# Need help: 11 year old Golden with tons of mast cell tumors



## jealous1

I'm sorry I don't have any advice except to make as many wonderful memories as you can while she feels good. My heart goes out to you as so many of us here have lost goldens to cancer. I am sorry you have found this forum this way but it is a wealth of information. 

Bumping up so hopefully one of our other members who have had some experience with this type of cancer can chime in.


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## Love Cassidy

Thank you for your kind reply. I love my little one so much, and am just in such a loss. I've read this site before, and am glad to have finally reached out.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom

I'm so sorry. Love your girl and try your very best to live in the moment like she does.


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## Duke's Momma

I have no experience with this type of cancer, but many here do - sadly.

I'm just sorry you and your sweet girl are going through this. Like Penny & Maggie's Mom said - live in the moment. Love her like the dickens and make more precious memories while you can.


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## lucysmum

I too have no experience with this type of cancer. But like the others have said... love her up.. make as many happy memories as you can.

Praying for you and your baby.

Hugs


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## jchena

I'm so sorry for you and your girl. I'm new to this board as well...my dog has possible osteosarcoma, so I know exactly how you're feeling. As long as she feels good and is happy - that's all you can ask for. It's what keeps me going through the unknown. Good luck to you - I've found the people on this board as warm and caring as our beloved goldens!


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## Karen519

*Love Cassidy*

Love Cassidy

I am so very sorry for what you and your girl are going through.

Does the vet think she is in pain? I always ask what they think.

If she is not in pain as everyone else said, treasure every day you have with her.


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## goldencontriever3

I am so sorry you and your pup are going through this. We rescued a 12 year old in August who just had a mast cell tumor removed from under her tongue. We decided to try chemo with palladia since the oncologist felt that it would grow back in two months and she would not be able to eat. Sky tolerated the treatment well. It is a costly treatment. Has your oncologist given you any other options?


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## Love Cassidy

The oncologist said there are basically two options: 1) the tumors will get to her internally and she'll just feel run down and we'll know it's time; or 2) the tumors will cover her entire body, but she'll still feel ok. Both options aren't great, but the oncologist said that besides the heavy doses of prednisone, there isn't anything else she can do.

Thanks again for everyone's kind thoughts. This is really tough...


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## Rachael2633

My girl is currently under treatment for mast cell cancer. One of her lymph nodes became very enlarged. She had no symptoms and acted completely normal. After bloodwork, ultrasounds, spleen biopsy it didn't seem to have spread. She went through 3 doses of chemo which shrunk the tumor small enough to remove it. In her case the chemo did not cure it, it just controlled it some. She had that surgery last week. She was put on benedryl, pepsid and prednisone to help with some of the issues that mast cell tumors cause. There is no way to tell if it has already spread. In her case if it comes back I think we will give her lots of love and keep her comfortable. We were told that we could do chemo at longer intervals to "maybe" help control it but I don't think we will do that. It sounds like what your oncologist told you is basically the same thing we where told. Sorry you and your baby are having to go through that, it is very hard.


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## Karen519

*Cassidy*

I am praying for your Cassidy and you every night.


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## CAROLINA MOM

*Love Cassidy*-a little over a month ago I lost my 15.5 yr. old Golden boy. He'd had several growths appear on him during the course of the last year that we had checked regularly. He had been doing great up until the first of Feb. when all of a sudden he got several large growths that started oozing and bleeding. In a matter of weeks, he went down hill very fast and very hard. We had to let him go because he was in pain.

My heart goes out to you-I am so very sorry your girl is going through this. It's hard on all of you. Make the most of the time you have with her, cherish every moment and when the time is right to let her go, you will know it.


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## citizen_jane

I'm *so very sorry *to hear about the poor dogs that are dealing with these mast cell tumors. I just lost my girl, Twiggy yesterday to this cancer. We found her first tumor 1 year ago and it was removed with clear margins, grade 2. Another tumor 3 months later, removed with clear margins grade 1. Then a few months later a tumor on her vulva appeared. The vet said this one would not be removed with clear margins. So we put her on the pred and benardyl. 

