# Mast Cell Tumors



## cloquinn

So, back in January, Rex had a mast cell tumor removed from his hind left knee. He now has a major scar about 6 inches long that he will have forever (the hair has grown back, but doesn't cover the scar). We went to the vet yesterday for an unrelated issue and asked about another bump on his left side and, sure enough, it's another mast cell tumor. During the exam, the vet found another lump on his hind right leg, below the knee. It is too small to be sure, but there were some mast cells in the needle biopsy. Since he's going to have the mast cell tumor on his side removed, we're going to have the one on his leg removed, too. Surgery is scheduled for tomorrow morning. I just remember how miserable he was when he had surgery in January and I can't believe we're starting this again tomorrow. He's only 6, so there is no question we'll have the surgery, but I hope it's not an ongoing process every few months. I know he will be fine, he has fantastic surgeons, but I can't help but worry about my baby.


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## kellygh

Oh my  I know you must be worried. I'm sorry to hear y'all are having to deal with the tumor(s) again. Please keep us posted. I don't have any words of wisdom, but I will be keeping y'all in my thoughts & prayers! Blessings


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## JillandDan

I am so sorry to hear that poor Rex has to go through surgery again. I know you are worried but at least you know he has great surgeons. Please let us know how it all goes.


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## mswhipple

Oh, bless your hearts! I'm so sorry that Rex (and you, of course) are having to go through this. I will say a prayer for Rex. Hope everything is resolved soon, with a positive outcome!


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## Ro-Ro

Wishing you guys a speedy recovery.


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## cloquinn

There was a mixup in the scheduling. He isn't having surgery today, but will go in on Monday instead. If the photos aren't too graphic, I'll post some after he comes home on Tuesday. The photos from the last surgery were so pathetic!


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## JillandDan

Aw. Good luck with everything and we will be thinking about him. Keep us posted.


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## cloquinn

We brought the little man home last night. During pre-op Monday morning they found 3 more lumps, so he had a total of 5 lumps removed. There was another lump near the confirmed mast cell tumor on his side and 2 lumps close to the suspicious one on his ankle. Since they were near each other, it wasn't too much to get all 5 removed. Due to the location of the lumps on his ankle, they were able to bandage it. His side, however, they couldn't bandage. He's been doing pretty well since we brought him home, but he does have "bandage paralysis." He thinks he can't put any weight on his back leg and he's acting pretty pathetic. It's working, too. My husband slept with him for a couple of hours on the futon. I tried to get a picture that wasn't too graphic to post here and I think I got one that isn't too bad. If he lays fully stretched out, his side isn't too bad. When he sits up or tries to curl into a ball, it amplifies how much tissue they had to take. I expect his side will actually look better than his other scar (back left leg above the knee below my husband's hand) because I think the fat will eventually move around a bit. Plus, with it not being on a joint, I'm hopeful it won't pull too much.

The bandage comes off on Saturday and the staples will come out probably a week from Saturday. Sadly both my husband and I are travelling out of the country (in opposite directions) this weekend for a week each, but my mother-in-law will come up to stay with him next week. We are hopeful we will get biopsy results before we leave. The surgeon was able to get wide margins on his side but not on his ankle without compromising mobility. If we have dirty margins on the ankle, I suspect we will go with radiation. However, that lump was only suspicious for mast cell tumor, not confirmed, so I'll continue to hope.

Also, a quick plug for Greenies Pill Pockets. We had never used them before this surgery, we had always used peanut butter to give Rex pills. However, we have had to switch him to a hypoallergenic diet (duck and potato) so we were struggling to figure out how to give him his medicine. Our vet called us yesterday to tell us that Greenies makes duck pill pockets and I found some at our local yuppie puppy store last night. I can't believe I didn't know how awesome these were before! And Rex loves them! Such a relief!

I'll post more when we get biopsy results back. Thanks to all the strangers out there reading this. It just feels good to be able to tell someone and for that someone to understand how important Vizslas are to me.


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## KashagLake

Aww poor Rex! I can imagine how hard this must be for you guys! Hope Rex has a speedy recovery!!


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## JillandDan

Poor fellow. I hope you hear back soon from the vet. Isn't it funny how Vs love to take advantage of a situation. They get that pathetic look and you instantly crumble and give in. 
Glad to hear you discovered Pill Pockets. We have used them many times in the past as Holley has a sensitive tummy. You can also get them at any Petsmart/Petco kind of place. Not sure if they are cheaper or not. 
Let us know how things progress and what the results were.


