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Boofy's Ongoing Cancer Battle.


~Anne~
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Boof had a fine needle aspiration on Friday afternoon and sadly he looks to have another MCT. His first was 3.5 years ago and was also on his back leg. This time he has one on one leg that has the appearance of the last one (wart like in appearance) and a second one under the dermis on the other leg. Both show cells and do not appear to be simple lipomas.

Both came up very quickly. In August he had another lump (not path tested as it seemed to be a fatty lump) removed from one leg and several removed from the rim of his eyes (not tested either). Now I am worried that we should have tested the others. The delay, if they were MCTs might be lethal. :(

He is booked in for tomorrow for both of the new growths to be removed. I hope I can come back here and say 'sorry, we don't belong in these threads' but I have a horrible scary feeling this time.

I am so sorry - I hate MCT..

Ollie's first round of tumours were all tested. Then 2 days later they had to go back in on the one on his rump as they didn't get clear margins. So the second time they took a lymph node as well and there were issues with that.

He had multiple tumour sites.

The next lot were found on his rump on the other side (3 years after the first lot were removed) and the needle aspirate showed Mast Cells - I decided he had had enough surgery and we left it alone. It went up and down as they do for 3 years before it eventually caught up with him.

Grade 2 MCT, multiple sites, no clear margins on the first round of operations. No clear margins on the second op..

We treated with chemo (vinblastin and lomustein sp??) for 6 months.

He was also treated holistically with 5 mushroom drops, lymphodran, Oxi something (it is in his thread), vit C (loads of it), fish oil and some other herbs..

The chemo damaged his thyroid and he had to have thyroxine for the rest of his life.

He also ended up on carafate for his stomach (due to the chemo or the cancer, we don't know)..

But he lived a pretty good life for over 6 years from his original diagnosis.

Lots have changed since he was dxd.. There are so many new treatments available.

Dogs can live with MCT these days even better than Ollie did..

Find a good holistic vet (we used Vets All Natural in Sydney) and a good oncologist is really important.

Good luck for you and Boof, I hope it all goes well for you.

Hi staffy luv and my apologies Anne for slightly hijacking your thread, I noticed you mentioned Ollie had lots of vitamin c....was it IV or administered orally? If it was IV, How much and how often and for how long did you do that for and what noticeable benefit did it provide?

Thanks

Both, he had 1000mg a day orally all the time and when he got flat he went to the vets for a while and had it via IV.

From memory we did this about 4 or 5 times over the course of a couple of years (so not that often really).

Huge difference. I would take him up, honestly expecting the vet to call with bad news, and pick him up as a completely new dog.

It seemed to be the pick me up he needed and it lasted until the next time he was flat.

When I say flat, you just know when the dog isn't themselves. He became lethargic, not eating, not really interested in much but a cuddle. So a call to the vet and an IV later he would be back to 'normal'.

Thanks staffyluv

I have been doing the IV with Kobe, initially the tumour slightly shrunk, but has been no further reduction in tumour size as such since the first couple, but I have noticed the IV'S certainly make a difference to appetitie and energy levels. They were twice a week, but will now be pulling back to as and when needed. He is very very very thirsty afterwards. I spend the IV time with Kobe (the vet makes up a comfy bed for us on the floor) and Kobe is generally happy to spend the time lying there with his head in my lap just watching the comings and goings. The IVs are one of the only few things he hasn't put up a significant fight against (ie change in diet, raw food and the liquid Chinese herbs).

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Thanks shepherds. I'm not in Sydney anymore but travel to Sydney is pretty easy and I do it fairly regularly. I have another pug who has epilepsy and his neurologist works out of Sydney uni and one of the specialist clinics and we travel for this with him.

Sorry about your boy's prognosis. It sounds like youre in good hands thoghh. Thankfully with Boof it seems it will be treatable particularly if we can get clear margins. This won't be entirely easy due to the area it is in (just above his hock where it is all bone and gristle and not much else).

As for thread hijacking - hijack away. It's great to see, read and learn about all areas of cancer in our dogs.

Thanks Anne and thats great you will be able to get Boof into the clinic if you decide to go there. And even better news they are hopeful they can get clear margins, notwithstanding the location....Boof might just have to be quiet for a day or two long than he would like... :)

All the best for Monday.

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Ollie had so many IVs that the vet said he used to put his front leg out, waiting for it to be shaved..

