mita Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 I discovered a lump the size of an elongated 10 cent piece on the side of our nearly 11 yr old female tibetan spaniel. It's under the skin. The lump didn't have the 'loose' feel of a harmless cyst...& didn't have signs of an abcess coming up. It also must have come up quickly as the tibbie gets brushed & handled a lot. I took her immediately to our excellent vets. A needle biopsy showed that the lump had mast cells...which I now understand can be nasty. So it'll be removed by surgery this Thursday....followed by more pathology tests on it. I'd be interested if anyone else has had a similar lump on their dog removed. And if they have any ideas about aftercare...or why this type of lump comes. And if there's any supplements to medical treatment (as there is for human cancer treatment).... like diet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 I've had a dog with this sort of tumour, it was removed, but unfortunately the cancer spread. The dog lived for two years after the operation. However the earlier the tumour is found the better the prognosis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted June 28, 2005 Author Share Posted June 28, 2005 Thanks, Miranda....I had a feeling that could be the case. I'm still amazed at how quickly the lump appeared. Also...when the fluid was taken out with the needle biopsy, how much smaller the hard bit was. It would not have been so easy to find if it hadn't been for all the fluid 'popping' it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paula- Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 So sorry to hear Fingers crossed it's in the early stages Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted June 28, 2005 Author Share Posted June 28, 2005 Paula, I've just looked back & found your thread re Radar. Most helpful. 'Tar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogbesotted Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 My Lucinda was dxd with mast Cell tumour grade 3, 28/8/2002. She developed a lump the size of a goose egg to the right of her sternum. It was removed, but did not get clean margins. She was scheduled for additional surgery but was too ill. Lucinda was started on conventional medications and complemantery meds straightaway. She did not do well on thepred and that was withdrawn mid Nov 2002. Since then she has bounced back and is still bouncing LOls. We are heading for 3 years this august. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted June 28, 2005 Author Share Posted June 28, 2005 (edited) dogbesotted, I had my heart in my mouth reading your story... I did not expect an ending where your dog's still going going fine close to 3 years on. The hard part of Angel's tumour is still reasonably small...a lot of the swelling seems to be fluid. But from what people have told me, the main thing is if the rogue cells go somewhere else. The vets have said that they've got to excise the lump with big margins as small bits of cells can be located a bit away from the main mass. So it'll result in a wound much larger than the boundaries of the lump. It's really odd because Angel was due to have her annual vaccinations plus yearly heartworm injection a month back. I asked the vet would both injections together knock around the immune system of a dog like her that was getting on in years. The vet said there was no evidence for my concern. Maybe it's just a coincidence...but within the month of having both injections...Angel develops weird cells...& that process is related to function of the immune system. Edited June 28, 2005 by mita Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bommy Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 Mita, if you search for my thread on Neospora & Molly there is alot of EXCELLENT diet advice in there that Aatanic & others gave me when we were dealing with her cancer as well. It is here in the health forums some where. I last posted to it on May 25th this year Jacqui Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted June 28, 2005 Author Share Posted June 28, 2005 (edited) thanks for the tip, Jacqui. I had a vague memory of that thread....but didn't have key words to search until you gave me neospora & molly. Here it is. Just the info I wanted. http://forums.dogzonline.com.au/index.php?...ora+&+molly ADDED: I've now got a list of dietary suggestions from that thread. Shall be adding the shark cartilege, raw organic honey, green veggies..also will track down the Total Tansfer Factor Plus. Edited June 28, 2005 by mita Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jed Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 My boxer had a mast cell tumor removed about 4 - 5 years ago We did not know what it was prior to removal - looked like a wart, and was only removed because I saw a sussy looking lump elsewhere. She had had it for about 9 - 12 months, but because it didn't grow much, and didn't look like a mast cell tumor the vets thought it was just a lump. I now have a needle biopsy done on ALL lumps no matter how they look, or what the vet thinks. The vet took a wide margin - just in case - and I was so pleased he did, when the biopsy results came back. He warned me that mortality was 45%, (or was that 55%?) but so far so good. It seems to be important to take as wide a margin as possible. She has not had any special after care - but she eats BARF with vege, fish, cider vinegar, Vit C and yoghurt (sometimes), occasionally dry food . Nothing special. However, she has not been vaccinated since she was 2, and will not be again. Having read some stories here about older dogs being vac. and developing tumors soon after, and seen dogs exhibit strange symptoms following vac/heartworm meds, I wouldn't vac an older dog, and certainly not with anything except C3, nor would I allow vac/heartworm to be administered together. Just my own phobia!