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Is my 10-year-old spayed pit bull's breast lump likely cancer?

Updated on September 23, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | American Pit Bull Terrier | Female | spayed | 10 years and 9 months old | 85 lbs

I just found a hard ping pong ball size lump in my spayed 10 year old pit bulls breast area. She also has two small red growths on her skin near the lump. What are the chances that it could be cancer. I'm on a very limited budget so it would be hard to take her to the Vet but I want to do whatever I can to help her.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on October 27, 2018

That depends when Cheese was spayed. If she was spayed before her first heat, it would be an 0.8% chance it was a mammary tumor. Should she have been spayed after her first heat, there's an 8% chance it's a mammary tumor. Finally if she had at least two heats, there's a 25% chance it's a mammary tumor. She is an older dog, so there is always a chance it could be another type of tumor, malignant or benign. Any suspicious lumps should be examined by the vet. The vet can perform a test called a fine needle aspirate on it. To do this, the vet sticks a small needle into the lump to get a sample of its cells, and examines the cells on a slide under a microscope. It's usually painless to the animal, and relatively quick to perform. Once the cause of the lump is diagnosed, the vet can discuss treatment options if needed. It's worth taking her into the vet to have this done, so I would take her in Monday. Best of luck, I hope this helps!

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS
Veterinarian
Published on April 17, 2019
Oh wow, I see what you mean. There is an 0.8% chance a dog who is spayed before their first heat can develop mammary tumors, and there is a remote chance Lacey Lou could be part of that very small percent. That lump does not look good. Any suspicious lumps should be examined by the vet. The vet can perform a test called a fine needle aspirate on it. To do this, the vet sticks a small needle into the lump to get a sample of its cells, and examines the cells on a slide under a microscope. It's usually painless to the animal, and relatively quick to perform. Once the cause of the lump is diagnosed, the vet can discuss treatment options if needed. I would take her into the vet tomorrow. Best of luck.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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