Pug cancer

Hi.

I have a 4 year old female pug, fawn in colour.  A few months ago I noticed something that resembled a pimple on her muzzle just below her little nose.  However, it went away.....but a bout 3 weeks ago - it came back and has been getting bigger and bigger.  I took her to the vet and they gave me Panolog cream to put on it for a week.  I am suppose to bring her back in a week.  I'm worried it could be cancer......My question is how common is this with pugs?  Either way, I am going to have it removed.

Tx,
Barry

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

Cancer is common in all species of dogs and cats and other pets these days.  The important thing to remember is that she is still young and the possibility of cancer increases with the age of the individual.  It would be best to have it biopsied right now while it is still small enough to remove with wide margins, and without decreased chance of scarring.  Not all skin cancers are malignant.  Many are benign, and some that are the bad kind (malignant) tend not to recur once they are completely removed.  It could also be an area of pyoderma (skin infection), a sebaceous cyst, a mole (ademona) or a skin tag, amongst other skin lesions.

The really bad cancers include squamous cell carcinoma, and mast cell tumor among a few others that are very rare.