# Diagnosed today Oral Malignant Melanoma



## jennretz

Welcome to the forum. I'm so sorry you've heard this news on your boy Sammy. While I've had no experience with this, you will find a wealth of support from this forum. I'm hoping somebody who has more experience weighs in here for you.

For now, please accept a warm hug and suggestion to take a deep breath until you learn more from the oncologist. I know easier said than done. I've just found that it sometimes helps to tackle things just one step/day at a time. Please hang in there.


----------



## TheZ's

So very sorry to see the news about your Sammy. It's a terrible shock I'm sure.

Our Zeke had a malignant melanoma removed from his lip when he was a little over 10 yrs. old. When the biopsy results came back the vet advised further surgery to make sure he had gotten clean margins. In Zeke's case this didn't result in disfigurement or have any effect on his ability to eat etc. At the time the vet told us that if he survived for more than 3 months he likely would survive for a considerably longer time. He did experience a general decline (poor appetite and lower energy) and died in his sleep about 3 months later. A few days before he died he was noticeably worse and we were awaiting the results of further testing when he died.

I think I've read since that there is drug treatment for dogs with melanoma. Hoping that there is something that can be done for your Sammy.


----------



## LUCKYme

I feel sick. I am so sorry. 
Last year we had a scare with oral melanoma. After waiting two weeks for results we found out it was a benign growth, which was extremely rare and came as a huge shock to all our vets. With that being said, in those two weeks of waiting, I talked to numerous specialists. Thankfully a very good friend of mine is a orthopedic surgeon at a teaching hospital and with him being confident we would receive a cancer diagnosis, he set me up to chat with a few surgical oncologists. 
I will tell you the information I was given but please know that all cases and dogs are different. The information I was given implied even with surgery and chemo/ radiation the longest expected time would be a 1- 1.5 years. This depends greatly on the grading/ size of the tumor itself and the ability to get good margins. Ability to get good margins in the mouth is very difficult not to mention many times oral melanoma invade local bones which makes removal even more complicated. Locations of the tumor in the mouth also aids in the life expectancy. Ours was on the upper gum where it meets the lip. (Ill attach a picture) When you meet with a specialist they will be able to help lay this all out for you. I know waiting is horrible. I also know the internet has a lot of conflicting information on it. There was a great website that helped me and I will try to find it for you. 
I wish I had more information for you or better news. I will be thinking of you and sending many prayers. Like I said before, please know my experience is specific to my dog and yours may be completely different. Hang in there.


----------



## LUCKYme

Here is the website.... VSSO - Cancer Information

I was referred to this page by surgeons at Michigan State Veterinary Hospital. It is reliable information.


----------



## Harleysmum

I am so sorry that you have had this difficult diagnosis. You have some tough times ahead. I hope that you will receive good advice from your veterinary advisors to help you with the decisions you will have to make. You will find lots of support here.


----------



## Sammy's Ma

Thank you so much for the kind replies.

Z's I am so sorry to hear about Zeke it must have been a big shock happening so suddenly. Did they know if it had spread to any where else? Did they have any idea how long he had had the tumor before it was removed? My condolences to your family, and thank you for sharing that with me.

Lucky I will take a look at that web site and I am glad to hear yours turned out not to be malignant. I have a photo of the tumor taken just before it was removed, it is kind of growing upwards like a mushroom on a stalk and the vet only removed down to the skin. To remove it completely she said it would probably mean removing most of his lower jaw, I'm not prepared to do that though. 

I'll give an update when we see the oncologist on Thursday. I tried to insert the pic here but not sure if it is going to show up, it is in the album on my profile also.


----------



## TheZ's

Sammy's Ma said:


> . . . Z's I am so sorry to hear about Zeke it must have been a big shock happening so suddenly. Did they know if it had spread to any where else? Did they have any idea how long he had had the tumor before it was removed? My condolences to your family, and thank you for sharing that with me.



We never learned definitively if Zeke's melanoma had spread but we assume it had when he died about 3 months after the surgery.

My daughter was the one who first noticed it. When she pointed it out to me I thought it was just part of his lip, one of those black points along the side of his mouth. So it was there for possibly as much as a couple of months. When he was at the vet for something else I had them take a look at it and they said it should be biopsied.