She did great for a few more months then she started acting sick in Dec. The spot of her original tumor (on her chest had several new tumors) and the lymph node in her neck was enlarged. The vet confirmed that the cancer had spread. She uped her pred and told us she had about 2 months left. We did everything to make her happy during that time. She seemed mostly normal during the next few months and she lived a month longer than the vet thought. I am so grateful for that. 

When she started to get sick it was very fast. At first she would not eat then a few hours later she would not drink. Within hours to was clear that this was it. 

My best advice it to enjoy every single minute. Think of this time as a gift that not everyone gets. Keep up the meds too. 

Please let me know if you have any specific questions. I send you love.


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## citizen_jane

I had little time to think about your post and now that I've stopped crying over all our dogs, I can actually give you some more meaningful advice. I wish I could tell you what to do to cure your dog but I can't do that. I feel terrible for the thoughts I'm going to bring up but I wish I knew more about what to do when the end finally did come. Here are a few things I learned or things you should think about:

1. bright red skin, what's happening?
This was before the vet had told us that Twiggy's tumor had gone to her lymph node but after we found the tumor that was inoperable. I noticed that she has in pain. She would stand up stiffly and then lay down again stiffly and couldn't seem to walk. I couldn't figure out what was wrong then I got a look at her chest between her front legs (this is where her original tumor was). There was a new tumor near the incision site and then skin was very bright blue and pruple at that spot. But her skin was bright red all over her chest, to her leg and down her entire leg, up to her chin and her lower jaw was swollen. We went straight to the vet. She told us this was an acute histamine reaction from the tumor and that it happened in other dogs with mast cell tumors. I had never read this and didn't expect it. She said to give her pepcid AC if it happened again. So ask your vet about that. 

2. side effects from the pred:
Our vet put Twiggy on 1.5 pred every 24 hours. She weighted about 75 pounds. The dose isn't important just that it had the side effects of making her extremely thirsty and hungry. We keep our 2 dogs in our bedroom at night because my other dog barks. She would wake us up multiple times at night to drink and go outside then get up early to eat. We experimented but put a bowl of water (only half filled) in the bathroom for her to drink at night. I changed her food routine too. She got 3 cups a day. I changed her schedule to get 1 in the morning, 1 at dinner and then 1 cup right before bed. Eventually I decreased the pred to just 1 tablet every 24 hour. She was finally able to able to sleep all night and only wake me up at 5:30 to eat. I decided that even though the pred was prolonging her life if it was making her so hungry and thirsty that it was affecting the quality of the time she had left it wasn't worth it. Again she lived a month longer than expected. Talk to your vet about the pred side effects.

3. talk to your vet about the end and have a plan:
I would recommend asking your vet what signs and symptoms to watch for. With Twiggy she was mostly normal until she stopped eating and drinking then she went downhill very fast. She also had a fever so she must of had an infection. I wish I had thought about what to watch for as she was dying. I had no idea what I was doing and was unprepared for what happened.  She stopped eating Sat morning and by Sat night I knew it was the end. I expected her to go to sleep and not wake up. That did not happen. It was not peaceful and since she didn't pass at home over the night I couldn't watch her suffer anymore. I needed an emergency vet office that was open Sun morning. Fortunately I knew where to go. I truly wish I had taken her earlier but I didn't want to move her. Which brings me to my last point. She weighted over 70 pounds and was completely immobile but in pain. It was very difficult for my husband and I to get her to the car. You may need to plan for this or talk to your vet. Mostly find out where to go or who to call if it's at night or the weekend.

I'm so sorry this is happening to you. I wish there was a cure but the best plan is to think ahead and get some answers when you are able to think clearly. I hope this helps. I'm off to find another box of tissues. Sending love your way.


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## Dallas Gold

I am so sorry for both of you Rachel and Citizen Jane that your dogs are/were victims to cancer. I'm not familiar with this type of cancer, just knew of several dogs that got this type and lived for several years later. I also heard of Palladia as a vaccine/treatment.

