Anyone had experience of mast cell tumours in dogs?

[ImaHogg]

My best mate Archie is a Norfolk Terrier and has been by my side every single day and night for the last 9 years.
Last Feb we found a small lump on his back, I thought it was a fatty lump but turned out to be a MCT. The vet removed a huge margin as it was quite deep in the skin, which he said was unusual but all the margins and blood tests came back good, we were so pleased. However, just recently I noticed a lump in his abdomen. Yesterday we had the heartbreaking news that he has a big tumour on his spleen probably a secondary from the skin one. The vet wasn’t particularly encouraging. He’s basically given me 3 choices and none seem that great,
Option 1, leave it alone and let Archie live out his life - how long? I asked and the answer was 🤷‍♀️
Option 2, remove the spleen with tumour attached (vet won’t remove just the tumour incase it spreads) - how long will Archie have left with this option? Again 🤷‍♀️
Option 3, take him to the nearest animal hospital (4 hour round trip) for ct scan, other tests, radiotherapy and chemo. This will cost thousands and the outcome? Again 🤷‍♀️
Does anyone have any experience of this type of cancer?
Archie is 9, I thought I would have him for years tbh, I thought he would end up with a white beard and be like one of those old, bow-legged terriers you see mooching around!
We are all devastated.

Our lab had MCT removed about 6 yrs ago and thankfully hasn't had a recurrence. Though I thought with MCT the fear is that once in the lungs the timeline is short.

If it were me, I think I'd go for the scans and then have more information to make a decision.

So sorry to hear about your beloved pet, OP. My lab had such a tumour on his abdomen; or was removed, with wide margins and a few nipples , and he has been fine., thankfully. He is about the same age as your dog but it’s 5 years since hi op.

I would be looking at either option 1 or option 2. Before option 2 I would want to understand the risks from that op and also the recovery time.

Cancer treatment in humans is very tough and often aimed at total eradication of that cancer; the patient often feels a lot worse before getting better ( in my experience).
Chemo for animals is about quality of life and maybe a little extra quantity, but it’s aim is not going to be a cure.
Ultimately the vet needs to give you a lot more information about what the expected outcomes are of further invasive and expensive treatment , and don’t feel bad about talking to a different practice if you are unsure.
💐for you. They are such heartbreaking little souls,

Thank you both of you. I’m going to email the vet and ask a lot more questions before making a decision.

I would think at least with a scan you would know how progressed it is. And then be able to decide if it is worth having surgery or treatment or do you discuss pain management and future prognosis. But I think without any information it's hard to make a decision.

Best of luck!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_doghouse/4116142-To-operate-or-not

This is a thread I posted a few months ago about our dog with a mast cell tumour. We didn’t operate in the end and she’s still absolutely fine. No change in her at all. So hard to know what to do. We haven’t taken her back for further scans as we feel, having decided not to operate, there’s no point. She’s older though. Not much help to you but I totally understand the dilemma

Thank you sillysmiles
gemandjule thank you, I will go and take a look, so glad your dog is still doing well.

So sorry you are going through this. I do have some recent experience but I don’t know if I’ve been making the right decisions at all, and have found it hard to know what the right thing to do it.

My retriever was diagnosed with a mast cell tumour a month or so ago, she is 10 years old, but so full of life. It was a total shock. I’d taken her to the vets to get a strange lump on her leg checked out, but expected them to say it was just a fatty lump or a bite or something like that.

She had surgery to have it removed and is healing well but slowly. It will be weeks yet before she can go for walks or have her lampshade removed because the wound needs to fully heal. She’s going nuts because she’s full of energy,

My vet is now offering all sorts of expensive tests and chemo and I honestly don’t know what I should or shouldn’t do. My dog’s tumour was categorised as low to intermediate, and they think that it was all removed. I feel that the vet bombards me with information but also doesn’t really help me decide. I also feel awful that I’ve taken a dog who was, outwardly, happy and healthy, having long walks every day, and now is stuck at home. I hope she’s able to go back to walks again soon.