You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.

Sometimes a locally growing tumour can cause acute signs - a good example are space-occupying brain tumours

Locally growing brain tumours can cause an increase intracranial pressure which leads to acute clinical signs associated with disorders of the central nervous system including :

• Seizures
• Cranial nerve abnormalities - excitation (twitch) or paralysis
• Tetraplegia
• Coma

So it is important to perform a full diagnostic workup on animals showing these signs to rule out a space-occupying lesion - this may require a  CT-scan or MRI scan.

Primary tumours that are well demarcated and accessible for surgical excision and/or other treatment modalities may carry a good prognosis if they are detected and treated early enough.

Updated January 2016