Anna again....mammary tumor

[barneysmommmy]

I took Anna back to the vet today to discuss her progress on prednisolone. The vet wants to leave her on 5mg/day until she finishes her doxycycline for tick fever. While there, I showed him a purple lump on her chest. He said it is a mammary tumor and will need to come out. However, we can't do anything until she is well again.

I'm a little stressed. To be honest, I'm not sure if I will ever feel comfortable letting her go into any kind of surgery. It is hard to describe how terribly ill she has been during the past few weeks. We finally have her back to normal. I feel like we are going to lose her. So, if anyone has had a girl with mammary tumors, do they have to come out? Will it hurt to wait for a while?

[Yorkie Mom2]

Porsche was diagnosed with mammary cancer 5 years ago. It was a very small area I discovered while bathing her. The vet did a radical masdectomy, totally removing all mammary glands. It is a hard surgery, but Porsche did very well. I know she wouldn't be alive today if that surgery had not been done.

Good luck with your little girl.:

[Lovetodream88]

If you do pre surgery blood work she should be ok once she is off the meds. It could be cancer so it really needs to be removed and tested.

[Lacy's Mom]

I took a rescue in with mammary cancer. The vet xrayed the lungs and it hadn't spread so he removed the tumor and the entire mammary chain. She wasn't spayed so that was done too and I was hopeful it wouldn't return. It returned within a year so I paid for a second surgery. This time it returned very quickly and grew extremely quickly. I chose to not operate for a third time since she was 10 to 12, but she did great with both surgeries. She llived for another two years, but started breathing rapidly. She was still eating but the constant tachypnea seemed very stressful and I had her put down. I'm not trying to dissuade you from having the surgery, the opposite, do it quickly before it has time to grow and spread. I really feel the delay in treatment is what caused the poor outcome for this dog. By the time I got the dog the lumps were large and ulcerated and draining a bloody stinky mess.

[Wylie's Mom]

I think you do have to have it removed, unfortunately. I know that's scary. But, ask your vet how much time you can wait to let her just get well first.

Please keep us posted. Hugs to the little one!

[barneysmommmy]

I had posted this back in April. At the time, there was no way she would have lived through surgery. The vet agreed with this. She is doing very well now. The vet and I are discussing her best options. If she didn't have the addison's problem, it would be a no brainer.

[barneysmommmy]

I have her officially scheduled for surgery for the second week of August. The vet has tapered her meds and wants me to do every other day until after surgery so they won't interfere with the surgery. He feels confident that he will only need to remove one gland. I will update afterwards to let you know how she does. Not going to lie, I am still wary of her having surgery. But the vet says it is absolutely necessary.

[pstinard]

Originally Posted by barneysmommmy

I have her officially scheduled for surgery for the second week of August. The vet has tapered her meds and wants me to do every other day until after surgery so they won't interfere with the surgery. He feels confident that he will only need to remove one gland. I will update afterwards to let you know how she does. Not going to lie, I am still wary of her having surgery. But the vet says it is absolutely necessary.

Thanks for the update! Keep us posted as the day of surgery approaches!

[barneysmommmy]

Lots of good news. I took Anna in Thursday morning to remove the tumor. I called a few hours later to find out they did not do surgery because the mass is gone! The vet believes it was mastitis and the prednisolone she takes for Addison's solved the issue.

Also, he is reducing her prednisolone to 0.5 mg per day which is much more appropriate for her size.

Just a few months ago I was sure we were going to lose her. I cannot believe how much better she is.

[Silver Lace]

That's great news,Barney's Mommy! Thank you so very much for all the updates and most especially this wonderful,glorious, news. Sure sounds like a miracle to me and I am so glad to hear this news about your little one's health. Such a wonderful blessing for you both.

[matese]

Fantastic news, what a relief to both you and lil Anna.

[barneysmommmy]

Thanks everyone for your encouragement and well wishes. It is so nice to have a place to vent about pet fears where everyone "gets it".

[ladyjane]

Just seeing this....hope little Anna is doing well.

[barneysmommmy]

Thank you Lady Jane. Unfortunately she is not well again. I took her to a new vet recommended by a support group for dogs with addisons. We went yesterday after several days of vomiting and lethargy. Blood work indicates possibly addisons. He gave her a shot of percoten and told me to increase her steroids. Her white blood cell count is 30000. He wants to do a dental in five weeks and he said tumor will be removed at that time. It isn't gone. I kind of knew that but was just hoping too small to be concerned about.

She is stronger today because she gave a devil of a fight when I gave her the clindrops. But she refused her treat with steroid in it. So I had to get creative. She's just laying around. Also found vomit this morning in living room. I assume it's her but it could be one of the boys. The vet was 1.5 hours away so she could just be stressed from the trip.

[ladyjane]

Oh no...I had hoped she would be doing better. I am so sorry she has not been well again. I will keep her in my prayers....hope a solution comes soon.