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My dog has Cushing's. Vomiting, weight loss: Cancer or diabetes?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Basset Hound | Female | spayed | 9 years and 4 months old | 39 lbs

I have a 9 yr old basset hound, she has cushings disease but is not on medication. She has lost 10 lbs in last few months. Recently started vomitting every few days. Vet did ultrasound and xray and found enlarged liver, lab work showed her urine concentration was 1004 and her pancreatic enzymes were 640. I am really confused, the vet tried explaining but just kept recommending more tests. We can't afford to continue with tests. Does this sound indicative of cancer?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Lauren Kennedy, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on June 17th, 2017

An enlarged liver is unfortunately one of the common side effects of Cushing's disease so it is not unusual that Ginger's liver appeared enlarged. Her urine concentration is very low (normal for a dog is 1.040) but again, this can be attributed to her Cushing's disease as well (because she is probably drinking more water and therefore causing her urine to be more dilute). In Ginger's case I would be worried about Diabetes and possibly cancer as well. I know it can be frustrating (and expensive) to keep doing more tests, especially when you aren't getting clear answers as to what is going on. I would recommend talking to your vet about costs/additional testing versus palliative care/keeping her comfortable for the time being. It may also be worth beginning treatment for her Cushing's disease because it could help allieviate some of her symptoms. Good luck. Please let us know if you have more questions/concerns.

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