My 12 year old lab had his front leg removed 3 years ago in January.
On friday I was told he has a mast cell tumor on his opposite leg of
amputation. Its about as big as a nickel.
My regular vet is out of town until Monday so right now I am looking
for anyone who has gone thru this.
I know my puppy is getting older, and want to make the right choice by
him and for us financially-
Up until about 6 months ago he was doing really good but lately has
seemed tired alot and not as eager to play catch...but maybe it is
because a) he is getting old or b) he has cancer !!
I don't know what to think!!
thanks for any stories, advice.
Laura

I treated Barney for over 5 years with the following for mast cell cancer.

Give him Benedryl to help control the histamines that the tumor puts out.
Mast cells put out histamines and can even put a dog into anphalactic shock
if it starts dumping huge amounts into his system that is the reason for the
Benedryl. Barney weighed 60lbs and took 50mg twice a day and also you will
want to give the him cimetadine 100mg twice a day to help with the excess
stomach acid the tumors cause. The two together help keep the tumors in
check and help with stomach issues that can develop.

Barney developed his first tumor at 6 and we had it removed. I kept him in
the Benedry for 4 months two months longer than the vet recommended. Within
4 months of stopping it he developed a fast growing mast cell tumor on his
stomach. It went from the size of a pea to the size of a golf ball in less
than 6 days. My vet thought for sure it had invaded deeper but we caught it
in time. After that I kept him on the Benedryl and the cimetadine daily.
He developed another tumor inside his mouth where it couldnt' be operated on
at the age of 11. We tried treating him with massive amounts of prednisone
since it couldn't be operated on. Eventually the cancer became too much and
spread internally.

The medications didn't stop the mast cell completely but feel it helped get
him a few more years than he wouldn't have other wise had.

The only other advice I can give you is to give him a massage nightly and
check for any new growths. At the first sign of anything get it biopsied
immediately and get it removed if it's mast cell. My vet and I had an
understanding that when I called and said he needed a biopsy that he got in
the next day. We had lots of close calls where the bumps were nothing but
fatty cells but the money was well spent just in case one of them weren't.

Good luck
Celeste







wrote in message
oups.com...
My 12 year old lab had his front leg removed 3 years ago in January.
On friday I was told he has a mast cell tumor on his opposite leg of
amputation. Its about as big as a nickel.
My regular vet is out of town until Monday so right now I am looking
for anyone who has gone thru this.
I know my puppy is getting older, and want to make the right choice by
him and for us financially-
Up until about 6 months ago he was doing really good but lately has
seemed tired alot and not as eager to play catch...but maybe it is
because a) he is getting old or b) he has cancer !!
I don't know what to think!!
thanks for any stories, advice.
Laura

Thanks Celeste.