"Mags" wrote in message
...
First of all, I'm in Australia and I
went to the only specialist place in my region! The oncologist mentioned
radiation in first consultation but said there is none in all of Aus for
animals and they have to sort of "sneak in the back door" to use ones for
treating humans. After he did tests that option was dropped.
..........too bad. I think they used to do that here too, sneak in. If
there's anywhere close they'll let you do that, well, I'd put it back on the
table, because I think radiation has a proven track record, especially for
dirty margins. It's probably a pain the rump to arrange, but don't let him
take it out of the equation for that reason.

He said there
was an 85% success rate using that drug, but that wasn't what I read;
...........I don't know offhand - I'd have to go back and read more. By
itself, I kind of doubt it. The protocol seems to be vincristine AND
prednisone. I'd like to know where he got that statistic, if it's something
he read or has direct experience with. I always ask what THEIR experience
is - and what they consider a good outcome - quality of life, life
expectancy, how old the dogs were. I'm not a big fan of chemo unless it's
apparent that it's actually going to make a difference. It has a good track
record with lymphoma, but don't think that's true with the rest of the
canine cancers. I think in some cases it's just something they can DO,
offer someone something, whether or not it does much good.

I did read surgery was best and oncologist
mentioned only 3 vets in our area could possibly manage such a large op,
one
of whom worked at the hospital. After consulting with a surgeon there, I
really didn't think I wanted to go through it

........I don't blame you. With mast cell cancer, the first surgery is the
most important. Since they'd have to take some of your dog's muscle out, I
think I'd pass on that too. I had a lab with mast cell cancer. The lump
was on his side and he had a 9 inch incision as they tried to undermine the
skin and get all they could of the tumor and still have enough to stitch him
back together. He made it another 1/1/2 yrs and left the planet at over 13
yrs. I was offered nothing else, except Tagamet, which made him vomit.

I am trying to get an
appointment to see a holistic vet in the area.

..........good. Adjunctive therapy can be helpful. They could probably
even help you with decisions on standard treatment options. If nothing
else, I think I'd try prednisone as in high doses it acts like chemo.

good luck and keep us posted
buglady
take out the dog before replying