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted June 28, 2005 Author Share Posted June 28, 2005 Having read some stories here about older dogs being vac. and developing tumors soon after, and seen dogs exhibit strange symptoms following vac/heartworm meds, I wouldn't vac an older dog, and certainly not with anything except C3, nor would I allow vac/heartworm to be administered together. Just my own phobia!! I wish I'd stuck to my guns, Jed. I'd not heard of any problems...but it just made me nervous with 2 'foreign' things being injected at the same time, into an older dog. I thought it could knock the immune system around. But the vet said she knew of no evidence...& then said she'd leave the decision up to me. Like an idiot I thought I couldn't say 'No' in the face of no evidence. So Angel had the injections. Seems a big coincidence....within a month, a little dog who's been outstandingly healthy, develops a nasty tumour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouiseBrooks Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 Mita, This is no comfort to you. I am so glad I stuck to my guns about no vaccinations. They have not had one for the last two years as the last time Godzy had one (they were too scared to give him the heartworm) he was very ill and then developed a lump on the site which they were at one stage going to excise. Then it dissapeared and not lumps have appeared again. Also the less vaccinations the less allergies. I was thinking of having them done next year but now the answer is no. Gidget is a senior as had had many vaccinations Godzilla has had 6 years of them that should be enough. Lillie I am not sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted June 29, 2005 Author Share Posted June 29, 2005 LB, I did some searching on the Net...& found a vet research review article about how some cats developed a particular type of cancer on the site of a vaccination. And I found a paper called Vaccines of the Present & Future by Alice Wolf delivered at the World Small Animals Veterinary Association conference 2001...quote: "Serious concerns have been raised recently regarding the connection between recent vaccination & the developmet of AIHA (?) & other immune-mediated diseases in dogs.' I may be oversimplifying things by making a direct connection between the 2 injections & the development of the tumour....because Angel also had tooth surgery 2 weeks ago...& that could also have added to the load on her system. But I am a bit sick at heart that I can never really know if things would have been different if I had stuck to my guns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogbesotted Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 Mita, Thinking of you today and sending many positive vibes Angels way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bommy Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 Mita, thinking of you guys today... lost of positive vibes being sent to you guys Jacqui PS: depending on which lab it is doing the test I would as them to test for everything with the lab.. If it is Idexx make sure they also test at the same time if it is a hystacitic or lymphatic cancer if that is what they are testing for, we got with Molly where they (idexx) only did a basic hystology & didnt test for this which we then had to go back & test for these as well so we could work out which avenue we were going to follow. Jacqui Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schnauzer Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 Mita, My german shepherd (now at the bridge) had a large mast cell tumour removed, (it basically came up overnight and grew very rapidly) very aggressive, and I had a great vet do the op. He lived for many years after the surgery and died at 14 years. The tumour never returned - so there is much hope after they are removed. Very best of luck to you, I am thinking of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted June 30, 2005 Author Share Posted June 30, 2005 (edited) Thanks, Jacqui & Dogbesotted, the info you've given & sent have been fantastic in giving us the full background. Without it, I wouldn't know what useful questions to ask the vet about Angel. Your warm wishes are much appreciated. I left Angel in the vet surgeon's arms as they both drifted into a buddhist trance The vet said he needed a dose of tibetan spaniel after handling a couple of hyper dogs. Shall let you know how things go. (The paper dogbesotted referred me to, was from the WSAVA conference May 2005. 'Cutaneous Cell Tumors in Dogs' Antony S. More. Cover every aspect...process, gradings, treatments, prognosis. Totally up to date.) Schnauzer, you GSD living many years after is so reassuring. I was amazed to read in the conference paper that good outcome can happen...just like that. Edited June 30, 2005 by mita Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bommy Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 Mita, how did Angel go I have been thinking of you guys today Jacqui Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted June 30, 2005 Author Share Posted June 30, 2005 Angel's surgery went well. And thanks to the paper that dogbesotted had sent me....I was able to understand what the vet reported afterwards. He started to excise the lump...then looked at the cells under the microscope. The dodgy cells are granular & didn't look to him like fully formed mast cells. He said they could be part of the body's natural response to the 'death' of some fat....because he also found some bacteria. Or they could be mast cells in their very earliest form. The lump will be sent for pathology to determine exactly what they are. If they're only body response cells...just excising the lump will be enough. If they're very early mast cells...it may also be enough for a cure, tho' another op may be needed to take extra tissue away. Right now...it doesn't look like the worst case scenario. Only the path. report will give some finality. Thanks again for the support. Even the vet was impressed with the background info & examples I'd got from fellow DOLers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bommy Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 Mita, fantastic that it doesnt look like mast cell, I will still be praying for you guys to get a good pathology back. Jacqui Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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