Growths/Tumors on Dogs - Page 1

Life is full of strange coincidences. Even as I made the post, "Dogs Detecting Cancer", I immediately discovered that my dog, Mojo, was licking vigorously at his inner arm. About two years ago, I had noticed a smallish, dark colored growth and brought it to my vets attention. They were of the the opinion to be on the cautious side and told me to watch it, and just be vigilant for changes.

It was last night, he started licking it. And today, I have to say— there are indeed, changes. I was drinking my coffee and thinking about calling the vet because my cat has been sneezing, a chronic thing, and I don't know, the vibes must have been something fierce. Even as I was thinking I should have them both looked at, the phone rang. It was my vet! They wanted to check up on the cat's thyroid testing, (he's older) and I don't know, but I took it as a sign from the universe, and got the appointment in a few hours, for the cat. I took photo's of Mojo's growth he was obsessing on, and the color was changed, the size, yes, looked bigger. Any way, during the cat appointment I showed the vet the picts of Mojo's growth and we made an appointment for Tues, planning on a surgery. I have seen other people's pets with growth's that went too far, and really I don't want to even go that route.

So, I apologize to Lanhau about my comment in "Dogs Detecting Cancer" because I thought it was off topic there. I think it really is very appropriate here.

I don't like that lump. :( Best wishes for a totally successful surgery and no recurrence.

Thanks Jen, knowing you are thinking like I am, really tells me— I need to get this thing off him.

Reminds me of one on a horse The owner left it  "because" and it grew in around the leg tendons and they no longer could operate.

Simon (APBT, turning 9 in June) had a mast cell tumor that grew *very* rapidly and needed to shrink in order to operate without needing skin grafts due to location (right between elbow and shoulder- very hard area) and I gave him some supplements and put him on a strict cancer diet and within about 2 weeks it had gone from large marble size to small marble size and we were able to operate. It was a year this December and there is no sign of recurrence. I have continued to keep him on a modified cancer diet and give the supplement.

I echo Jenni's viewpoint, and your own. Don't like that growth, and glad you're getting it off ASAP, bee.

Hugs to Mojo, and the Baby Buffalo Rhino, too.

Hope all goes well and sending positive thoughts for both you and Mojo.

Thanks for the positive thoughts@ Admins and hexe. I do appreciate them all! My "baby" Rhino is a good 92 lbs. these days, and he enjoyed his hug! Mojo, too, but he is a bit on the aloof side. 

Jenni, I would be interested in what your supplements and cancer diet is that you have for Simon. I remember him! Mojo turned 9 in September. Supposedly, the GSD is not too common for this type of tumor? I've seen it on a lab, and it grew to the size of a grapefruit before the owner let him go. 

Position is a concern, at least the tech anyway mentioned grafts if they get too large, depending on the site, to be able to close the wound. I would say I am looking at a "medium to large marble size". I guess I won't know much else until Tuesday. Meanwhile, I have been somewhat successful putting an ace bandage on Mojo, with a cotton tube bandage to cover it all. Any gauze type wrap with tape lasted about .06 seconds. 

This might be a dumb question, but can they ingest the bad cancer cells and spread it to internal organs that way? 

Here is a picture I just took of them both. Beau has a goofy look to him, but heck, that is what I got! Mojo refuses to look directly in the camera eye...doesn't trust it, one bit!

Love this pic! Mojo still looks very good, not like a 9 years old, and Beau still looks like Beau...
Still remember the time when you got him, driving all the way to pick him up

I am with Jenni - surgery - better now than later. Whatever it is, doesn´t look good, and Mo doesn´t like it.

I know of no additional danger from ingestion of them, but there are types of tumors you do not want to irritate as they can get "angry" and more apt to spread. I am not well-versed in this, but I remember reading this when I was researching about Simon's cancer. So, definitely keeping him from chewing it open is a good plan. The product I put Simon on is actually a horse product. It's basically an immune-booster. If you have time, listen to the podcast by the creator, Dr. Russell Smith, DVM. I have spoken to him on the phone and he is a fascinating man. There *IS* a dog product (a powder), but I prefer the horse one because it has another ingredient that the powder doesn't which is more effective against severe immune challenges like cancer. My dogs will eat ANYthing, so the tiny alfalfa pellets are no problem and I put it on all their food, but Simon gets 2x as much as the rest.

http://whoapodcast.com/russell-smith/ http://whoapodcast.com/horses-immune-digestion-dr-smith/

Very interesting immunity info in this, imo. There are many resources for cancer diets- Simon, having mast cell tumor, was on a slightly modified one that would not likely apply to Mojo. There are histamine concerns w/mast cell tumors and the dietary restrictions are different. I don't see Mojo's being as difficult to close without grafting, since it is not right in the middle of an area constantly spreading and stretching. Simon's did have to be closed twice, and then she just gave up and we kept it clean and let it granulate in. Vetericyn Hydro-gel is great for that. He does have a scar, but who cares?

 

You can see the size of the tumor on his left shoulder in the above photo. Now that I look at this pic, I see he looked reddish, too...histamine. Mast cell tumors can cause allergic-type reactions, itching, redness, etc. Below, taken a week or two ago, you see the scar. I could not care less and I imagine you feel the same, but I suppose there are those who would complain about the scar. In fact, we still show him and he still wins. No judge has ever mentioned it, most likely due to his age. Anyway, the reason for my posting is twofold; you can see the location and why I think it's more difficult to close than Mojo's will be, and you can see that he's happy and strong 16 months later. Hopefully, Mojo will be the same!