Elevated White Blood Cell Count

I just had an awful conversation with my vet. My dog had been vomiting
and not really eating for a couple of days, so I brought her to see my vet.
He did a complete blood work up and it came back that her white blood
cell count was elevated. This could be a sign of cancer.

She seems to have improved. Her appetite has come back and she is a
little peppier than she was. I wonder if that's a sign that it's not cancer.

Does anyone have any opinions? I am sitting here at work and I'm trying
not to burst into tears.

Hiya,
When ziggie was ill (no appetite, incontinent etc) he had an elevated white count, he had x-rays scans and all sorts of tests - it definately wasnt cancer or any kind of organ failure. After a couple of weeks his appetite picked up he was continent again and his count was normal. I'm not saying that everythings fine as obviously something is wrong but if the count is up then they are fighting whatever it is, as such an increase/return of appetite is a positive sign. Try to look on the bright side hun - they do put us through it these dogs (going through it with ziggie at the minute!) but DW is great and have let me sound off stress, tears and concern. Feel free to PM me at any time and just let off some steam. ((((((((((hugs))))))))
Hazel xx

Aw Leslie (hug) is this the same dog with the hip problem?

The rise in white blood cells could just be the body fighting a virus or infection ..did the vet say it was cancer?

I would try your dog on little tempting meals if it has not been eating..fish/scrambled egg/a little chicken and rice and some honey in water..

If you want to know more I would ring your vet when you are a little calmer and ask him to explain in detail what the high white cell count means in this instance.

Thanks Kickstart, you made me feel a little better.

Minihaha, yep, she is the same dog with the hip problems. This poor dog
doesn't deserve any of this. The vet didn't come right out and say that
it is cancer, he said it could be a possibility. The protein levels in her
blood are down and the WBC is elevated and the makeup of the WBC is
abnormal. I don't know what that means. He wants me to bring her in
this coming Saturday to check the count again. If the WBC went down,
then that means it was just an infection. If it went up or stays the same,
he wants to do more tests.

She is feeling better though. I've been cooking her ground beef and rice
and she's been gobbling it up. She is interested in her biscuits again and
she seems livelier than she has been. I keep thinking that if it is cancer,
she wouldn't be getting better, right?

All I know is, I cannot lose her. She is my ONLY family and she is my best
friend AND daughter.

Hi, sorry to hear the blood test seems abnormal But like M says, try & speak to your vet again to get a clearer picture.

Heres a link explaining blood tests etc

http://www.dogaware.com/misc.html#bloodtest

Sorry you have had such a fright, you are like me always jump to the worse outcome you can think of, but as you have been told the raised white cell count may mean all sorts of things and most of those things can be treated easily. Panic not, phone the surgery and ask the vet to phone you back to explain what the findings may mean and what is thought most likely.

{{{hugs}}} to you.

I have everything crossed here for you & your girl

Thank you everyone. It makes me feel better that you are all out there
rooting for me. It also helps when people share their own experiences.

I don't think I've ever been this scared in my life.

I had to go to a dermatologist yesterday and she cut off a few moles and
told me that it could be skin cancer. Especially since skin cancer runs in
my family. I'm not even upset about that. All I care about is my dog.

Sorry to hear of your dogs results. To try to put your mind at rest , I agree with others who have said "infection" I work in a lab where we see 1000+ blood counts a day. OK they are human ones! but in humans a raised WBC count does not indicate cancer as a whole. With the exception of leukaemia which is a cancer of the bone marrow, therefore shows up in mature cells in the peripheral blood. A raised WBC count is much more likely to be an infection, especially if only the neutrophil count is raised.
Lynn

I hope all is going well with your dog. If things don't improve it may be best to have an xray just in case. I don't want to worry you as it really could be anything, but my dog had similar symptoms at Christmas and it was a spleen tumour but this is normally in older, large breed dogs. I hope you have good news and all is well.