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## mswhipple

Oh my, that is a huge scar on his side! Poor little guy!! I will be keeping Rex in my prayers. He is a beautiful dog! I'm sure it must be just killing you to have to put him through this, but at only six years old, what else can you do, really? You just have to do the best you can...

Having had at least one dog all of my adult life, I can emphathize with you completely. Over the years, I've spent thousands of dollars and millions of tears on behalf of my dogs. Will be thinking of you, cloquinn. I know you will be giving the recuperating patient lots of love!

p.s. Thank you for the info about Greenies Pill Pockets. Everyone with a dog has struggled with how to give a pill and not have it promptly returned.


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## datacan

Greenies? 
My vet insists no greenies. 

http://www.k911.biz/Petsafety/RawhideandChewyTreats.htm

Greenies are mentioned toward the end.

But hey, poor little guy went through a lot hope he recovers and enjoys a happy life.
You guys are awesome, devoted dog owners all the best.


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## cloquinn

Datacan-
I'm talking about pill pockets made by Greenies. They're soft and not the greenies dental treats you're thinking of. Besides, Greenies changed the formula of their dental chews in 2007 and since then there have been ZERO reports of the new formula causing any digestive problems whatsoever. We noticed the change in our house, Rex could demolish the new formula in about 15 seconds and it crumbles now. He would work on the old formula for at least a minute.


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## veronica

My prayers are with you and Rex! Praying all turns out well!


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## cloquinn

Well, here's the update. Both the hubby and I were out of town on different trips, so my mother-in-law was watching him and we didn't get the biopsy results until this week when my hubby took him to have his staples removed. All of the incisions are healing very well. I don't think his scar on his side will be very noticeable at all after the hair grows back. First, the good news. They were able to get good margins on the mast cell tumor on his side. It was a stage 1, so really nothing to worry about there. The other lumps on his ankle were likely due to a spider bite. The bad news is, the lump they removed near his knee turned out to be a different type of cancer, fibrosarcoma. It's only stage 1 and not aggressive, but they didn't get clean margins, so we have a few options. (1) Leave it be and see if it comes back, (2) do radiation to kill what they didn't remove, or (3) do another surgery soon to remove everything. If we leave it be, there's a chance that it could come back much larger than before and require skin grafts and major bandaging. If we do radiation, that will be 15 treatments over 3 weeks and he will have to be sedated for each radiation treatment. So, we're going with option 3, another surgery. The surgeon feels good that he will be able to remove the rest of the tumor without too much difficulty, it's just another surgery for the poor little guy. We'll either do that surgery next week or the week after, depending on the surgeon's availability. I'll also do a complete check for any other lumps and bumps that they can remove while he's under. 3 surgeries in under 6 months for the sweetest puppy I've ever known is just heartbreaking, but I pray they'll be the last ones he needs for a while.


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## JillandDan

I am so sorry your sweet little baby is going through all of this. Hopefully, as you said, this will be the last one he needs. I will keep you all in my thoughts.


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## mswhipple

Will be thinking of you and Rex, hoping and praying that this next surgery will turn out to be the final one he needs, and then all of you can just put this behind you and continue on with a long and happy life. Poor little Rex... As they say in dog obedience school, "HEAL!!"


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## veronica

Rex is in my prayers!!! So sorry to hear about the fibrosarcoma. I'm hoping the next surgery will be a success!


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## cloquinn

We just dropped Rex-a-roo off for surgery again today. The surgeon said it's unusual to have both mast cell tumors and fibrosarcoma, but that he has seen it before. He is going to have to take some of the muscle on his lower leg, but it shouldn't be anything that affects him long term. They took quite a bit of muscle on his other hind leg in January when he had that mast cell tumor removed and he's managed to recover from that just fine. 

We pick him up tomorrow afternoon and then we're going to my in-laws for the weekend. I'm a little nervous about travelling with Rex, but I imagine he'll be sleeping most of the weekend anyway with all those pain meds we'll be giving him. I'll update later!


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## cloquinn

The good news is, we just got biopsy results back and they got clean margins on the fibrosarcoma. No more surgery! I won't say ever, because I would bet he will get another mast cell tumor in his life, but let's hope that's years from now. 

He's recovering really well. Too well, in fact. We're starting him on sedatives tomorrow to prevent him from hurting himself. He thinks he's ready to get back into running around and chasing balls, birds, and bunnies, but he needs to stay quiet and still for another week. Staples come out next Wednesday and he'll be back in day care that day!

Thanks for all of the thoughts and kind words.


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## veronica

So happy to hear all is going well! I hope Rex is back in full effect! 

