Dog's WBC count dropped after tumor surgery. Is it bone marrow cancer?

Question

Thanks to you or whomever answered my question about bandage on my dog's neck after tumor removal. Incision's healing well! We haven't heard back from Dr yet but I've a feeling it is a mast cell that was just under skin.Records show her WBC count was 17.47 last Sept. We took her in for the lump check on Jan.17th and her WBC count was 7.47. I've read that a high decrease often means cancer in marrow. Is this accurate or could the decrease have been from her body fighting tumor or neither? Pet's info: Dog | Maltese | Female | 9 years and 1 month old | 16 lbs

Dr. Heidi DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVTP, CVSMT, CVCH · Accepted Answer

I'm glad to hear that Missy's incision is healing well. White Bood Cell (WBC) counts can change quickly in the blood stream for a variety of reasons including even stress. Depending on the lab, her value in September may have been slightly high, but I suspect her value last month was likely within the normal range, so would wait for the results to come back from the biopsy testing and determine that to do from there. Her WBC count might not be a major concern at all. We often see VERY low WBC counts with cancers in the bone marrow (less than 1.5), so I would not be particularly worried about a value of 7.47. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and answered your question. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Dog's WBC count dropped after tumor surgery. Is it bone marrow cancer?

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