Is my dog's mast cell tumor bad if intestinal or symptoms are sudden?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This depends on many factors. It depends on where the main tumor is located, if it has spread to other organs, among many other factors. Even high grade tumors can have a good longterm outcome of years of survival when treated aggressively with surgery and chemotherapy if there is no evidence of metastasis to internal organs. However, if there is already spread to internal organs like the liver and the spleen, the survival times tend to be closer to 3-4 months even with chemotherapy. Staging to check for metastasis usually includes thoracic radiographs, abdominal ultrasound and assessment of the local lymph nodes. At the very least, I recommend medications like Pepcid, Benadryl and prednisone that can help with these cases when there is still evidence of a mass present. Good luck and have a good night!

I'm so sorry to hear about your dog! Unfortunately, mast cell tumors do not have a good prognosis as they prone to spreading and some of them can release histamine, a hormone which is responsible for allergy-like reactions. It is definitely concerning that your dog is unable to keep food down and has additional tumors. While surgery is an option, there are some medications that your vet can prescribe to make your dog more comfortable. You may have some difficult decisions to make about his future, but it is important to consider his quality of life and overall condition. I'm happy to answer any additional questions you may have or address any concerns.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Overall, from what I'm reading and seeing, I have a low level of concern about Mukwa. This lesion does not look typical of a mast cell tumor (though that type of cancer does not always follow the "rules"). In general, non-cancerous things do not become cancerous with time - though there are exceptions. Occasional vomiting is not necessarily something I equate with Mast Cell Tumors, but does warrant a chat with your vet to see if it's something worth looking into. More concerning signs to me would be decreased appetite, weight loss, or lethargy. Best of luck to you and Mukwa!

Poor Diesel. I would be worried this could be part of his cancer. The release of large amounts of histamine from mast cell tumors into the body can cause local inflammation and swelling around a mast cell tumor. In the picture, his leg does look quite swollen and it's quite concerning that the fluid is spreading to other areas. I think it's important to take him into a vet immediately to have this checked out. It may be time to talk about his quality of life, as it could be that letting him go peacefully would be the best option for him. I know that is an extremely hard conversation to have, but they are important ones to have when a dog is sick with a terminal illness. Please take him into a vet asap. I'm sorry that you have to deal with this.

It's difficult to recognize mast cells as abnormal on cytologic evaluation. Usually, when a mast cell tumor has metastasized to the spleen, there is a nodule in the spleen that can be visualized with ultrasound or at surgery. Just taking a random aspirate of the spleen and finding normal mast cells does not necessarily prove metastasis, but a recheck ultrasound in 3 months should be helpful if you are still concerned.

Mast cell tumor survival rate is entirely dependent on the stage of the mast cell and the mitosis index (seen histologically). So this is a bit more involved than you were likely anticipating it to be. So if Lady has not had a biopsy to gather this information already then there is no way of determining her survival rate unfortunately. The best prognosis is a grade 2 MCt with a mitosis index of <5 at 70 months. The worse was a grade 2 MCT with mitotic index >5 and a survival time of 5 months. Another study suggests that for high grade tumors (MCT grade 2 and above) the mean survival time is <4 months and for low grade tumors (MCT grade 1) the mean survival time is >2 hrs. I hope this helps and feel free to post your question again once you have the necessary information of grading and mitotic index so we can tell you specifically what your pets cancer survival rate is. I am sorry Lady does have mast cell cancer and I hope that you can keep her comfortable for the time being. Best wishes and take care.

Awww, he's a handsome guy! Tumors which appear as lumps and bumps on the skin or can be felt or seen but are just under the skin are common with age; some are benign and not problematic, while some can be life threatening. Lipomas are common, which are usually relatively soft, freely movable under the skin (you can push it around) and are non painful. Generally these are slow growing, they do not cause cancer elsewhere in the body (though its very common for a dog to have multiple lipoma tumors) and rarely cause a problem. Mast cell tumors, on the other hand, can be aggressive and can cause systemic illness. They can look like lipomas; the only way to know the difference is for your vet to perform a fine needle aspirate (where they will poke the bumps with a needle to get a sample of the cells and then look at them under a microscope. Other skin tumors can include squamous cell carcinomas which can be very locally invasive and aggressive, and grow quickly. Keep an eye on the lumps and bumps. If any of them are quickly growing, start to break open or bleed, or any of them are painful when touched, he should be seen by a vet. A golfball sized tumor is immensely easier to remove than a football sized one--so addressing a lump when its small is much better Grady and also will cost less than waiting until its very large. I hope that helps you, thank you for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!