----------



## Rainheart

These are not so friendly tumors- full staging I'm sure will be done by the oncologist. Luckily, it seems to be at an excellent site to be fully removed! The oncologist will want to do at bare minimum: Blood work, chest radiographs (3 views), lymph node aspirates of the submandibular nodes, potentially a CT scan if you want to be sure the tumor hasn't spread to the lungs (as a CT is more sensitive than radiographs). 
Hoping for the best news at the oncologist.


----------



## Sammy's Ma

Thank you Rainheart I hope you are right and it will be removable. We will see the oncologist tomorrow so I am hanging on waiting for some glimmer of hope. I wish I could work out how to get pics to show in my signature, Sammy is such a handsome and dignified dog I would love to show you all how he looks, he is a credit to his breed.


----------



## Sammy's Ma

Oh there he is!! Yay! That day was his first taste of snow, in Germany, he was born in Hawaii but as much as he loved the beach he adored the snow too!!


----------



## Karen519

*Sammy*

I am so very sorry to hear about your sweet boy, Sammy.
Glad you got his picture working.
I am doing a search on this forum on oral melanoma, think there are several topics.
http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/search.php?searchid=9856946
I'm sure every case is different.
Please keep us posted today. I will pray for you.


----------



## Ljilly28

So sorry to read this devestating post. You will definitely have to soul-search if there is a second opinion the same. There is no way to be wrong, if the dog has quality of life and no pain. For me personally, the chest and spleen xray would be really key in decision-making. I can see fighting the cancer in a huge battle if it hasnt spread, but if it had spread, for me, I would let my dog go earlier rather than after any suffering. It is so sad reading your post, and my heart goes out to your pain. Every decision you make with love is the right one.


----------



## Wolfeye

I got similar "bad news" last night. My beloved friend Fenris has cancer. Surgery removed a malignant melanoma from his mouth, and a couple other small growths at the same time. The mouth one was the bad one. Nevertheless, the smaller one by his ear proved too itchy for him to handle, so seven days after surgery I came home to find the stitches gone and a 1/2" hole where they used to be. Back to the vet for new stitches, and this time, a cone.

We're looking at options now too. Above all else is my desire to have him make it into the Spring and Summer because last Fall, I bought a boat, and didn't get a chance to use it. Never had one before. Even so, my one future image was of me and Fenris plying the waves, him standing at the bow, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the river. 

Here's hoping that both our dogs have happy and enjoyable times yet ahead!


----------



## 2tired

Sammy's Ma and Wolfeye---I am so sad to read of your dog's cancer diagnosis. I hope you have treatment options and ways of keeping them comfortable.


----------



## PrincessDi

So sorry for the diagnosis of cancer. I don't know if this will help, I just posted about a new hope for some types of cancer, electrochemotherapy. I'm posted the link here too. In the video they mention it as an option for some cancers of the mouth, nose and skin cancers as well. It is a relatively new thing in the US, but used for a couple of years in some areas of Europe. The dog featured had nose cancer and the owner was told by some that he would need to have in essence his dogs nose removed. The new treatment is pretty non invasive and is painless since they administer under anesthesia. The dog featured only needed one treatment.

My golden Keeper was diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma hemangio grade 1. We are waiting for the radiologist to read his lung xrays which is the place that rarely this type of cancer can metasize to. If clear, we will be taking him to Seattle to get 2 treatments of electrochemo. 

Holding you and your beloved goldies in our thoughts and prayers.

Expert Advice from the Animal Medical Center

In case the link does not work, google King5news Seattle, A New Day, Dr. Chelsea Tripp.


----------



## Laughingdog3

*There's hope*

When we received the diagnosis of oral cancer, we went online to understand more. After reading so many sad posts online, we were despondent. 

Now, many months later, I thought I'd write about our good news to give hope to owners who have just had the bad news about oral cancer in their dog.

Our 14 year old Irish Terrier was diagnosed with oral cancer at Christmas and was given an estimate of 3 months to live due to it being an aggressive type. We didn't feel we could put her through the ordeal of surgery to remove part of her jaw at her age, plus she has a heart condition. 

Over 5 months, it grew to the size of a kidney bean, which was slow, to our relief. When she showed signs of arthritis, we started giving her Metacam. 

