Lucygoo updates/Lucygoo has passed

Hi everyone...

And hi Lori and Ken! So good to hear from you guys, and thanks for the well wishes.

Lucy had her MRI yesterday and I'm happy to report there's nothing there:) Dr. Bruyette said there's no chance of her getting a tumor recur now, as it's been a year. There is, however, a slight chance of her developing cushings again, since the pituitary gland does try to regrow. He doesn't think it will happen, but wants to continue keeping an eye on her. He's reduced her thyroid dose in half, so we'll see what happens with that. Still waiting on her urine and blood work.

Hi Gina,

So happy to hear the good no, GREAT news. :D:D:D:D:D I hope she still enjoys going out for a stand :p:):D

Hi Gina,

Fantastic news on the Goo!! :D:D:D:D:D Excellent! Hugs and scratchies from us here,

Jane, Franklin and Bailey xxx
________
KIDNEY DISORDERS FORUMS

Whooooopppppeeeeeee! Love good news! Sue

You have an amazing story Lucy! Congratulations!

Love and hugs,

Hi guys....

It's been so long I couldn't find my thread...had to search for it!

Anyway, Lucy's doing okay, but has had a lump on her side for years that suddenly got huge. They took a biopsy and Dr. Bruyette called and told me it's a mast cell tumor; he wants to remove it Tuesday. He said so far the pathologist thinks it's benign. She also developed a bacterial skin infection, so I'm wondering if they're related. Does anyone have any experience with these tumors? I'm worried that it's gone too far and is affecting her appetite, which means it's in her bloodstream?

Thanks,
Gina and Lucy

Hi Gina,

So good to hear from you, but so sorry that it's in relation to Lucy's issues! I really don't have the knowledge to speak to the bacterial infection, but my guess would be that it is unrelated to the mast cell tumor.

However, I can share my mast cell tumor experience with my Cushpup, Barkis. One of the hallmarks of these tumors is that they can change in size dramatically -- both upward and downward -- in the drop of the hat. In their case, I don't think the size correlates with the "seriousness" of the tumor itself. They are one of the most common types of tumors in dogs, and are graded by pathologists from being benign to being more seriously malignant. If Dr. Bruyette is reporting that the initial pathology of the tumor seems to be benign, I think that is very good news.

Barkis' tumor showed up as a lump on his flank. In his case, the tumor did not change too much in size, but after watching and worrying for a month, I took him in to the vet. The tumor was excised with pretty wide margins, and we were relieved that the pathology came back as "Grade 1," which was the least serious class. He never did have a recurrence or any associated problems, so that was the end of the story as far as we were concerned.

Once again, since the initial pathology is positive for Lucy, I have every reason to believe that she will have the same outcome. But I know it is very worrisome in the meantime. Please give her some big hugs and pats for me, and definitely keep us updated, OK?

Marianne

Hi Marianne...

Thank you! That makes me feel better. She's hardly eating anything now except treats, hot dogs and chicken, and doesn't touch those until late afternoon, evening. Dr. Bruyette said sometimes they can cause stomach issues/ulcer. I've been giving her pepcid, since she's not only taking prednisone and thyroid but now she's on an antibiotic as well. They think the skin infection is due to the prednisone use, possibly. I hate to put her through another surgery but this doesn't seem like that big of a deal? But the tumor at least tripled in size seemingly overnight, which worries me; and, of course, reading about mast cells on-line isn't helping either! Now I feel guilty for not getting this addressed earlier.

Gina, truly I don't think the sudden increase in size is "sinister" in the case of mast cell tumors -- they are unusual in that way. I used to be able to recite "chapter and verse" about them, because I also read everything I could get my hands on at the time that Barkis was diagnosed. Unfortunately, I've forgotten some of the specifics. But it sounds as though Lucy's tumor is a cutaneous tumor as was Barkis' (in the skin layer rather than in an organ or buried in the body). Since it WAS so readily accessible, the surgery was basically a breeze (other than him trying to lick the incision afterwards, of course! :().

Marianne

Okay, I gave Lucy her antibiotic about an hour ago with Pepcid. She's taking Cephalexin (750 mg twice a day). She just woke me up and went outside and vomited, came back in and drank water. I'm starting to get paranoid now and feel like I should stay up and watch her. Anybody on that has any advice? Thanks