Mast cell tumour

Ahh, well. My 13 year old pomeranian just had a large lump surgically removed. She's home and full of p!ss and vinegar as usual. We just got a call from the vet telling us that the lump they removed is a grade 3 mast cell tumour and she has only 6 months at most to live.

I'm not thinking straight right now, and I'm possibly not making sense. Tell me if this post doesn't make sense.

I'm not sure what to do? Currently she seems like her old self.
Should I get a second opinion? How do I do that? The lump started off as a squishy mass on her elbow/arm. The vet said it was a fatty lipoma and we needn't worry. Then it got bigger, he said not to worry. It got rock hard and he said she probably bumped it and it got infected, but to be safe, we should remove it. So we did. They found out it was a tumour, but said it looked benign. And now we hear she has 6 months.
It sounds like he's always wrong.. of course I'm clinging on the tiniest chance that he's wrong again.
Should I ask another vet?

I'm so sorry for you and your dear girl . I doubt if another opinion would help as the new vet wouldn't have any tissue to check .Maybe others have more of an opinion . Last summer when I had to put my dear Golden Chip to sleep ....he was sick and the cancer had spread .... giving him 3 mos at the most . I couldn't put us both through that . Since your gal is feeling good , I'd just enjpy every minute until you see she is losing her quality of life . It's sooo hard to let them go !!! My thoughts and prayers are with you . Try to get more info from your vet as to whether it's else where ...... most tumors are self contained ...... maybe since he didn't expect cancer he didn't get enough tissue . This is where a second opinion might help . I hope more have clinical input for you . ((( Hugs ))).

I'm so sorry to hear that you are going to lose your precious baby. Try to enjoy the time you have with her while she is still feeling good and then when it gets bad for her know that you will be helping her when you take that final trip to the vet.

OH, I'm soooo sorry. What horrible news to get. Unfortunately, I think the life span of a Pom is about 12-15 years (although I've seen some live to 17) so, to be honest, she may be getting near the end of her life anyway. I know that is not really a consolation, but you should rest easy knowing that she has had a good long life. I think it never hurts to get a 2nd opinion, if you feel it is necessary.

So sorry to hear you got such unexpected results. I went thru this with the Sheltie in my avatar. I found a pea size lump in the mamary gland area, during grooming (rare for a male I'm told) and vet said "no problem". So tiny, he had a difficult time finding it again and questioned what it was. My Sheltie was 12, and at that age, he said the same thing yours did, to let it go. Within a year, it was the size of a golf ball. Because he was still certain it still was a fatty tumor/cyst he wanted to leave it alone. I insisted it be removed. When he got in there, he found it was up thru the rib cage and a mess. I sat in on the surgery (vet is a friend) and have never seen anything like this. I was told, while he was certain he got it all, it would probably return within 6 mos., so enjoy my time with him and keep him comfortable. I changed my dogs lifestyle a bit, his diet and had him on some interesting "goodies". I had him for another 3 yrs!! When it was time to go, he let me know immediately. You just never know, at this age, how much time you two really have together. While being prepared helps, it sure doesn't hurt to hang onto that tiny bit of hope you're looking for. I was very lucky.