# Labrador with Mast Cell disease



## ctwiner (Jun 28, 2011)

*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.

I am posting this in a new thread as someone suggested, thanks
*


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## vcm5 (Apr 20, 2011)

I am so sorry for all the trouble your poor dog is having. Good luck. On a happier note, welcome to the forum! We'd love to see pictures of your dog!


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## DaisyGolden (Jan 4, 2008)

I'm sorry that you and Sophie have been through so much.


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## ctwiner (Jun 28, 2011)

I added a picture of her

http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/members/18253-ctwiner-albums1959-sophie.html


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## ctwiner (Jun 28, 2011)

We made the decision late yesterday to put Sophie to sleep, we know she was not the same dog a week ago and was rapidly declining. After reading the messages about "a day early rather than a day late" it helped us to make the decision... hard as it was. She knows we loved her and she kept trying to be the dog she once was, but after taking her for her one last walk around the block, she never tugged on the leash whereas she would have previously. We are truly sad, a member of our family is gone... and we did it. Its going to take a while to get over this...


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## Cadie (Jun 14, 2011)

I am so sorry.


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*CTWiner*

CTWINER

I am so very sorry about Sophie, but happy that she is at peace and in no pain.
I as hundreds of others here, know how it feels to lose a dog you love.
I hope you will continue to come back to this forum.


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## Rainheart (Nov 28, 2010)

I am so sorry to hear about Sophie. May she run free at the bridge.


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

As a labrador lover as I am a golden lover....I am so sorry to hear about Sophie. Run Free pretty girl! 

So sorry for your loss. Your welcome to stay and visit with us.


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