Only days ago on the 7th November I lost my dog Spike after a year long battle with cancer. I have been researching his particular form of cancer and have discovered that hardly any research has been done to find the cause of it and as yet there is no treatment that has high survival and low side effect rates. The type of cancer I refer to, was of course a Grade III malignant mast cell tumor. Before he was initially diagnosed with this in September 2011 he was mis-diagnosed as having wasp or bee stings due to swelling around his face and consequently prescribed anti-histamines. It was only when the swelling re-occured that the veterinarian took a sample of the main swelling on his ear and a week later it was diagnosed as a mast cell tumor. Four weeks had been wasted between his initial appointment to the time he had surgery to have it removed. By this time it was too late as within a couple of months the tumor reappeared as the cells had already clung to too much of the tissue in the area. I was given chemotherapy as an option but I was told there was a less than 5% chance of success and in the meantime the side effects would make Spike very sick, reducing his quality of life. So throughout the last year Spike was given Prednidale (steroids) and Piriton as ongoing treatment for the tumor and eventually this stopped working and we lost our battle last week.

After researching this form of cancer in canines over the last couple of days and using my experience with Spike I have discovered that mast cell tumors are one of the most serious and life threatening conditions for dogs and occasionally cats, but unfortunately there are little or no advances in the research for a better treatment for them. Also it seems there are even trained veterinarians that are so inexperienced with this type of cancer that the early stages are being mis-diagnosed and mis-treated, reducing the chances of survival in pets. It is for this reason I wish to set up a foundation in Spike's name to educate, raise awareness of the condition and also hopefully funds to contribute towards the research for a better treatment.

Please pass details of this website to your loved ones and let's fight MCT's!