The last MCT that we didn't operate on when up and down in size for the last few years of his life. MCT will do that, they swell when releasing histamine - that is why the antihistamines are so helpful with MCT management.

Is Kobe having chemo as well?

If so what protocol are they using?

Ollie had a 3 week cycle - week one was vinblastin via IV, week two was lomustien (spelling??) via tablet and week three was nothing - then the next week was back to week one of the treatment and blood work to make sure he could go again. We did this for about six months.

He had lots of holistic treatment along the way and I really believe that is what kept him well enough to keep going..

Good luck tomorrow Anne and Boof..

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Ollie had so many IVs that the vet said he used to put his front leg out, waiting for it to be shaved..

The last MCT that we didn't operate on when up and down in size for the last few years of his life. MCT will do that, they swell when releasing histamine - that is why the antihistamines are so helpful with MCT management.

Is Kobe having chemo as well?

If so what protocol are they using?

Ollie had a 3 week cycle - week one was vinblastin via IV, week two was lomustien (spelling??) via tablet and week three was nothing - then the next week was back to week one of the treatment and blood work to make sure he could go again. We did this for about six months.

He had lots of holistic treatment along the way and I really believe that is what kept him well enough to keep going..

Good luck tomorrow Anne and Boof..

No...no chemo for Kobe....from discussion with Melbourne oncologist, Kobe's best chances were radiation first then possibly chemo if the tumour shrunk. Unfortunately the only equipment that could do the radiation (given the size and location of the can er) is in QLD and that is just not an option for us. Notwithstanding cost, Kobe does not do well away from home...he likes his routine, his spot on the couch and familiar comfortable things.

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Oh poor boy. Second ops on the same area are always so much worse.

Lots of love and cuddles and everything crossed for clear margins.

Ollie's second op was terrible, they removed so much of his rump he looked deformed and it took years before it looked like a normal rump again.

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Boof's home after his surgery. He's not putting any weight on the leg at all this time and it looks very sore. :(

My poor little old man. :(

Here's hoping the next path results show clear margins.

Poor Boof....hopefully he will be feeling a lot better tomorrow after a good nights sleep at home.... Fingers and everything else crossed for clear margins....

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Thanks. He's much better today. Hes sleeping a lot but thats to be expected. I'll keep him his painkillers for a few days to make sure he is ok.Such resilient little things they are.

He's still obviously sore but is now using the leg again. My little devils don't even know its hot as they're inside with the air con. :laugh:

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I've come home to another one sick.:(

My daughter rang me to say Monte as acting poorly. He was hunched, twitching and not his usual enthusiastic self. Off to the vet we go and they cant pinpoint what his problem is. He has a temp, is on obvious pain around the skull and spine and is not himself. They think he might have an infection of the spine. He's had an anti inflammatory and is on antibiotics and if there is no improvement by tomorrow they'll run some bloods and do am X-ray.

My two special boys, sick at the same time. :(

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I've come home to another one sick.:(

My daughter rang me to say Monte as acting poorly. He was hunched, twitching and not his usual enthusiastic self. Off to the vet we go and they cant pinpoint what his problem is. He has a temp, is on obvious pain around the skull and spine and is not himself. They think he might have an infection of the spine. He's had an anti inflammatory and is on antibiotics and if there is no improvement by tomorrow they'll run some bloods and do am X-ray.

My two special boys, sick at the same time. :(

Poor boy, if it's discospondylitis it can be very painful. Hope the meds help to ease the pain.

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So sorry to hear about Monte - it's worse when you don't really know what's wrong.

Glad to hear Boof is feeling better after the second op. Lucy ended up with three operations on her paw, and used to look at me after each one with that 'why do I have to go through this again' question on her face, but bounced back pretty quickly after each one.

Really hope they are both on the mend very soon. :)

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Thanks everyone. Boofy's leg still has some swelling but he is bouncing around almost entirely normal which is great. I'll give him one more pain killer tonight and then I think he'll be ok.

Monte is still looking poorly although there is a slight improvement in him since last night. He at least made little whimpering sounds when I was getting is breakfast this morning. Normally he squeals and last night he didn't make any sound at all.... Which was scary. This boy is so food focused he eats rocks and leaves so for him to not carry on when I am getting his food was really disheartening.

Kayla1 - discospondylitis is what the Vets are considering at the moment.

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Guest Labradork

Oh no, sorry to hear about Monty.

Glad to hear that Boof is feeling much better, and I hope you get a good result with his tests :)

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