Dog owners: ever deal with a mast cell tumor?

No personal experience, but I'd check out the Tripawds website. It's geared toward owners of three-legged pets, but since cancer is a very common cause of limb amputation, there is also a good deal of information/experience regarding various types of cancer.

http://tripawds.com/

Slim wrote:

I found a small lump on my dog's stomach on Monday and took her to the vet on Tuesday. He took a biopsy, and called me yesterday and said that the lump is a mast cell tumor. The vet is going to remove it and grade it next week.

The tumor is very small, and the vet says it looks like I caught it early. He said there is a chance that removal will be the only treatment necessary. Has anyone here had a dog with a mast cell tumor? How did things go?

Thanks for your help. I'm pretty worried right now...the little thing is part of the family.

Was this biopsy a needle biopsy? Why wasn't this tumor graded immediately post biopsy? Is the tumor directly under the skin?

Here is a good rundown from a reputable vet. I worked in an animal shelter for a lot of years and we saw many old dogs with these kinds of tumors. They were unpredictable, as the article concludes.

https://www.petmd.com/blogs/thedailyvet/jintile/2013/june/the-dreaded-mast-cell-tumor-30465

not adding up..... wrote:

Slim wrote:

I found a small lump on my dog's stomach on Monday and took her to the vet on Tuesday. He took a biopsy, and called me yesterday and said that the lump is a mast cell tumor. The vet is going to remove it and grade it next week.

The tumor is very small, and the vet says it looks like I caught it early. He said there is a chance that removal will be the only treatment necessary. Has anyone here had a dog with a mast cell tumor? How did things go?

Thanks for your help. I'm pretty worried right now...the little thing is part of the family.

Was this biopsy a needle biopsy? Why wasn't this tumor graded immediately post biopsy? Is the tumor directly under the skin?

Here is the report:

5/23/2018 TC 1 Medical Record - TENTATIVE

CC - discuss cytology results w/ owner - mast cell tumor, will sched d/o for sx excision of this mass and other 2

noted masses, will submit for histopathology.

5/23/2018 L 1

INFORMATION:

SOURCE:

6 slides from a dermal mass on ventral thorax

DESCRIPTION/MICROSCOPIC FINDINGS/COMMENTS:

Microscopic Description:

The cellularity of the most cellular smears is high consisting of many

poorly to adequately preserved well-granulated mast cells admixed with

eosinophils, reactive fibroblasts, and blood with abundant free mast

cell granules in the background.

Interpretation:

Mast cell tumor

Comments:

Surgical removal, if possible, with histopathology and histologic

tumor grading is recommended. The behavior of mast cell tumors is

highly correlated to tumor grade.

Also, the tumor is on the skin, not under it. My dog has had several cysts under the skin removed over the years, but they have all been benign. My vet has told me its very common for the bread (mini schnauzer). This lump was completely different...flesh colored, raised on top of the skin.

No, because I don't feed my dog kibble, rather natural food like raw meat. You can look up dr pottinger cat studies in cancer and processed foods in animals

I'm not a vet, but I did watch a few episodes of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.

More than likely, this type of cancer is easily treatable, however I have seen cases where it comes back.

The odds are 50/50 that it does come back. Either it does. Or it doesn't.

Hope this helps.

Slim wrote:

Also, the tumor is on the skin, not under it. My dog has had several cysts under the skin removed over the years, but they have all been benign. My vet has told me its very common for the bread (mini schnauzer). This lump was completely different...flesh colored, raised on top of the skin.

I'm assuming that this tumor did not follow trauma?I had a dog with a mast cell tumor on an injection site and it was excised and no recurrence and the dog died of something else many years later. Some of these mast cell tumors can be transitory and the result of bites, insect stings, injection sites, and other tissue disturbances. Now all you need is a good removal with solid margins and luck. Your vet's report, dx and process are certainly indicative of solid approach.

San Diego Hobby Jogger wrote:

No, because I don't feed my dog kibble, rather natural food like raw meat. You can look up dr pottinger cat studies in cancer and processed foods in animals

Complete nonsense. But someone is making $$$ off this. God bless America!

Real dog owners feed their dogs Ol' Roy dog food.

Look how beautiful and healthy this dog is!

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ol-Roy-Complete-Nutrition-Dry-Dog-Food-50-lb/22004588

Slim wrote:

I found a small lump on my dog's stomach on Monday and took her to the vet on Tuesday. He took a biopsy, and called me yesterday and said that the lump is a mast cell tumor. The vet is going to remove it and grade it next week.

The tumor is very small, and the vet says it looks like I caught it early. He said there is a chance that removal will be the only treatment necessary. Has anyone here had a dog with a mast cell tumor? How did things go?

Thanks for your help. I'm pretty worried right now...the little thing is part of the family.

My lab mix (5-6 yrs old at the time) had a marble sized malignant MST on her abdomen (under the skin) and it was removed with no further treatment needed. They excised a very large margin and she has been great for the last 2 years. It was caught pretty early and determined to be a low grade malignant mast cell tumor. Hope things go well for your pup too...good luck!

Thank you for the response. How did your dog handle the surgery?

One of our dogs had many of these. At first we had them removed, but over time they came up more and more frequently and we decided that the stress of removal was greater than the benefit. That's not to say that the surgery was a terrible thing for her. It was more a matter of doing it over and over again. Thankfully she was able to live to a ripe old age with the tumors only being a bit of an inconvenience for her.

juststoppingby wrote:

One of our dogs had many of these. At first we had them removed, but over time they came up more and more frequently and we decided that the stress of removal was greater than the benefit. That's not to say that the surgery was a terrible thing for her. It was more a matter of doing it over and over again. Thankfully she was able to live to a ripe old age with the tumors only being a bit of an inconvenience for her.

So the cancer never spread to other parts of her body?

No, in her case things did not spread, though some of her tumors ended up being fairly large.

I have personally not had a dog with mass cell tumor, but know of many friends with goldens who have, and often the outcome is very good, with early detection. I understood, antihistamines can help, as well as a low carb diet, you could consider cooking for your dog (I don't think Raw food is recommended for most dogs/households especially not with cancer due to bacterial exposure). Either that, or choose a kibble high in protein and fat, and avoid foods with too much legumes/plant based proteins (like grain free crap), and the sort. Keep in mind if you choose to make your own food, balance is super important, so it takes a lot of research to do it right. Finally another thing I hear the most, its super important the vet gets clean and big margins when they remove the tumor, I'm sure the vet is aware, but potentially bringing it up in the pre-op visit could help to emphasize the importance of that. I would also ask after the surgery the size of the margins. The biopsy of the tumor will be a definitive grade, and can help you decide what if any further action is needed.

I just wanted to update this thread.

My vet called yesterday. The tumor was grade I, and he feels that the removal of the mass was all that is needed. He is sending the results to an oncologist just to review things to be sure.

My dog is doing really well...staples come out next week.

Thanks to everyone who responded.

Glad to hear of the promising result. Hold your dog close, their years are way too short

Slim wrote:

I just wanted to update this thread.

My vet called yesterday. The tumor was grade I, and he feels that the removal of the mass was all that is needed. He is sending the results to an oncologist just to review things to be sure.

My dog is doing really well...staples come out next week.

Thanks to everyone who responded.

Good news!!