I hope you don't mind me asking a couple of questions. We're taking our Toby in tomorrow for his vet to look at a lump that appeared on his head overnight. We noticed it on Saturday night for the first time.  We hope/think it may be a hardened cyst (it's tiny), but this is his first lump so we are getting it checked out for peace of mind. 

1. Do either of you have a photo of a mast cell tumor you can post? I've only seen some that are red and crusted over and we aren't seeing that on Toby.

2. Citizen Jane, you mention one lymph node was involved. Only one? Toby has an enlarged lymph node in the intestines we're watching, going on 2 months now. No other nodes are enlarged by sonogram and physical exams.

Citizen Jane, I'm very sorry for your loss and Rachael, I hope you have many good days with your girl.


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## citizen_jane

That's right, Twiggy only had 1 of her lymph nodes affected. It was nearly as big as a soft ball but it was still only the one. It was in her neck.

Twiggy had several tumors that looked different. One was under the skin and would change in size. The fact that it got bigger and smaller then bigger was a very important symptom. If felt like something under the skin. The one on her side looked kind of like a bumpy wart on the surface of her skin but it got ulcerated which is also a sign to watch for. She had several fatty tumors (that are harmless) that the doctor's ID's to biopsy. My mom's lab has lots of fatty tumors and the vet always checks them but they're fine. None of her lumps were ever "hard".

And yes mast cell tumors are very common. It's not uncommon to remove them and have no further problems. We found Twiggy wandering our neighborhood so I don't know anything about her first 5-6 years of life. I think we had her for maybe 2 years before her first tumor was found for the first time. At that time the doctor just wanted to watch it. I have no idea if the outcome would have been different if we had had the first lump removed earlier. It seems to me some forms are aggressive and some aren't .


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## Karen519

*Love Cassidy*

Love Cassidy

I will be praying for Cassidy and you.
For my hubby and I if we were put in a cancer situation, we would not do the treatment, just keep our dogs comfortable and shower them with love and attention.


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## Rachael2633

Dallas-Gold...I don't have any pictures of what Sandy's Mast Cell tumors looked like. She actually had two spots that were found on her ears by the vet during another type of surgery. These were taken off and sent to lab and this is how we found out she had mast cell cancer. One had clear margins and the other did not. Nine months later one of her lymph nodes above her shoulder became enlarged. The Oncologist told us that this may have something to do with the spots from her ears since these lymph nodes drain that area. Since then we have found different "spots" on her. They checked them out before we did her surgery and all were nothing to worry about. She has a few fatty tumors but everytime I fine something new my heart drops. Good luck at the vet...I hope it turns out to be nothing to worry about.


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## Love Cassidy

I, too, don't have any pictures, but I will try to get some tonight and post tomorrow. 

As a background, she has always been a little bit lumpy. The vet has watched these lumps and they were very slow to increase in size if they did at all and all the aspirations the vet did said they were just fatty tissue. Then in October, she developed what I thought was another lump on her shoulder. The lump was different in that it would grow and shrink in size almost daily. The vet aspirated it and told us it was a mast cell and that we needed to operate. The operation went well in December. There were good margins, stage 2. It had spread to one of her lymph nodes, so they decided the best thing would be to take out that node. We did xrays after and there was no indication that the tumor had spread.

In early February, she developed two more lumps, in different places than the original tumor. We went to the oncologist who said that Cass would only have about 6 months left and that chemo would/could only prolong her life by another 3. So, we opted to just keep her comfortable.

The main issue now, is that she probably has over 50 tumors on her body, and at least 1/3 of them have ulcerated and are bloody and oozing. The vet said she's only seen mast cell tumors be this prolific very very rarely. We're on 40 mg of pred., antacid (Pepcid I think), and benedryl. She seems to still have mostly good days, which I'm happy about.

