Glad you are getting a good response! 
[QUOTE=Plumcreek;7759755]
Thanks and congrats on the good news . I will continue to follow your horse, so please continue the updates.
Which masses still remain and are stable ? I thought your horse mostly had melanomas around the jugular, and those had shrunk significantly. Does he have any traditional black skin melanomas around sheath or anus or lips?
Thanks.[/QUOTE]
Mr. Ay-rab began treatment with 1 ocular melanoma, 5 internal melanomas along his jugular, 1 mass along his rib cage (ETA: internal), and 2 small melanomas under his tail. Today he has 1 ocular, much shrunken. He has 2 remaining along his jugular, shrunken and stable since March. The others disappeared. The mass by his rib cage disappeared. The two under his tail are small and stable since March.
ETA: He has a history of traditional ones under his tail and on his neck. I had those removed. From 2010 on his problems were pretty much all internal or ocular, except for the small ones under his tail.
Mr Ay-rab went to his favorite ophthalmologist yesterday for a thorough look-see of his eye. A happy happy report - both ocular melanomas are practically gone. I know the vet was kind of skeptical of his progress when she saw him in June - I think she was hoping it would work a little faster at that point. However, it was nothing but smiles yesterday as both have not only stopped growing but regressed significantly.
He will probably always have an area of edema on his cornea but it does not affect his vision and even the edema has changed altho it has not disappeared. No matter to me - he’s certainly not a halter horse and as long as he can see - we are in great shape.
An early Thanksgiving present for sure!!!
Al hamdu l’illah!
Excellent news, and thanks for the update.
Just wanted to clarify a bit since it seems like posts 61 and 62 don’t agree. When I wrote #61, I didn’t include a small something near his optic nerve that’s had an undetermined status throughout all this. It did not register on the MRI we had done in December 2013 but the ophtho has been able to see and monitor it for the last 3 years. After we started the Oncept, it also has been changing, so it’s pretty likely that it is a very very small melanoma too. Really small now, which is great news since it’s in the scariest location.
Hope that clears up the singular reference to the ocular melanoma in #61 and the plural in #62. Trying to be accurate since I’m writing for the record here!
This is so cool, oldernewbie. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us. As the owner of a grey horse, I really appreciate the info and the play by play. Super interesting treatment, and I am so glad it’s working well for your horse!!
Took Mr Ay-rab to OSU today for his 7th injection. Happily a continuation of the good news from November - masses in eye smaller. They examined him thoroughly from nose to tail for new masses on his body and there were none. The two remaining masses on his jugular are, amazingly, smaller.
His lead vet and I discussed the many interesting and unanswerable, at this point, questions. How will vets be able to tell which horses will respond and which won’t? What will be his maintenance schedule? Why did any changing seem to be less obvious for a while and then seemingly all of a sudden start happening again?
This sort of thing will keep vet researchers busy for many many projects! Right now I’m just happy to live in the moment and be thankful that my sweet sweet horse has at least been relieved from this scourge for whatever time the stuff works! Let’s hope it’s for years, eh?
Happy Holidays!!!
Yay great news. Thanks for the updates.
For melanoma, try the “Cancer Combo” from VetCur. It is a holistic remedy for cancer, and it has worked very well on my own grey horse, as well as many others in Europe.
I am so glad to find this thread on grey horses and melanomas. Maybe you can give me your valuable insights.
We have found the perfect horse for my daughter but he is 15 and has many, many melanomas, tail, anus. face, genitals, and a large 2-3" other kind of tumor, with a fluid filled cyst behind his elbow.
We found him five months ago at $18,000 but have since been asked to make an offer as they knew how much my daughter really cares about him. My dilemma is what is the risk worth? Can internal tumors be seen on ultrasound? With so many external tumors how does that tip the scale with unseen tumors?
He has had excellent care all of his life while competing Training level and schooling Prelim. Our aspirations are lower BN, N, and maybe training level in a few years then off to college. My daughter is 15 and only riding for two years but she is dedicated, the first to arrive at the barn and the last to leave.
We board and I have an older daughter with a chronic illness that consumes time and extra cash limiting the amount of money I have to invest in a horse. I have saved for two years to pay up to $12,000 for a quite safe horse that is trained to Event the lower levels. Do I offer $6000 knowing his health may change any month? and save the other $6000 for a replacement or offer it in installments for each healthy year?
I am so torn as he is just so wonderful! We have been searching for so long, had two failed vet checks…cataracts and bone chips and still do not have a friend to love.
Please let me know what you think about his odds with all of these tumors.
The horse I am considering said that he had the first series of injections. I did not know what they were talking about until I read this article. Would I need to start over or pick up where they left off a year ago?
Ghettozoo, I’m sending you a private message…
Just wanted to stop by and mention that the last remaining internal masses on Mr Ay-rab’s jugular are G.O.N.E.!!!
Happy New Year!!! and loads of blessings to the wonderful researchers who labor in the background so that our horses can be healthier!
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AWESOME NEWS!!! How exciting! Congrats, oldernewbie–it’s been a long road! I am thrilled for you!
Congratulations on this wonderful news and for you sticking with it and seeing your horse through this experimental treatment. I think I will ask my vet to give your vet another call.
Here is another treatment showing great promise. Congratulations OP on your horse’s good health!
When I took Mr Ay-rab to OSU in March 2014, it was 50-some degrees. Today? It was 5 when I left the barn. 
But a little bit of cold can’t hide the good news today - shot #8 and an all-clear exam. Everyone is very very happy with his progress.
Now we move to a 6-month interval. I am feeling pretty good about this - we shall see how it goes. If things start appearing again, well obviously we will have to go to Plan B, but fingers crossed that his system can manage itself.
Can’t tell you how much I’ve appreciated the support on this forum. Three cheers for Mr Ay-rab’s vet team: Teresa Burns DVM and Laura Dunbar DVM at OSU, Claire Latimer DVM at Rood & Riddle, and Chuck Savini DVM, our local vet. Additional thanks to Martha Mallicote DVM at the University of Florida for her excellent advice.
I am forever, forever grateful to the developers of Oncept too - I have no idea who they are, but thank you!!!
Now, can we have spring please??? I want to ride the crazy beast! :winkgrin:
Al hamdu l’illah!
Oldernewbie, I sent you a PM
