My dog had a tumor removed. Could it be lymphoma or mast cell cancer?

Surgery to remove a peripheral lymph node is not any more invasive than the surgery to remove a mast cell tumor on the skin. I'm assuming this lymph node is one that is near his shoulder or behind his knee. This could provide valuable information, because additional treatment would be recommended if cancerous mast cells are confirmed in the lymph node even though the initial biopsy came back as a low grade tumor that is less likely to spread. You can always ask your vet about the potential complications of surgery.

If they are mast cell tumors that is cancer and she needs chemotherapy. What you are already doing is OK but it's not going to "cure" the cancer. Were the removed masses sent to a lab for histopathology? You need to know what they are before you can decided how to treat it.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Lymphoma is in fact a cancer. This is typically treated with chemotherapy. There are many chemotherapy options that can be considered such as a multi agent protocol called CHOP. There are other chemotherapeutic medications that can be considered depending on what your veterinarian has available. In general, chemotherapy is well-tolerated in dogs when done appropriately. If not able to proceed with chemotherapy, there are other options like prednisone therapy alone which in itself can help dogs with lymphoma though for a very short amount of time. The prognosis with chemotherapy varies and depends on the type of lymphoma he has (B-cell vs. T-cell) and the treatment chosen. The prognosis varies between 6 to 12 months with chemotherapy and about 2 months on just prednisone. Please feel free to request a consultation with me if you have more specific questions. Good luck!

To say it is Lymphoma it would have to be one of her lymph nodes. Typically when it is lymphoma more then one lymph node will be enlarged. If the lymph node is what is getting larger it is not always lymphoma. It can be from an infection draining, it can be viral or it can even be a tick borne disease causing the increase in the size. I recommend having a veterinarian evaluate Jamber and have them see if it is a lymph node and if so typically an aspirate is recommended and a tick panel to rule out lymphoma and tick borne diseases. If they do find lymphoma I would recommend at least a consult with a veterinary oncologist. They will be able to give you the most up to date information on different Chemotherapy options and see if this is the best option for Jamber and your family. If this is is something as a family you decided not to pursue then there is prednisone which they can put Jamber on. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I hate to hear that about Lennon. It’s so tough when they have multiple health concerns. I do agree that you should find out if he has lymphoma or not. This will at least allow you to make informed decisions and to understand an appropriate prognosis and timeline as to what you should expect. There are several ways to diagnose lymphoma and one common and very easy way to do it is with a aspiration of the lumps. This procedure is virtually painless and does not require sedation or stitches. It can generally diagnose lymphoma but is not 100%. Once you know if there is lymphoma present or not, you must decide if putting Lennon through chemotherapy makes sense for you and for him. There is no wrong or right answer to this question. The main thing is you will not let Lennon suffer and realize that without chemotherapy, he will succomb to his illness a lot faster. I hope this helps to point yiunin the right direction and that you found it helpful. Please feel free to post any additional questions.

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!

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!