Citizen Jane, thank you for the good advice. I'm trying to hold back tears. I know we need a plan for when it is time, but I just get so emotional. 

Thanks again for everyone's good thoughts. I will try to get pictures tonight (although it isn't pretty).


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## Dallas Gold

Thank you both for answering my questions. 

We took our Toby to the vet this morning and it was examined, aspirated and turns out it is a sebaceous adenoma, totally benign, but will not go away and will probably grow. It literally appeared overnight on Saturday night so it's not very big now. The next time he has a sedated dental evaluation we will have them carve it out. Our vet reassured us we did the right thing by getting it checked out and not trying to pick at it ourselves. Who knew that sometimes the materials in these things goes into their systems and causes bad allergic reactions, if the owner tries to pick or squeeze it out? :yuck::doh: We had his ears and his teeth checked out at the same time and came home with a blood pressure machine to take several readings over the next few days to monitor his blood pressures, which tend to be high. 

Love Cassidy, now that we've gotten Toby checked out, if it's too hard to take photos that's perfectly fine. I appreciate your willingness to try.


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## Love Cassidy

I'm sobbing as writing this, but I think we're at the end. It's just so hard to actually think we're there...I'm being selfish..just thinking about what it's going to be like when I come home and she's not there...what it's going to be like to wake up and she's not wagging her tail to go out.

But, she's in pain, she had a good day, but the first in many bad ones. I'd rather her go to sleep when she still knows who I am, right? 

I'm just so at a loss about when I should make "the decision." Is it after a good day? A bad day? 

I'm sorry for the ramblings.


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## Claire's Friend

When the pain comes, I let them go. I am so very, very sorry you are going through this. It almost killed me when I had to say Good bye to my girls. But in the end, you do what's best for them. Your love for them makes you strong enough to do it. Please take care during this difficult time.


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## Oaklys Dad

So sorry for the position you are in. With my dogs that I've helped across the bridge it has always been very obvious to me that they were not enjoying life. It is the toughest yet kindest decision you can ever make for your pet.


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## GoldensGirl

Love Cassidy said:


> I'm sobbing as writing this, but I think we're at the end. It's just so hard to actually think we're there...I'm being selfish..just thinking about what it's going to be like when I come home and she's not there...what it's going to be like to wake up and she's not wagging her tail to go out.
> 
> But, she's in pain, she had a good day, but the first in many bad ones. I'd rather her go to sleep when she still knows who I am, right?
> 
> I'm just so at a loss about when I should make "the decision." Is it after a good day? A bad day?
> 
> I'm sorry for the ramblings.


My heart goes out to you and to your girl. 

As others here will tell you, it is better to let them go a day too soon than a day too late. When you let your girl go, you will hurt very badly, but she will rest in peace and never hurt again. Trust your love for her, as she does.

With healing thoughts and prayers,
Lucy


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## jealous1

My heart is breaking for you right now. I copied the below response that one of our members wrote to someone who was in a similar situation as you find yourself (I am sorry, I did not copy who) because it was said so much better than I could ever express:

_It's such a personal choice and so unique to each situation. We have imperfect knowledge, so we cannot make perfect decisions. However, any decision made with only the dog's best interest in mind is a good one. You cannot go wrong if you're trying to do what's best for your pup._

_I've always chosen to put the dog down before the crash whenever I could. I'd rather lose some time that put them through unnecessary suffering, so I tend to err on that side of things. Some people play the odds a little differently. The only thing that matters is that the decisions are made with love. A dog would never begrudge her person a few days, nor would she begrudge the risk of side effects as you try to buy her some more quality of life._

_. . . _

_Make your decision with love and you can't go wrong. Only you can make the right one._


My thoughts and prayers are with you.


