melanoma on penis and all over sheath

clancysunny2

clancysunny2

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hi, i've been told my 15yr old has melanoma (2wks told 99% squamous cell carcinoma). i understand that melanoma is not as bad as scc. unsurprisingly i have been increasingly worried as the growth has been so rapid in past few wks. 3 wks ago the vet was called as i noticed 1 big lump and lots of little ones inside sheath and on base of penis, and now i can only just get my hand in sheath area as the swelling has increased so much - 2 or 3 golf ball size and too many small ones to count. he also has pea size lump on dock area - not there last wk. vet today has said penis removal not an option. told exercise good, but i can't ride at moment because of snow. he will prescribe drug to be given 3 times a day for first 3 mths, and then see if it is effective but to remember that we are only seeing 50% of what is there. i was begging to ask whether it was an option to have him pts sooner rather than later, but couldn't bring myself to - felt guilty. i suspect that shortly something horrid is going to happen requiring the vet - keep seeing colic mentioned, and i'm going on family holiday in couple of wks leaving my friend to deal with everything? have to speak to her. any advice - my head is spinning . suppose i can now look up melanoma on internet rather than scc. thks
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That has been a rapid change hasn't it. did you not ask the vet what the prognosis is? Did he not mention the cryogenic surgical freezing that my wee minty had done. When i noticed his SCC they only looked like wee ulcer type things so maybe i was just lucky really. I don't know if they can do it for melenoma.
I hope the drugs help him, it is such a terrible worry when thet have something like this.
 
hi, v v rapid spread. vet did not clearly say what prognosis is other than its not good, but better than scc, that amputation wouldn't help, and that although he had seen good results with the drugs, it wasn't guaranteed, but to try them for 3 mths and to see what happen. he didn't mention putting ts, so i didn't ask. he did mention laser removal of lumps on a 28 yr old pony that made it a lot more comfi, but said that minty will have loads more that we can't see. i've said it before and i'll say it again, i must think about something else?*. thks for yr response .helen
 
Keep his stress levels to a basal level at all times if possible. I know the areas swollen, but you want to try not to massage the area at all - an increase in bloodflow will help the melanomas to grow. Measure them weekly if possible taking pics of the rapid progression and then its something to go to the vets with.

I have a mare with a melanoma which is sat right by her glands, i stressed her out big style and moved her to college and it grew quite large. As it was, sent her home after 2wks and now its reduced in size but ... treatment etc...

Gem is fed on green tea extract, from holland and barratt, i just stick a tablet in her feed once a day at the highest dose, although recently ive been upping it to 2 but while im away she'll only get 1. This is helping to keep hers from growing, ie other than the 2wk stint, theyve not grown.

What drug has the vet prescribed for him? Cimetidine? - Been trying to convince my vet to prescribe me it for quite some time now but he claims 'stomach ulcers only' so in easter im going armed with a load of scientific journals to prove that it works.

Good luck with his treatment, due to Gems being where they are and the area being highly vascular, surgery isnt an option for her either as she'd just bleed out on the table. I was after a second advice from a top vets which isnt too far away but they werent interested as we were just out of their boundary.
 
i suppose a much better way to look at it is that he has some treatment which involves absolutely no discomfort - powdered pill in nice food, and within 3 mths the drugs may well workand reduce lumps and halt spread. not hugely expensive either, and no towing around for tests and stressful proceedures.
 
Hi, sorry to hear your news. My pony had a tumour on his penis and they did amputate about half way, but it sounds like your horse has them in too many places for that to be an option. Is he grey by any chance?

I think alot of vets find it very difficult to mention the pts option, at least straight away. Vets are problem-solvers by nature, and will always offer treatment options, so I think you need to broach the subject next time so the vet knows he can discuss the subject if the treatment options don't work out.

Hopefully the treatment will halt the rapid growth and give your horse some extra quality time. But you need them to be honest with you, as sometimes you need to decide if it is really in the horse's best interests to continue with treatment.

Sorry, that sounds a bit brutal, but I think you sound quite sensible and will know what to do.
 
I am sorry to read this.
Our pony had scc and had his penis removed. He came through the op very well but the cancer grew back in the lab after three days.
Our vet Karen Coombe went off to the olympics and warned us that she may not be back before he took a turn for the worst but he waited for her to come back!
We had 4 good months with him before he developed odeama on his stomach.
Karen wanted to op so that his urether came out of his rectum cos his sheath was so swollen and stitches had opened up.
We decided it was too big an op so decided to make him as comfortable as poss.
Riding him everyday to keep him happy and help with his poor lymphatic return.
Took the decision to pts 6wks later when he walked very very slowly with his legs open,had night sweats and leaked pee.
I felt for a very long time that he could have gone on longer as he was always so happy in himself but now can see it was selfish on my part because he must have been in pain.
He was on 5x pirocicam/feldene tablets a day.
Pm if you want anymore info and good luck.
 
