Hi guys, I don't know if anyone out there can relate, give advice or just hear a girl out. My dog recently had biopsies of 2 lumps on his side and they were confirmed as mast cell tumors (the one lump i had checked over a year ago and was told it was a bite)
He had them removed last Tuesday (5 lumps in total but 3 were benign) the lab have confirmed that the tumors are high grade. His wounds are HUGE, I had a full blown panic episode when I saw him after surgery, and totally broke down. We found it so hard to cope.
He's doing fab now and has been such a trooper!! The wounds are healing nicely, he is having regular check ups, and on pain killers antibiotics and anti histamines.
They are doing further tests (k27 test whatever that is) to determine how likely the chance of the tumors would have spread before removal, as from the margins taken they identified both aggressive and also more benign looking cells.
The vet confirmed she had removed the cells and had clean markers, she also said his lymph nodes all felt fine, and his bloods showed no abnormalities in liver or spleen etc. He is eating drinking as normal and before this showed no signs of illness.
As you can imagine I have been going out of my mind, constantly googling and reading info on these mast cell tumors, and have found out that apparently only 10% of Dogs with high grade tumors survive longer than 6 months following surgery!
I'm absolutely devastated and am struggling to cope of the thought of my little boy being ill, and not being around for as long as we'd thought.
His next visit is on the 30th to remove some of the stitches, I should find out more then about what's next.
I've heard they like to follow up with chemo/radiation etc, but we have both agreed we do not want to put our boy through this further trauma. We just want him to be happy and comfortable for as long as possible.
He isn't insured, so obviously alongside the worry about him, comes the financial worry too, and please if anyone is about to say 'you shouldn't have a dog of you can't afford to look after him then just don't bother' I'd sell my kidney for this dog. I just want to know if anyone has had any similar stories.
He is 10 years old and is my absolute best friend ❤
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Flossybubble
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Hi there, hope everything is as good as possible under this circumstances...So, I've read your text and, even though I can't relate since I've never had the chance to have a dog but I'm studying to become a vet, and I'm really sorry you're going through this with your friend😟
I guess your dog is now resting with you, and you're giving him much love and care, but let me tell you that he knows and understand you. Dogs can't understand our language ofc, but they can understand our body language and they know how much we love them and how much we take care of them, so whatever happens in the future... I want you to know that your little friend knows that you love him and he loves you back ✨
Also, about what you look for in the internet about this type of cancer, pls be careful if that type of info can be a trigger. Every dog and every case is different and he is healing well according for what I understood from your post so... I know it's hard to be calm in this situation but try to relax as much as you can, specially when you're with your dog, he will take comfort and courage if he sees that you are with him all the time possible
Hope this helps you to get some relief, pls trust your vets and I hope it goes as well as possible. You can pm me if there's something you need and you need to vent or something and I'll do my best to help ✨
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply.I know he senses if I'm upset, he's locked away my tears plenty of times over the years ❤ I'm just trying to stay positive now and whatever the outcome just love him and make sure he's as happy and comfortable as possible, and continue to do whats best for him 🐾xx
Hi! So, not a dog but my husband was recently diagnosed with cancer. He's going through chemo as I type this. The diagnosis is difficult to handle. I keep blaming myself, wondering if he'll beat it, feel guilty for doubting that he will, etc... It's hard. So, I understand to an extent.. I hope your dog continues to recover, and live a long beautiful life with you. You seem like a great owner, and though I doubt anyone would judge you in this situation, remember that they aren't in this situation. The financial struggles of cancer are real, whether it's humans or beloved animals.
I am so so sorry to hear you're going through this, it makes me feel so guilty that you've even cared enough to reply. Thank you.I know my experience is nothing in comparison to you, but the feeling of blame I can relate with, also feeling angry.
I wish you and your husband the very best, I suppose these things are sent to try us.
Hi I too am very sorry to hear about your lovely dog as it's awful when our beloved pets are ill isn't it. You can't think of anything else, but as long as he remains happy and almost pain free then that's great. Obviously if he is in distress you have got to consider that the unthinkable is actually thinkable and as a good, caring owner you will have to do what's right.
Hopefully though he will recover and be with you years longer. I really hope so.
Try not to worry too much. The tumours were removed and that right there is a major thing. If the vet said the liver etc seems ok that’s a great sign also. I’m not a vet but my brothers dog had tumours (both benign and not benign) had them removed and did get chemo(which he was told works very well for dogs) and his dog lived another 5 years. I’m wondering if the 6 month stat you seen was if you don’t have a tumour removed?
Many years ago my mom had a poodle and the poodle got breast cancer (we didn’t even know that was possible) and she only had surgery to remove it and lived for many years too.
Just an FYI for people who might not know, breast cancer is mostly found in dogs who haven’t been fixed.
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