Advice - oral malignant melanoma

[MorgansMissTinsel]

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Hi everyone. Just looking for some honest advice/your own experiences. I have a 5 year old collie x spayed bitch who is very active and healthy, and otherwise not showing any signs of ill health.

About 3 weeks ago I noticed a lump on the roof of her mouth on her right side on the inside of one of her back teeth. Of course I got an appt with the vet who asked me to come back in a week to perform surgery on her to remove the lump and send it for analysis. During that week the lump grew slightly. The surgery went well with the lump now removed, the vet surgeon said she wasn't too worried as the lump had no abnormalities and was attached to her mouth by a thin stalk. It was sent off for biopsy anyway, and a week later I received the results that it is a malignant melanoma *sob*. And she is now being referred to specialists to see about the next step/further treatment. Good job she's insured.

I'm absolutely heartbroken that this may mean I will have to say goodbye to my best friend and her life will be cut short. Has anyone out there got any experience of this? Am I worrying too much? Is the prognosis generally good? I asked the vet all these questions but naturally they said it differs from dog to dog. Just hoping I can reach out to someone who has dealt with this first hand or a vet who sees this regularly.

Thanks for reading,

a very heartbroken dog lover xx

 

[JoanneF]

I am so sorry. It's impossible to say how your girl will be but I did read an article about canine chemotherapy a few years ago and generally dogs do seem to cope well with it. Gypsysmum has worked with a vet I believe and often checks in to the forum in the mornings, she may know more.

 

[MorgansMissTinsel]

Thank you for your reply I've tried reading up on it online but to be honest I think it's making me worse!

Fingers crossed someone sees this who has had experience with it.

 

[Raven oaktree]

Wait till you speak to the specialist .

I have an old dog with mast cell, its his third mast cell . The first two were removed with clean margins and needed no other treatment , the ones he has now he has lived with for well over a year , but he is just turned 17 and has stage 5 heart failure ..cancer docent have to be the end , speak to your specialist about the type of cancer your dog has x

 

[MorgansMissTinsel]

Apparently it's an oral malignant melanoma. Think she needs xrays on her lymph nodes and lungs to see if it has spread. I'm praying that it hasn't. She's only 5 years old and you wouldn't tell there's anything wrong with her. But I've heard this type of cancer can be aggressive. So naturally I'm really worried x

 

[JoanneF]

Of course you are. It's so frightening and none of us want to see our pets in distress. But cancer research has progressed enormously and at least you found it quickly, and you have scans being arranged, and you have insurance. So whatever happens you are going to do your best for her. I'm sorry we can't be more reassuring. But please do keep coming back and letting us know. Try to get a good night's sleep.

 

[MorgansMissTinsel]

I will do JoanneF, thank you. It's helping to talk about it with others who understand the attachment I have with her!

 

[RichTS7]

Our Golden Retriever had exactly this. Luckily the insurance covered up to £4000 and the treatments in total came to £3900. But when he went to the specialist, because his tumour was stage 2 they could give him a Melanoma Vaccine, considering hes 12 now and this started about 2.5 years ago hes doing very well. We have stopped treatment now and recently a lump has appeared again, but luckily is growing extremely slowly. But just be sure to ask about the Melanoma vaccine if the specialist doesn't mention it, it is expensive but typically your insurance will cover it as long as the vet says that it is nothing to do with the teeth as most insurers don't cover dental issues.

 

[MorgansMissTinsel]

Hiya, thanks for your reply!

She had her CT scan and blood tests etc which has shown the cancer hadn't spread to her lymph nodes staying local to the roof of her mouth. She has now had 4 rounds of radiotherapy, the oncologist did initially mention the melanoma vaccine but hasn't mentioned it since, I may ask them about it at our next follow up appointment in two weeks.

Both me and the oncologist remain hopeful as it hasn't spread too far, but I can't help but worry when the prognosis has been given that on average the prognosis is 9-12 months following treatment can't bear to loose my little girl.

I'm so glad to hear yours is doing well, it's good to know that the prognosis can be longer