Hugs,
Veronica


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## datacan

Hi, I must have subscribed to this guy's newsletter. 
His name is Dr. Andrew Jones and sells books and info on vet care. 
Claims to have had his healthy dog die at 8 years and spent his carrier on finding out why... 
Copied/pasted parts of his email:


More than 50% of dogs and cats over the age of 10 will develop cancer.

The most common malignant types of cancer (cancer that spreads) in dogs are lymphoma and *mast cell tumors*.

Golden Retrievers are now the number one breed to be diagnosed with cancer.
Boxers are a close second.

Cancer cells thrive on carbohydrates and proteins, but can't grow as fast with fats. Certain veterinary diets have been designed for this, but you can also make your own low-carbohydrate, high-fat cancer diet.

Simple Cancer Diet: 50% chicken/fish, 50% mixed vegetables, 1/2 tsp of olive oil per 10 lbs, salt and garlic to taste.

Supplements

The next most important thing, is to supplement your pet's diet. The omega 3 essential fatty acids should be added to EVERY pet's diet.

FATTY ACIDS ARE ESSENTIAL. Omega 3 fatty acids are great anti-inflammatories and have been shown to prevent the spread of cancer. Flax is the best source for dogs. For cats, the liquid form is the only option, and they should receive it twice daily of Salmon oil or a supplement such as EFA Caps purchased from your veterinarian.

FLAVONOIDS. These are compounds in a class of their own. They compose the thousands of structures that give the bright color to fruits and vegetables. They are antioxidants as well as having anti-cancer properties. These include flavones, (apigenin), isoflavones (genistein), flavanols (quercitin). Purchase a mixed bioflavoniod product that contains polyphenols, particularly EGCG (epigallocatechin-gallate), which is the specific flavonoid isolated from green tea.

ANTIOXIDIZE. Antioxidants have been shown to slow the growth and spread of some types of cancer. Vitamin C, Vitamin E and Selenium are the most effective ones.


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## mswhipple

Cloquinn, I'm so glad to hear that Rex is doing better! By this time he has had his staples removed, and is recovering nicely (I hope)!!

Interesting article, datacan. I had a mixed breed dog back in the late 1970's early 1980's who died of lymphoma. Very heartbreaking (and also very expensive). Remember that old TV show, "The Six Million Dollar Man"? We used to call Hank our "Six Thousand Dollar Dog", and that's back when a dollar was a dollar. 

I was talking with my own doctor about a friend who just found out she has colon cancer. The bottom line -- family history is the most important factor. In other words, you need to choose your parents very carefully.


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## cloquinn

Rex is recovering pretty well. He had the staples removed last Wednesday, well the ones he hadn't managed to remove himself, that is. He's still wearing the e-collar because the one he had before was slightly too short and he was able to remove several staples too soon which slowed down the healing process a bit. So, hoping for a couple more days of the e-collar and then freedom for him.

As for the diet, unfortunately Rex has had a lot of GI issues this year, too. Right now he is on a duck and potato diet. No other carbs and no other proteins are allowed. It seems to be helping with his GI issues as he hasn't vomited blood in more than a month and he hasn't passed any blood in his stool in 3+ weeks. 

I hear ya on the "Six Thousand Dollar Dog". We've spent just over $8200 on Rex this year on vet bills alone and he hasn't even had his annual checkup yet. Worth every penny, though.


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## mswhipple

I couldn't agree more, cloquinn, about the money spent... My last dog before Willie went blind from diabetes-induced cataracts. She was only 4-1/2 years old at the time. Her cataract surgery was very expensive, but I still say that was the most gratifying money I've ever spent! I took in a blind dog, and four hours later I walked out with a dog who could see, her eyesight fully restored. It was no less than a miracle to me (and to her, too, I am certain)!

Anyhow, it sounds like Rex is making slow but steady progress in his battle, which is very good news! Keep us posted. He looks like such a sweet little guy!! Hang in there.


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## datacan

I've been looking around the net for info on Green Tripe and stumbled across this site: 

http://www.dogcancer.net 

There is a forum and perhaps help for dogs with mast cell tumor. Hope Rex is recovering well.


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## BlueandMac

Cloquinn - how is Rex doing? Hope he is all recovered. You all have been through so much!


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## pelethevizsla

My vizsla had a big bump on his side we assumed he was gaining weight and he was bloated, but he had a hereditary tumor. Luckily we got emergency surgery, and he was saved but sadly the tumor spread to his liver. He is currently 9 years old, 10 this October, but the predicted lifetime after this is 1-3 months. I am very grateful that there was no suffering for his particular type of cancer, which created a tumor:// Get checkups every two months once your vizsla hits 6 years old!!!


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