melanoma mass inside head - has anyone dealt with this before?

[mayfly1]

hi i was just wondering if anyone had any advice/personal experience with a melanoma mass inside your horses head. My 14 year old grey mare suddenly grew a lump above her eye socket and we had it ultrasounded by the vet and they found a huge mass of blood and tissue spreading further back into her head and from the biopsey it was found to be a melanoma of which she has also had under her tail etc. She has a CT scan next week to find out more, just wondering what i should expect or treatments to ask about as even the vet wasnt really sure why it has come about!

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I've got no experiance of this but I wanted to wish both you and your mare lots of luck. I hope that the scan goes well and that she has a good prognosis.

 

[mayfly1]

thankyou! thats really sweet! i hope so too

 

[misst]

As above - no advice but I hope your horse does well and has a good outcome.

 

[dotty1]

I looked after a 30 year old pony last year who had a melanoma appear on his cheek. It grew very quickly in 6 months. It didn't seem to bother him, he did dribble a lot towards the end, but he was still eating and happy. Vet did try cemetidine but it didn't do anything, at great expense. It was rock solid and must have been pretty heavy. As he was 30 years old he was just well looked after and pts before the horrible winter weather came. Here is a pic, taken shortly before he went. It doesn't show the width, but it was the size of a small football

 

[AdorableAlice]

My old boy had similar, his lump was above eye and behind ear. He had a few tiny lumps (marble size) under his tail.

The face lumps did not appear until his mid 20's. He was pts aged 29 as he began to struggle to rise in the mornings without help.

My vet said many grey's have melonoma and most of the growths cannot be seen. I don't know if there are any realistic treatments at present and wish you all the best with your horse.

 

[toystory]

My 12yr old grey horse also has lumps below his ears & down his cheek bones on both sides. They are gradually getting larger but do not bother him.Vet had a look when out for jabs & he advised to leave alone,he said you will know when they begin to bother him.It might be worth contacting The Animal Health Trust in Newmarket i know they are looking into laser treatment of melanomas.

 

[TarrSteps]

I've known four grey horses with diagnosed tumours in their head/throat region. (I suspect a few others but these were all either visible externally and confirmed by scans or diagnosed on scans after symptoms appeared.)

Cimetidine is worth a conversation, at least, but it will not cure the tumours outright and the horse will have to remain on it. A friend's broodmare has been on and off it for years, in between foals (it works by inhibiting cell growth so obviously not an option if you're breeding), and it definitely made a difference to her.

Two of the horses had masses through their sinuses. One, the owners chose to simply keep on keeping on. The horse has surgery once, which obviously provided some relief, but was quickly compromised in his breathing again. I have to say, I saw the horse regularly and I'm not sure I agreed with their choice as he was clearly in distress. The other was diagnosed after years of being a bit "iffy" in his breathing so there was every suspicion he'd had the tumour for years but he looked fit and well otherwise. Further investigation was indicated when his breathing became more compromised. In his case the vet recommended euthanasia, not so much because of the horse's immediate distress but because they tumour involved quite a few major blood vessels and they felt there was a very real risk he could haemorrhage and bleed out at any time.

The two who had obvious tumours in their throats were both competing and doing well! They both required some consideration re tack, style of riding etc but otherwise seemed unaffected.

The thing with tumours is they are so individual. I've seen horses with massive ones that seemed almost unaffected! And others where it was just in the wrong place.

I hope you can get some answers for you mare. Sorry I can't give you better news.

 

[seoirse]

Mayfly how is your horse doing? Mine has developed a similar lump over his eye in the recent few weeks. I'd be very interested to hear how yours is doing. I've got the vet coming next week.