As the dog is only 5 I would think a low grade "2" Mast Cell tumor might be quite treatable. Younger age makes a difference along with a lower rating of the cancer.
I have a list of foods to avoid for cancer patients, human and dog and what foods are good for patients undergoing treament. I will search my laptops for it and post by tomorrow. I know optimal weight is a plus even pre--operative for healing purposes.
If the surgeon got completely clean margins, you may not have to do much more but I'm not sure when it comes to mast cell. I would read how many mm.'s were clear surrounding the 2 cm. tumor and see what additional information you get.
You might want to bank his semen before any treaments begin if you or others had intentions of using him. You might have already banked, want more banked in case things don't go well.
Remember, chemo is suppose to kill cancer cells but can sometimes kill the patient or good cells which is not meant to be done. It happens all the time with dogs and humans. Sometimes a shorter lifespan without chemo works out better. It's your choice once the different approaches are laid out for you. Sending excellent thoughts yours & your dog's way.
I had a neutered male get one in the same area, age 10. It was surgically removed and was grade 2, but low or high, don't know, I am not sure I was ever told. It seemed to be gone for good then Boom, back a year later and obviously spreading far enough that another surgery was not going to help. Tried chemo, which I don't think did anything for him, but it did not seem to make him feel ill either. It was vinblastine, prednisone, and lomustine, at some point I seem to recall chlorambucil as well. From noticing the recurrence to his passing was 3 months. I would not do it again, but it might have had a better outcome in a younger dog.
A year or two after that the drug Palladia came out, you might want to talk to your vet about it because it is supposed to specifically target mast cell cancer.
Look into feeding lots of fish oil and a low carbohydrate diet. Antioxidants like vitamin E as well, but not during chemotherapy.
Don't know where you are at, but it looks like there is a clinical trial including Palladia at North Carolina State, http://www.vcchope.com/resource-center/383
Years ago, I had a beloved yellow Lab bitch who had a lump on her
side removed which was diagnosed with Mast Cell cancer 2. The vet advised
doing an ultrasound to see if there were any more tumors inside of her.
There were none, so we opted not to do chemo.
This dog lived a very happy and healthy life until 13 and a half years of age.
I gave her lots of love. We simply removed and biopsied any lumps on her. All came back negative. The dog had no additional supplements, but I did feed her Royal Canin foods, particularly Royal Canin Hypoallergenic in her last year.
I had a 6 year old female with a grade 2 Mast cell tumor removed. To get clean margins, we needed to do a second surgery. Then we followed up with prednisone therapy. She will be 14 yrs in Dec with no reoccurance.
Thanks all. Nice thread, some very good insight and links for more info.
He's a working dog so in pretty good condition which I'm sure will work in his favor.
Looking at the low carb/grain free food options and have already added the fish oil to his diet. We'll see what the additional pathology tells us and go from there.