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## Rastadog

*Love Cassidy*

I went though a similar end game with my first golden and heart dog. She had 30-40 m.c. tumors. I stopped the pred because it hurt her tummy and she liked to eat. Cassidy will let you know when it's time. It sounds like it's soon. Try and take comfort in your ability to end her pain. She will know it's you when the time comes. She will know your love and understand that your love is unconditional. Then go and do what is in Cassidy's best interests. After I put my girl down she looked so peaceful. It made me realize how sick she felt. It was time to let her go so I did with no regrets. It was my final act of love. I was relieved to stop her pain. I'm sorry Alex


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## Dallas Gold

I'm so sorry to read your post and my heart is breaking for you as you face the decision we never want to encounter. HUGS...


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## Bud Man Bell

Praying for you. When you make up your mind that it is time just know you are not alone. Too many on this forum have had to make the choice to release their babies from pain and suffering Whatever you decide it will be with love.
Bonnie&Buddy


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## ggdenny

I am really so sorry for you and your girl. I can read the intense pain in your post and my heart aches for you. A lot of us here have been in your position and we know just how difficult it is. You and your baby are in my thoughts.


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## Love Cassidy

My little baby girl crossed the Rainbow Bridge last night around 8:30. To the end, she was our baby. She made us smile and let us know she loved us. 

Today is rough. I just can't believe my little girl is gone. I keep looking for her and catch myself after I remember that she's not with us anymore. I know it will (hopefully) get easier over time, but I just can't imagine our lives without her. 

I hope that she's at peace now. That she has a ball in her mouth. That she's getting lots of butt rubs. That she's loved and know she was loved.

I miss you so much, Cassidy. I miss you with everything in my whole body.


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## jealous1

I am so sorry to hear of your loss. From your posts, I can assure you that Cassidy knew she was loved by you and would never want to bring you any pain. While it seems so much like a cliche, time will eventually help you through your loss; in the meanwhile, may the many beautiful memories she has left you with comfort you in the days to come. Please post some of those memories and pictures on here; there are so many of us who know your pain and by sharing them with us can hopefully help ease yours.

Rest in peace, Cassidy--run like the wind at the bridge.


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## Dallas Gold

I am so sorry for your loss and the pain you are feeling missing her right now. Cassidy was loved and she took that knowledge with her to the Bridge. She's now watching over you. HUGS during this terribly sad time.


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## PB&J

I am so so sorry for your loss.


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## citizen_jane

I am so sorry. It's so hard right now and I know you miss her so much. I'm glad that she's no longer in pain.


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## LibertyME

Im so very sorry for your loss...


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. Many of us have had to decide to grant that final gift. You have taken on the pain so she could be free of hers. Hugs to you and your family.


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## ELI&BAILEY'S MOM

I am so, so sorry for your loss.


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## magiclover

I'm so sorry about your loss. It is so very hard to lose them. You are in my thoughts and prayers. Godspeed sweet Cassidy.


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## Karen519

*Love Cassidy*

Love Cassidy

You did the right thing, BECAUSE you loved her. Cassidy is playing with all our our furbabies at the Rainbow Bridge, including my Smooch and Snobear.

I am so very sorry for the pain, but now your Cassidy is at peace.


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## GoldensGirl

I am so very sad for you, but also relieved that Cassidy is at peace. She knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that you love her and she is grateful that your love was strong enough to spare her the agony she faced otherwise. 

She will watch over you with love to match yours for her.

Holding you in my heart and in my prayers,
Lucy


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## Claire's Friend

I am so very sorry for your loss.


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## Love Cassidy

Thank you so much for everyone's comments. It's really been a source of comfort (and a bit of pain) to hear that there are others out there who know what I'm feeling.

It's now been three day since I've held my little girl. I go between states of numbness and then intense pain. I just miss her so much. I miss the mundane moments of her just sitting by my feet and waking me up in the morning. 

I picked up her ashes today. It's been a bad day, but I do feel a bit comforted to know she's here with me. 

Thank you again.


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## ctwiner

*My Labrador has mast cells in her lymph node now*

Hi all

The stories on here prompted me to sign up. 

