Mast cell carcinoma advice?

[KitKatChunki]

Hi all, looking for anyone who has had experience of their dog having mast cell carcinoma - what to expect? Ddog has a low grade result from a test and apparently needs another appointment to see if they can operate. We found a tiny lump and hopefully have caught it but have no idea what to expect - appointment is on Monday with hopefully an op on Tuesday if it is suitable.

Is there anything we can do to help soothe her in the meantime - I don't think she is in pain but she is waking to lick in the night a bit. Any treat ideas or advice would be welcome.

Whereabouts is the lump? Our dog had one at the top of one of her front legs, by the 'elbow' - it was about the size of a large grape by the time they operated. It was successfully removed, though recurred about a year later and was removed again. She was fine after both ops, there was a lot of stitches but it healed really well.

The vet said that the tumours can cause a lot of systemic itching as they release histamine into the body, which is relieved once removed. So probably not a lot you can do at the moment - you could ask the vet whether piriton (a standard human tablet) would be allowed maybe.

My dog had one a year ago and it was a terrible worry. Its good new it is a low grade so if they can remove it all then likely your dog will not need any more treatment. Ask for really big margins if they can achieve during surgery. I have started adding salmon oil to her diet as it is meant to help and I also add these drops to her food now which were recommended to me by a homeopath. I checked with my vet and they said they were fine to give.
https://petwellbeing.co.uk/products/life-gold-immune-antioxidant-detoxification-support-dogs?gadsource=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAnKi8BhB0EiwA58DA4buymqGoN5Ojefvmke3OaPjq1myeyxlpOJqIFugE5QCwCFAf6bWqxoCIYQAvDBwE&hsaacc=9841424405&hsaad=&hsacam=21158419142&hsagrp=&hsakw=&hsamt=&hsanet=adwords&hsasrc=x&hsatgt=&hsaver=3&utmcampaign=&utmmedium=ppc&utmsource=adwords&utmterm=&variant=37185408991427

Thank you both. It is about the size of a kidney bean atm so vet was impressed we found it, which hopefully is a good sign. It's next to the abdomen area and seems to have a random sprout hair covering it which is why we looked - almost as if it was trying to hide itself!

Interesting about the itching. She is allowed on the bed so I've noticed her waking up to lick noisily several times in the night.

Our last dog had 2 removed.. I had found some research that showed regular antihistamines can stop reoccurrence, so after chatting to the vet, we gave him 2 piriton a day....no more appeared, so who knows??

Worth a try, cheap to buy ( just don't let on to the tesco pharmacist that they are for a dog 😉)

That is very interesting! What size is your dog? Obviously I'd consult the vet before giving anything but if yours is a chihuahua I might need to invest in shares.

He was a staffy x weighed about 21kg
I used to just buy non branded ones

When I asked the vet, she said that they give a dose before tumour removal to counter histimine release, and after she investigated, she had no issue with him having it daily