Now, 9 months later, her tumour has shrunk to almost nothing. We're over the moon! 

Our vet is amazed. He said that he's read studies where they use Metacam to reduce bladder tumours. 

Supper happy it's worked on Tarka's mouth cancer. She'll be 15 next week and still loves a run on the beach.


----------



## Ivyacres

oh goodness. You're in our thoughts.


----------



## Sammy's Ma

***ORIGINAL POSTER UPDATE***
Thank you to everyone who has posted over the last year, and my sympathy and many hugs to all who have had similar diagnoses. It is so sad to hear of other people going through this, but I wanted to update to give hope to others from our story, don't worry it is GOOD news!

It has now been 15 months since Sammy was diagnosed with Oral Malignant Melanoma, and an estimated 18 months + since the tumor probably started developing, and guess what....... he is still here!! By my side and loving life!!! I do not know why and to me it feels like a miracle. 

We decided on no treatment, given his age and the prognosis and the invasive nature of the surgery to remove his jaw, we felt it was best in the end to just make him as comfortable as possible for as long as we could.

We were at the Vet's yesterday, his tumor, most of which was removed at the time that it was found (but not all) has grown back a very small amount, it is about the size and shape of an M & M, but there is no evidence or symptoms that indicate that it has spread to anywhere else in his body. He is not in pain, he still leaps up to go for his walks, chases his balls, and will dive into the lake by our house given the slightest chance! 

I wanted to update to give hope to those who go through anything similar. I was so completely devastated when I got the news, and I cried everyday for the first month. He would come and put his big head in my lap looking up at me with those sad eyes, and so then the second month I pulled myself together and tried to make sure that at least his last days would be fun. We started his 'Bucket List', we went kayaking, we went camping, we retired and moved out to the country and bought land where he would not have to be on a leash and he can patrol around his territory freely, we bought a boat to go out on the lake by our house, we started taking him out for hamburger lunches, we found a new park with a river and ducks that he loves to watch, we got chickens and he loves to hang out on the deck and guard them. In short, life has never been so good for this dog! Living every day like it might be your last certainly is exhausting, but he doesn't know life will ever end, and I never cry in front of him anymore.

Yesterday the vet did all his blood work, his kidneys and all vitals are good, she said that this does happen rarely, and that he could easily go on for years this way. If the cancer doesn't spread and the tumor gets large enough to be in his way we will have it 'debulked' but for now we are just thanking the universe for our good fortune, crossing our fingers, and continuing to make Sammy's life as happy as can be.


----------



## mylissyk

Happy tears for such wonderful news. I hope he has many years of defying the odds and living a full life!


----------



## jennretz

What a wonderful update of hope and encouragement!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Pilgrim123

That is great news. It sounds like the perfect retirement life suits Sammy down to the ground. By the sound of it, it's the sort of retirement every dog would thrive on!


----------



## B and G Mom

This is wonderful news!!!!


----------



## Helo's Mom

I loved reading your post! Sammy's retirement sounds ideal. I'm glad you all are having such fun and he's healthy and happy!! I hope this continues for a long long time!!!


----------



## Sammy's Ma

Sammy collapsed tonight, we live out in the country and the closest after-hours emergency vet was 40 mins away. Longest drive of my life, he was still breathing when we got there, but died just a few minutes later. They started to resuscitate but the vet told us he was gone, that if we got his heart and breathing going he was already brain dead. We told them to stop, and I went in the room and he was already gone. The house feels so odd and empty, I miss him so much.
I just don't even have the words, this hurts like when my parents died. He was by my side for 13 years I feel lost.


----------



## Helo's Mom

I am so sorry for the loss of your special boy. I'm happy you were able to have him for 13 years, especially after his cancer diagnosis. Rest in Peace sweet Sammy.


----------



## scinnamon538

Drogi przyjacielu,
Obecnieprowadzę blog na temat raka jamy ustnej u jamy, a konkretnie czerniaka. Czy ktoś z był przy okazji, gdy występowały akcje ze swoim wpisem psa i współdzielił współautorkę wymiany i wynikami badań? Chcę stworzyć stronę internetową, która będzie zamierzała dla każdego właściciela zwierzaka, który ze względu na tą informację się z postanowiłem.
pozdrowienia
Sally


----------

