Mast cell tumors

**einstein's legacy** · 02-20-2007, 06:34 PM

If they are not too advanced, should they be removed? I recall reading quite a while back that once open to the air they spread 2x-3x as fast. Anyone have any info?

**lab13** · 02-20-2007, 08:24 PM

My advice to you is to remove any mast cell tumours that your dog has now. My lab has had 9 removed in the past three years.

My older dog had a mast cell tumour that we thought was just a cyst at the time and after 9 months it had developed very large within her stomach area. It was a tough operation but she did well and is now almost 12, 5 years later!! So remove them as you find them.

What is your vet recommending? If they know it is a mast cell tumour why are they not recommeding it to be removed, is it because your dog is older in age??

Also, whenever they are removed the vet should give a shot of benedryl before the surgery for sure.

Good luck and keep us posted.

**CHOCOLATA** · 02-20-2007, 10:11 PM

We just had one removed recently. My dog is 1.5 yrs old - it was scary. Besides removing the tumor, I would start doing some research on nutrition and prevention. While any dog can get cancer - remember that carbohydrates feed cancer. We switched to a different diet of protein, fats, and vegetables, and hope that the sucker will never come back.

**einstein's legacy** · 02-20-2007, 10:43 PM

This is not for any of my labs, but for a friend who has the sibling of one of mine, we don't know if they're from the same liter or not (they're rescues). I spoke with her a short while ago and the vet is recommending removal.

**tangelo53** · 02-21-2007, 01:23 PM

Originally Posted by einsteins legacy

If they are not too advanced, should they be removed? I recall reading quite a while back that once open to the air they spread 2x-3x as fast. Anyone have any info?

Sorry for the ignorance, but what exactly is a mass cell tumor? My chocolate lab has 2 "lumps" that I pointed out to my vet. He extracted some fluid from them and said they were fine....nothing to be worried about....are these tumors? I thought they were just like fatty tissue or something.

kjustiss · 02-21-2007, 02:24 PM

[quote=tangelo53 ]

Originally Posted by einsteins legacy

I recall reading quite a while back that once open to the air they spread 2x-3x as fast. Anyone have any info?

Our vet said that air exposure can cause them to grow faster. I have heard an oncologist say the same thing about cancer in humans. I don't think it's an absolute, I think some types, some times, it can make it grow faster.

**lab13** · 02-21-2007, 03:36 PM

The lumps that you had the vet test were probably lipomas ( fatty lumps),

My labs mast cell tumours looked like a full roundish mosquito bite . They are red and can change daily up and down in size.

**CHOCOLATA** · 02-21-2007, 11:54 PM

The reason why they change in size is because the Mast Cells contain histamine which makes the tumors bigger when stimulated. When Chocolata had her tumor, some days it was very small and some days bigger in size. My vet told me that she did not find anything, but I was not happy with the answer and found the answer somewhere else. I would definitely watch the (hopefully just) fatty tumors. IF they grow in size, or change in any way I would go back to the vet.