Lucy's MCT results

Vet just called. It's a grade 2 so not what I really wanted to hear but he said the margins are very good.

I'm curious how much other info your vets have given you about the path results? Have they just told you grade and margins and left it at that? He told me if it had to be grade 2 vs. 1, this is a good grade 2 to have but also went on to say that it had some "troubling" cells in it.

He said it has a low mitotic rate, which is good, meaning that the cells don't divide quickly but said there is some pleomorphism which (after asking Kyle) apparently means there is variability in the size of the cells (not quite sure what this really indicates yet). Vet seemed to indicate that wasn't necessarily a good thing but didn't suggest that we needed to do anything further in terms of treatment at this point. I kinda wish he hadn't given me any of the additional info!

Then last night I found a tiny bump at the top of her leg. I'm SO afraid this is another MCT! She goes Tue morning for her staple removal so we'll watch it until then (unless it changes significantly) and obviously have the vet look at it. It's right above the area that her leg was shaved for the surgery so I'm really hoping it's just some kind of sore.

Has anybody had back to back MCTs??

I have nothing to offer here but my positive thoughts that this all turns out okay.

I have not dealt with any MCT's so far. All of Ichiro's bumps have been benign.

Haven't had back-to-back, hope it's not another one.

You got more information than I've ever gotten! Then main thing is "good margins".

Betty had the same Grade 2 with good margins 10 years ago. Here she is at 15 1/2 with no further MCT's. We have had some rescues that had the MCT's come back pretty soon. One guy we had on chemo (he had 24 MCTs within 4 weeks) and he did great.

Is Lucy on Benadryl? I remember we had Betty on Benadryl after the surgery for a while...it did something to keep down the histamine response...I can't remeber the details.

Your information is more detailed than what I received, but I was told E's was "Grade 2, Low," which, according to my vet, was much better than "Grade 2, High." Perhaps the Low v. High has to do with types of cells, etc. (less aggressive v. more aggressive) ? I don't know; I was just happy to hear it wasn't doom and gloom.

I'd try not to worry too much (hard, I know!) and maybe look into some holistic therapies as a bonus. I did that with E and while there's no way to know for sure if they help, he's been 3 years + without one, save the mystery bumps of late, which the vet says the pathologist was probably really *looking* for mast cells, since he (the vet) informed them that it was in the same leg as a prior MCT.

Eph91 wrote:Your information is more detailed than what I received, but I was told E's was "Grade 2, Low," which, according to my vet, was much better than "Grade 2, High." Perhaps the Low v. High has to do with types of cells, etc. (less aggressive v. more aggressive) ? I don't know; I was just happy to hear it wasn't doom and gloom.

According to Kyle, the low mitotic rate makes him more positive than the pleomorphism issue makes him worry. I was thinking of making him go with me on Tue when we get the staples out but now I'm thinking he may find out more than I really want/need to know! I told him that every grade 2 could have these characteristics but most vets just don't go into that much detail. And we certainly know of plenty of people who have positive experiences with grade 2s. I think at this point I'm more worried about this new bump. I'd hope we wouldn't be that unlucky but who knows.

I hope the new bump is just irritation or something from the shaving/operation. I don't have any experience, so I'll just offer more good thoughts for your girl.

Pugsavers wrote:Is Lucy on Benadryl? I remember we had Betty on Benadryl after the surgery for a while...it did something to keep down the histamine response...I can't remeber the details.

That's what I was going to recommend. Did you talk to your vet about Benadryl therapy, either short-term or long-term? Our vet recommends Benadryl therapy for aggressive MCT's, non-operative MCT's, and poor margins. It also depends on how well your dog tolerates Benadryl. We can give Bruno 5 times the recommended dose and he won't bat an eye. Give Chester one pill, though, and it just knocks him for a loop.

If you google mast cell tumer and benadryl, you'll see a bunch of articles. Basically MCT's release massive amounts of histamine and an anti-histamine can help counter-act the MCT.

I have been giving her a Benadryl every day since we got the diagnosis on the first MCT last week. My vet didn't seem to think it was necessary, at the time, but I started doing it anyway. I figured it couldn't hurt. He seemed to indicate that it's not really necessary unless you have an existing MCT that you can't remove or you have recurrent issues with them. Since this was her first one, he didn't think it was necessary. When we go on Tue, and especially if this other bump turns out to be something, I'll ask him about safe/maximum dosage going forward. Lucy does fine with one pill/day and probably would be Ok with two although she is more sensitive to things than Nell.

The benadryl works well for MCTs for reasons others have said. A normal body produces mast cells and it is somehow linked to histamine production (I'm not 100% sure on the connections). So when you have any abnormal build up of cells it can lead to a tumor. Large clumps of mast cells creating a mast cell tumor then are somehow connected to mass amounts of histamine. An anti histamine, like benadryl, then logically may be able to help.

I'm somone who always needs to know as much as I can about medical things (when I get blood drawn I like to know prior an estimate of how much blood, in mls, will be taken). So if I were in your shoes, I'd take Kyle with. I would understand why you may not want to, though.

Either way, Lucy has my thoughts for no more MCTs and that everything settles down! I'm glad the margins were good.

I did find a MCT on Nelson while he had sutures in from surgery. Not sure if I missed the second one or what. I had him on Benadryl 2 x a day for the longest time maybe 2 years. Please let us know what you find out.

Lots of good thoughts for Lucy and for you!! I hope the other bump is nothing

No advice or experience to offer, Amanda, just all our best thoughts.

No advice either, but lots of good thoughts for all of you.

MCT's used to pop up on Junior like weeds.....and yes back to back, not in the same exact spots, but other places.....they were everywhere. He had one big surgery, where they removed 7 or 8 and after that he went in everytime he had a new lump and his vet was very skilled with the laser.....we started removing them that way....it's less invasive, less risky because it was done with a local..
he had some grade 2's, mostly grade 1's, and mostly clean margins, but not always.
After a while we didn't even bother to turn them into pathology....why, we knew they were MCT's.....He started getting MCTS at the "usual" age....7 1/2, and he lived to be almost 14 1/2, and died of something totally unrelated to MCT's, so try not to worry.

One more day of staples for Lucy, thank goodness! She gets them out Tue morning. We made it without her scratching any of them out. Best news is, the other little bump I found right after the surgery is almost completely gone so I'm thinking it was nothing. I'm obviously very relieved. Fingers crossed that this is our last MCT removal ever......or at least for a very long time!

One last pic of Frankenpug

I missed this when you first posted. I'm so glad the bump went down! Hugs to the little Frankenpuggy.

I think grade 2 clean margins is good....I was told to give a benadryl daily to help keep them small...hugs to you all

Lucy is such a cutie pie. What a relief that the second bump went down. Sending good thoughts that everything will be smooth sailing once the staples are out

Trish

Thank goodness the staples are coming out soon. Here's hoping no one has to go through this again!