Yeah, i think i said to you before, that the cryogenic thing is the most invasive thing that i would consider for my minty. If it comes back, I won't be doing any more. He is an old boy though and I don't want him being sore and uncomfrotable. I really worried about the treatment being worse than the disease.
 
My old boy had numerous melanomas in his sheath although not as fast growing as you describe, there were many of them, some pretty large. I left well alone other than smothering with Battles Fly Cream in the summer.

I think you will have to play it by ear depending on how much they continue to grow, personally I'd be wary of treating as these are likely to just be the ones you can see, the chances are there are many more internally that you can't. That was the outcome with my horse and he was eventually PTS.

I'd be guided by the ponies demeanour and the vets advice.
 
thk u for your very "satisfying" reply. at least i hv the v treatment i would only want to put him thru, and yes he's a grey connemara. nxt time i speak/see the vet am going to ask for the pts option and get a clear answer.

i've just been reading pag 11 about cancer of penis, and i'm afraid i'm not as brave as the other owners! mind u, every description has a bit here and a bit there that is the same, but none are quite the same. read one horse had odema in the abdomen - funnily enough i told the vet this am that i though minty's stomach has got bigger and i didn't see it as weight gain, but he said they all change shape at this time of yr, and mints not as fit as xmas - should have asked him to check it though.

anyway, v gd friendly advise, thks (hubby doesn't want to know!
 
Im really sorry you are going through this. One of our horses has a growth on his penis, he had it removed surgically but the scar tissue is also causing him problems so he cant extend it. Our vet has suggested amputation, partial or full. But we are not sure we want to go ahead with such an extreme operation. We are thinking about it but.....

I dont have anything helpful to say but I just wanted to let you know you have support and people thinking of you.

In my experience, vets wont say PTS if there is any treatment option available at all. When I decided it was the right time I had to ring my vet and beg him to come and put my mare to sleep. It was horrible, as I wanted him to say it first but of course they cant if theres anything at all left to try.
 
cassandrarose you are right. my vet and I knew that our pony was not going to get better and we discussed all the options like resection of urether through rectum,atibiotics blah blah blah but when it came to the end she said you can't leave him like this and I was the one to call it.
Maybe they cover themselves so they don't get blamed when owners are hit by grief.
In May when he was diagnosed she gave me no real option- op to remove penis or pts but was very pro op,although she gave me no quarentees.
We had 4 good months ,I'm very grateful for that.
 
Canesta - i think it is because the vets dont want to be blamed with the owners are devestated and who can blame them.... when I told my vet again after he re-iterated the treatment options left (which were not acceptable, and she was not going to make it anyway) that I wanted him to put her to sleep he said I had made the right decision. So hard. in those situations you just want someone to take the responsibility away from you dont you.

Im so upset about our horse. Currently he is being managed with antibiotics/bute but it just kills me to think of this because of all the horses we ever had he is the best and so young
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i spoke to the vet this am and he immediately agreed that it is best to have minty pts sooner rather than later. i keep crying but it's a lovely sunny day and the vet agrees. hopefully my lovely young farrier will do the deed for me. thks for the help.
 
I'm really sorry to hear about your horse having had a grey with SCC myself. He was diagnosed on the Friday and I was told he could have a few more months deteriorating or I could make the decision to PTS. I had a sunny April weekend with him and had him put to sleep on the Monday
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(hugs) but I think you are making the best and brave decision

((more hugs))
 
sorry to hear this Helen,
I know exactly how you feel and sorry that you are going through this.
I was told it is extremely rare but judging by the reponse posts from yours and mine there are many poor geldings that have this terrible problem.
So unfair when they are fit and healthy everywhere else.
Thinking of you.
 
So sorry to hear this helenminty. It is very hard but I am sure you are doing the right thing. It sounds as if he will soon suffer if nothing else is done. (((HUGS))) to both of you. Many people on here have lost loved friends and will offer support if you need it.
Best wishes.
 
I'm so sorry, this must be a huge worry to you.

Some years ago I took a pony in who had growths which had developed on his penis, but then burst. It was a horrible site and he struggled to go to the toilet. In his case I could only do the kindest thing and have him put to rest.

I wish you luck with whichever route you take and I'm sure you'll do your absolute best for him.
 
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