Posts Tagged ‘mast cell cancer’

MCT Surgery Day and Recovery

// April 1st, 2009 // No Comments » // Doggie Mayhem, Pets

Hugo Post-Surgery

Hugo Post-Surgery

Hugo had his mass removed today. We dropped him off at the vet at 8:30AM this morning. His surgery was scheduled at 2PM, but the vet had an opening so it was actually completed this morning. I just picked him up and he’s pretty dopey, but doing well. He has a huge incision on his belly. When the mass is removed, they have to cut 2-3cm in each direction to ensure that they cut out all of the cancerous cells. So now he looks a little like Frankenstein.

We should have the pathology back in about five days so we know what the course of action will be. The sutures come out in ten days. We have to keep him indoors and somewhat “quiet” (yeah right) for 7-10 days.

So, my next 7-10 days will be spent keeping the other dogs away from him and trying to keep him “sedate”. I’ll keep you updated on his progress and prognosis. Many thanks to everyone who has given their support. Hugo certainly appreciates it.

Mast Cell Tumors and You

// March 30th, 2009 // No Comments » // Pets

Last Thursday we found out that Hugo has a Mast Cell Tumor. I took him to the vet for an eye infection and asked the vet to check a fatty lump while I was there. Ends up that the “fatty lump” is a cancerous tumor. The vet advised that Hugo is in otherwise good health for his age and size and that his lymph nodes are fine. So, we are optimistic that this is Stage 1.

Hugo is scheduled for surgery on Wednesday in which they will remove the tumor. It will then be sent off to a pathologist where they will give it a “stage”. Stage 1 means that they hopefully removed all of the cancerous cells and we will need to keep an eye out for additional tumors. Stage 2 means that the cancer has spread but is treatable and we will look at treatments like radiation. Stage 3 is the most aggressive, but is the most uncommon. This stage generally occurs when the tumor is attached internally (like to a spleen or nasal cavity). Because the tumor is so deep, it is almost impossible for it all to be removed and has already spread.

The good news is that MCT is actually fairly common and is usually Stage 1, so our fingers crossed. The bad news is that we lost another dog to a tumor back in December so this has been particularly tough.

Please keep Hugo in your thoughts and I’ll keep you posted on his progress.

In the meantime, here are a few articles that I found helpful.