My dog has MCT. Is Palladia safe for my family given our lifestyle?

A response would be expected within 4-6weeks of starting paladia. Given the severity of symptoms you describe, I would recommend review by an oncologist to assess what else, if anything can be added or adjusted to improve her comfort and quality of life. Frequent histamine episodes are definitely cause for concern and consideration of euthanasia is a very valid option at this stage.

There is no defined time length for treatment with palladia, indeed the license refers to duration being 'dependent on response to treatment' and not a set period of weeks or months. Whilst in theory if all cancer cells were killed with one course of treatment you should be able to stop, there is evidence that some dogs are more prone to developing new cancerous cells at any time and extended treatment helps to prevent relapse/recurrence or development of new lesions. Your oncologist is best placed to prescribe depending on progress, side effects and likelihood of new tumour growth.

I believe I provided you with the answer to this question before regarding the tapering. Now that I know that he is being treated for MCT, I would recommend speaking to your vet regarding the treatment. Prednisone is not generally considering the gold standard treatment for this condition. If he has not offered you a referral to an oncologist, I would request one if you are looking to pursue any other therapies. One of the best therapies available right now for Mast Cell Tumors is a drug called Palladia. I would love to consult with you concerning Hachi's condition including this drug and a possible tapering schedule if you were not clear on the answer I provided you earlier. Just let me know or one of the other experts here so we can try and find a way to make Hachi more comfortable.

I’m sorry to hear about Tsunami’s diagnosis. MCTs are quite common in dogs, and unfortunately due to the cell distribution around the primary tumor, incomplete margins are common. If you want to be confident you’re pursuing the best options for the best prognosis, I recommend asking your vet for an oncologist referral. A veterinary oncologist will be the best specialist to be able to present all the options and their given pros & cons, and they have access to chemo medications that most primary vets don’t carry. If you choose not to pursue referral, then I recommend reaching out to your vet again to discuss the next step. If this were my case, I would probably recommend sampling Tsunami’s lymph nodes with a needle to look for evidence of regional metastasis, and based on those findings discuss if a second surgery is appropriate. Hope this helps!

I understand wanting alternative therapy but with a mast cell tumor I do recommend surgery as that can often cure dogs with a localized mast cell tumor. My dog had several and they never returned after surgery. As far as light therapy it is not recommended. The light can speeed up the cell metabolism and in theory cause the cancer cells to divide and spread faster. I use cold laser light therapy in my practice and it is contraindicated to use it around any areas that may be cancerous. Yes, continue with the supplements. If they did a needle aspirate they may be able to grade the tumor to see how aggressive it is. Some mast cell tumors are slow growing and may not need surgical removal. If it’s an aggressive tumor then please consider surgical removal. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Samm.

So sorry to hear that Skylla has this problem. Depending on the location of the cancer in the bladder, surgery would be the best option followed by radiation. Radiation alone is not usually recommended as the bladder tends to get very damaged and non-functional. As far as non-surgical options, your vet is correct to give an NSAID like Previcoxx however, a better NSAID to use would be piroxicam but I do not know if it is available in your country. If an NSAID alone is not working we then go to using NSAID plus chemotherapy (mitoxantrone). A third option is chemotherapy alone with vinblastine or other combinations of drugs. You will need to speak to your vet to see what options are available in your country and the costs involved. Also, it depends on where in the bladder Skylla's cancer is located. You could also refer your vet to this article if they are not used to treating this type of cancer. ( https://www.purdue.edu/vet/pcop/files/docs/CanineUrinaryBladderCancer.pdf ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! There are no studies currently looking at the use of this concurrently with chemotherapy. For this reason, I do not recommend using this as we do not know if it could interact negatively with the chemotherapy. It would be safer to get her through the chemotherapy protocol and perhaps consider holistic supplements after. Good luck and have a good day!