I often see people asking for other people’s experience with mast cell tumours so I’m putting this here in case it helps others …
Many many moons ago we had our first encounter with a mast cell tumour. Trixie had a pea size lump on her back. The vet did a fine needle aspirate and determined that it was a mast cell tumour. She went for surgery and he removed an area the size of a large chicken fillet and sent it for testing. We were shocked when we saw the size of the incision on her back and even more shocked when we couldn’t move her from the crate in the vets to take her home because she was so sore. It seemed overly invasive for such a small lump but he got clean margins on the grade 3 tumour and Trixie went on to live another 8 years.
I always held the opinion that lumps and MCTs aren’t a big deal. Over the years we’ve had lots of lumps removed from the boofheads and they all lived well into double digits. Even when Bruno had a MCT removed from his back leg in January of 2020 I wasn’t concerned. But not long afterwards we lost Chopper to lymphoma so when I noticed a lump under Bruno’s armpit – an area where there are lymph nodes – I panicked and rushed him to the vet. When we got the results that it was another MCT and it was in a hard to operate on area I fell to pieces and cried for three days. We’d also lost Angel earlier that year and I wasn’t ready to lose a third dog, especially not my favourite, who wasn’t even ten yet. My dogs don’t die that young, it’s not part of the agreement!
Here’s a quick synopsis of all the things we do that we believe have kept Bruno healthy. He also has a dicky back so some of the supplements are for that but anything that combats inflammation is also good for keeping cancer at bay.
Food:
Raw mince with veg + offal from All Pets Pantry (delivered)
Psyllium husk with probiotics from Woolies
Kelp from Kensington Produce
Feramo D every second day also from Kensington Produce
Bone broth – home made
Kefir
Golden Paste (see this group for recipe and support)
Supplements:
CBD oil
Antinol Rapid
Turmeric bites* – https://www.turmericlife.com.au/collections/pet-products-for-dogs-and-cats/products/cancer-support-dog-bites-turmeric-bundle
Miracle Greens – https://iloveadog.com.au/product/miracle-greens
Mushroom Medley – https://iloveadog.com.au/product/medicinal-mushrooms-immunity
PEA – https://wwn.com.au/shop/
Drugs:
10mg Phenergan daily for histamine levels
Recommended but haven’t tried yet:
*Since this blog post was first published Turmeric Life removed the product from their website. They sent me this information:
“We have currently removed the cancer support bites from our online store. However, they are still available to purchase separately through our veterinary services. If you wish to proceed, please email vet-questions@turmericlife.
It’s been almost a year since Bruno had chemo. He’s happy and healthy and still does the most impressive pirouettes at feeding time. I believe the supplements have kept any more tumors at bay, so if you’re navigating a MCT diagnosis I strongly recommend trying them, it can’t hurt. I am not an affiliate and receive nothing for promoting them, I want to make that clear!
Good luck with your journey, I hope the outcome is a good one.
