My 14 year-plus Golden girl Sassy developed a Mast Cell tumor that ruptured last Wednesday. She had this lump for more than year along with many others that had been previously biopsied and determined to be non-cancerous. Given her age we decided more than a year ago that if she developed cancer we would not do surgery or chemo, rather give palliative care. However, this did hit us as quite a shock when suddenly the relatively small lump the vet had assumed was just fatty suddenly ballooned and ruptured in one day. No warning signs that she was even ill. We got her in as soon as possible early the next morning and vet aspirated it and a test showed it was a Mast Cell tumor. Vet said if she was younger she would remove it, but given her age she's not a good candidate for surgery. So, she prescribed Prednisone to shrink it as well has Benadryl 3 times a day to block the histamine released from the tumor, medicated powder to dry up the wound, and a pain med. She also diagnosed her with hypothyroid. She weighed 92 pounds and we've only fed her 3 cups dry food and half a can of wet food a day for the past three years trying to control her weight. But she continued to gain. (I am a little irked that the vet who sees her twice a year didn't check her thyroid sooner.)
But the big thing is the cancer. Because she had been on Deramax for arthritis she couldn't start the prednisone for three days. The aspiration irritated the tumor and released more histamine. an antibotic made her nauseous. She couldn't get up or down by herself. It was absolutely horrible. She whimpered, the sore oozed and bled lightly. By the day following the diagnosis I was so broken hearted over the pain I called the vet and asked about putting her to sleep. I just couldn't bear seeing my Sassy in pain. The vet talked me out of it, saying wait until she could get on Prednisone and the thyroid med had time to take effect. I'm so glad I did!
By the next evening, she took a turn for the better. Got up by herself and ate all her food (which I changed to half a home-cooked cancer meal). Maybe it's the thyroid med, maybe the diet with varied alternative supplements, but she became perkier than in a couple of years, and seemed to have no pain!
The Prednisone shrank the tumor until it's hardly a raised place on her stomach. It had been the size of half a tennis ball.
But the tumor still had an opening line where it had ruptured. By yesterday morning it had stopped oozing but there was a black spot about the size of a quarter in the middle. We assumed it was just clotted blood. Then at 2 pm I noticed it had grown out of her tumor. It looked like something from the movie Alien. As long and as big around as my thumb and turning blacker every minute. By the time I was able to get my vet on the phone it had started shriveling, making it look like a limp fig. I sent the vet pictures and she said she had never seen anything like it before. She advised me to resume antibiotic and just wait a couple of days. It wasn't bothering Sassy. She was even trying to lay on it.
Still, as the fig shriveled, the wound around it opened. I took her in anyway this morning because I'm worried it will get infected. Again, the vet said it was weird and she's never seen anything like it. She moved it around like a ball in a socket, then put antibiotic cream inside. She says the black protrusion is dead tissue, probably just skin that will fall off, but it will leave an open wound that may or may not heal up. She says she can't sew up a mast cell tumor. She doesn't recommend me flushing the wound, only putting in the antibiotic cream and continuing to apply prescribed powder. But given the vet's never seen anything like it, I can't help but wonder if it's something else. Could the tumor have died and is leaving her body? Has anyone else ever experienced this with a Mast Cell tumor?
It may not make a difference in her treatment since we aren't doing surgery but I still would like to know.
On the bright side, she seems happier than she has been in a few years. I realize now that she's had a thyroid problem all along and feel bad about being so ignorant that I didn't ask the vet to check it long ago. But at least we may have some quality time and she's eating better than me.
But the big thing is the cancer. Because she had been on Deramax for arthritis she couldn't start the prednisone for three days. The aspiration irritated the tumor and released more histamine. an antibotic made her nauseous. She couldn't get up or down by herself. It was absolutely horrible. She whimpered, the sore oozed and bled lightly. By the day following the diagnosis I was so broken hearted over the pain I called the vet and asked about putting her to sleep. I just couldn't bear seeing my Sassy in pain. The vet talked me out of it, saying wait until she could get on Prednisone and the thyroid med had time to take effect. I'm so glad I did!
By the next evening, she took a turn for the better. Got up by herself and ate all her food (which I changed to half a home-cooked cancer meal). Maybe it's the thyroid med, maybe the diet with varied alternative supplements, but she became perkier than in a couple of years, and seemed to have no pain!
The Prednisone shrank the tumor until it's hardly a raised place on her stomach. It had been the size of half a tennis ball.
But the tumor still had an opening line where it had ruptured. By yesterday morning it had stopped oozing but there was a black spot about the size of a quarter in the middle. We assumed it was just clotted blood. Then at 2 pm I noticed it had grown out of her tumor. It looked like something from the movie Alien. As long and as big around as my thumb and turning blacker every minute. By the time I was able to get my vet on the phone it had started shriveling, making it look like a limp fig. I sent the vet pictures and she said she had never seen anything like it before. She advised me to resume antibiotic and just wait a couple of days. It wasn't bothering Sassy. She was even trying to lay on it.
Still, as the fig shriveled, the wound around it opened. I took her in anyway this morning because I'm worried it will get infected. Again, the vet said it was weird and she's never seen anything like it. She moved it around like a ball in a socket, then put antibiotic cream inside. She says the black protrusion is dead tissue, probably just skin that will fall off, but it will leave an open wound that may or may not heal up. She says she can't sew up a mast cell tumor. She doesn't recommend me flushing the wound, only putting in the antibiotic cream and continuing to apply prescribed powder. But given the vet's never seen anything like it, I can't help but wonder if it's something else. Could the tumor have died and is leaving her body? Has anyone else ever experienced this with a Mast Cell tumor?
It may not make a difference in her treatment since we aren't doing surgery but I still would like to know.
On the bright side, she seems happier than she has been in a few years. I realize now that she's had a thyroid problem all along and feel bad about being so ignorant that I didn't ask the vet to check it long ago. But at least we may have some quality time and she's eating better than me.
