain areas (long bones for one) is much more successfully treated than in the past - used to be it was the kiss of death. As far as the melanomas, my friend who had the dog I referred to was told that the oral variety is more commonly seen in dogs with black mouths.
Nancy
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von Dorow Rottweilers
doggo1@apex2000.net
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