First a little history
My dog Sophie is 8.5 years old. We found lumps appearing on her in January of this year and took her to the vet. He aspirated and although the majority were benign fatty lumps, there was one cauliflower looking growth that he wanted checked, we sent it to histology on removal of all her lumps. She had a benign cyst under the muscle of her trunk about the size of a small fist! Anyway the report came back as a Grade 1, we though fantastic news. Another month went by and a few further lumps appeared, in similar areas, she had only just about healed from the first surgery when we had to take her in again. This time the vet excised a lot of tissue from the area, in an effort to remove it completely. He sent this one to a different lab and it came back as grade 2, not too good and because of the location radiation therapy would be very difficult. The radiation therapy would run around $6000 and require her to be anesthetized around 15-20 times for the radiation to be aimed correctly, we just could not do that to her. We just hoped. We noticed a swelling on her paw about a month or two later, and it looked exactly like a seed had irritated her paw and caused irritation, and of course she did what Labradors do and licked the heck out of it. We took her to the vet again (yes we are at about $3000 now with tests and surgeries) and it was decided to investigate for a stuck foreign object and remove it if necessary, needless to say it was necessary. She recovers very quickly and her paw seemed normal after that. Well the next chapter is occurring now. I noticed the other day her opposite front leg to the surgery was swollen, the entire leg, and on further investigation she had "loose" skin appearing at the top of her leg. The Vet is a little confused, we checked her lymph and he could find no mast cells, but as a precaution put her on benadryl. We took her back again last night as the swelling was worse, if you can imagine a dog looking like popeye on the one side, she is it. This swelling has been accompanied by a lot more drinking which we have been monitoring. When he aspirated her lymph again this time he found mast cells in the lymph. We suspect we are on the slipper slope towards her final days, but its very difficult to deduce a time frame. She is still eating, drinking and peeing and seems fairly happy. In people experience have you seen or heard of anything like this, I suspect the drinking might be related to excess stomach acid as i have read elsewhere and the vet is calling today, so i will discuss that with him. I am just confused by the significant swelling on her entire front leg and the "loose" skin down her left hand side, extremely weird. BTW we did find further lumps recently but cannot keep putting her through the surgery, she does not know what is going on when she has it. Anyways just want to get it off my chest and tell you all the stories and pictures are a great way to begin dealing with the inevitable.

:crossfing


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## Rachael2633

My golden, Sandy, had mast cell tumors also. Radiation was not a choice for us either because of where the mast cell tumor was. We did 3 rounds of chemo, which shrunk the size of the tumor and then surgery to remove it. A couple of weeks after surgery she started swelling above where the tumor was removed. The oncologist aspirated it and it was due to her mast cell disease. We choose to keep her comfortable. She was on bendryl, pepcid and prednisone. Ctwiner, Did you vet put Sophie on pepcid to help with the acid?


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## GoldensGirl

Ctwiner, welcome to the Forum. It might be good for you to start a new thread, so people with experience in this know that a newcomer needs help. You'll find a lot of support here.

So sorry that you and your sweet girl are going through this.


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## lgwynne

Hi, I have a jack russell. She is my life literally. She has mast cell tumor on her side and a couple others. She also has breast cancer. The large tumor on her side is about the size of a tangerine I guess. It has ruptured several times, bleeding badly and the vet gave me neo predef powder and prednisone. It hasn't bled bad in 2 weeks but now is oozing clearish fluid that is as bad as the blood. What is this? Any clue? So distressed trying to keep my baby happy.


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## Pilgrim123

Hello and welcome to the forum. Your question really needs a thread of its own, so you can get the help you need. 
I am so sorry to hear about your little dog. Firstly, I am not a vet, but neo predef is usually used for hotspots, those horrible weepy sores dogs can get. Having said that, it makes pretty good sense. The powder contains a decent antibiotic, which will fight any infections, a type of cortisone which reduces inflammation and a local anaesthetic to reduce pain. 
I think it may be time to take your dog back to the vets, so you can work out properly what is going on with her and to find out what to do. It must not be fun for her with such a large weeping sore on her side.
Please let us know what is going on and what the vet says.


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