As many of you already know Luna-pup had surgery in December to remove a fast growing mass on her leg. By the middle of January another small tumor started to grow just above the incision from the previous surgery and by February the tumor had grown to dime size. During the pre-op exam the vet found a grape size tumor in her lymph node and sent it off for pathology. The pathology report showed they were mast cells and those cells unusually form tumors on the skin. Wednesday March 25th, I dropped Luna off for surgery to remove the tumor on leg on. Vet gave her a thorough exam including blood work & X-ray. She had a heart murmur, slightly low blood count & the x rays did not appear completely normal. He wanted to send the x rays to a radiologist and didn’t want to put her under until the radiologist looked at her x rays. Vet called back Friday and said the Radiologist cleared her and made an appointment for the 31st. Monday the 30th I gave her a bath & while grooming her noticed the bruise on her belly (she’s had for 7-10 days) looked like it was a blister. When I dropped her off Tuesday morning I told the assistant about the blister on her belly. Vet called back and said the blister is often a symptom of other disorders. He did another blood count & chest x ray. The x ray had not changed but the count & platelets were both lower than before. He wanted to consult with a specialist before moving forward. He also noticed the tumor on her leg near the hip had gotten larger & a new one below her ear (since then I’ve also found a small one on her neck and another behind her ribs). He prescribed Prednisone, Benedryl & Pepcid & recheck in 10 days (hopefully this will also reduce the size of the tumors). The exposed tumor on her leg is now about the size of a golf ball, and she keeps licking & biting making it bleed (and since she’s not clotting properly it bleeds for hours).
She was an overweight puppy and has always eaten all her food, no matter how much was her bowl. But since patella surgery when she was 2, she has been on a reduced calorie diet and maintained a healthy weight for 7 years. Recently she’s only eats about half her food (I even added some of the yummy canned food) and so far the steroid hasn’t helped much with her appetite. She also missed a couple of hiking trips in December & January while recovering from the first surgery. But since February she refuses to go (when you put her leash on she doesn’t get up).
I know cancer growing & spreading so fast though the lymphatic system does not usually result in a healthy outcome (especially with little or no treatment).
I’m heartbroken by this devastating diagnosis!