Okay, I dropped Rox off at the vet this morning. I'm waiting to hear back about how much of her leg he wants to remove. Since the mast cell tumor was just on her foot he didn't feel that a full-leg amputation was necessary. I'm a wreck. I miss my baby. I'm scared for her. I just want her to be the best Rox she can be!

The main reason for amputating at all is that the tumor was so large that blood vessels in her foot were compromised and she lost blood flow to that area. Her beautiful little leg is literally rotting off. I know that sounds so horrible and I feel horrible even saying it aloud, but it's the truth. I know she will feel better without it, but she's just so little.

Please keep my kiddo in your prayers today, and her momma too. Thank you all for posting here. It has helped me work through some of my fears for my baby.

Positive prayers going out for you and Rox. I hope everything turns out great and she has a super speedy healing so she get get back to feeling great again and the two of you can spend some quality time together. 

Hi Rox,

Like you, we also had MCT. Rio's was in the back of her knee. This was not her first Mast Cell tumor, but it did mean that she would lose her leg. It was a scary proposition, and I freaked, but I knew that taking the leg was the only way I could keep my girl.

Typically with amputation, they don't leave very much of the leg, regardless of where the tumor is. The long stump just gets in their way, and since most folks can't afford a prosthetic and most dogs don't really need them, there's no reason to leave a longer stump.

Do you have any idea yet of what sort of follow-up treatment you plan to do? You should ask for a c-Kit mutation test with your pathology report — this will come in handy if you decide to do either Palladia or Masitinib as a follow-up. We did chemo (twice) and tried the Masitinib — however, everything I've read says that Masitinib works better as a first defense (we tried it after the second round of chemo didn't work). You can read more about Rio's story on my blog. And if you have any questions that I can specifically answer, please PM me. I'm happy to share what I've learned on Rio's MCT journey.

Micki

My prayers are with you.  Day after tomorrow, Feb. 2nd, 2012 my Mom will be in the same neveous boat you are.  I am a  7 year old male Golden, Super Boomer is my name, and my back left leg is going to be removed due to cancer.  Please keep me posted as to Rox's status and recovery.