It has just occurred to me October will be 6 months since proceeding with Oncept! Although only mid way through July, time sure is flying by! Great to see Lyss and Goose featuring in this months practical horseman, a big feature on equine melanoma. Be sure to have a read!
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Thanks, Holly01! Was so glad to be able to contribute in a small way to that article. Any way we can spread the word is a good thing in my book!
Woohoo nearing the 6 month mark! Gooseās loading doses have just ended, looking forward to seeing some (hopefully) positive results and for his booster in January!
Spring is on the horizon! Exciting times to get more riding in but am all too aware to watch the parotid tumor closely. Will keep you posted! really hoping everything is just kept at bay.
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Ordered Hollyās booster vaccine today . It takes a few weeks to arrive and by then she is due. Pleased to report the parotid tumor is stable, no bigger, no smaller, just the same. The other tumors also no bigger, no smaller, just the same ! ā¦same, same is all good in my book !
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So glad to hear it is stable! Wow that came up fast for her first booster. No change is absolutely a win in my book too, hoping to have similar reportings with Goose down the road! Keep us posted on your girl 
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I think it takes about 6 months to get a good idea of which way things are heading. It is still a waiting game as tumors are known to grow and stop on their on, then grow again ! ultimately it is time that will show how effective the Oncept is. It will be interesting if I notice any change following the booster. For now, using Oncept gives me peace of mind that it is potentially working.
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Good news!
Mr Ay-rab goes to OSU for his booster after we get back from WEG. Iāll update then!
ETA: have you noticed youāre up to almost 4000 reads on this discussion? My 2014 thread has been read more than 17,000 times. Obviously a topic of great interest!
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Wow thatās a lot !!! Itās good to share if you are in a position too Iām certainly a believer in sharing knowledge for the greater good! I wish the Oncept manufacturers would publish more case studies. There must be a large number of people out there who have tried Oncept ? or been part of the studies ? I wish these people would come forward too and share their experiences. Itās a big step to take and for the most part information is still limited. Heres hoping some of these people may read this ! Lol 
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I had a conversation with a former and favorite vet of ours a couple years ago. She gave me info on the IFX Vet vaccine folks. This year we finally pressed play on the process with one of ours. I did not realize it until after we biopsied and sent the sample in for the vaccineā¦but it is the same lab manufacturing for the melanoma study running down in FL. Last week we administered dose #1 and were VERY surprised to see a difference already the next day. Each day since then, some movement in the right direction. Today was dose #2. Very excited to see what the longer term will yield.
That is sounding rather promising !!! I did read about the Immune FX and the case studies were impressive with nearly all I recall showing a definate shrinkage ? Off to a good start which is super encouraging ! Please keep us updated !
Is that the Oncept folks, or someone making an autogenous vaccine?
Neither. Itās another approach, some have had good luck with it. Canāt remember if itās commercially available yet. Too lazy to google it!
here ya go: https://www.paulickreport.com/horse-care-category/taking-shot-treating-equine-melanomas/
Thank you for that explanation, very interesting.
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Waiting for our 6 monthly booster (in 2 weeks) and noticing the parotid tumor in recent weeks appears bigger? Really hoping this is not the case. Also, thought iād try Boswellia (franckincense) powder added to feed, and maybe some topical oil to tumor to see if any changes here. There has been some positive research and results with using this; although the results to these studies stop short around 2010ā¦not sure what to make of this. I will measure parotid tumor this weekend to see where things are at and post here.
That gland also may grow in Cushings, so be sure the horse is not going down that path also.
For what I hear, some horses with tumors that regress the tumors get clear spots on them, where the pigment is missing, indicating the vaccine at work, since it works by targetting and suppressing those pigmented cells?
If it makes you feel any better, the lumps that remain on Mr Ay-rab have changed size up and down but do not return to their original size. Likewise, the lumps that completely disappeared have stayed gone. In the past I did see some change in size when we were close to the 6 month mark. Somewhere around 2015 I did go through a period of having his injection every 3 or 4 months rather than 6 months because I started seeing changes that I didnāt like. Now, however, the lumps stay pretty much the same size and small for the entire 6 months.
I have no idea why this is true, but I have lived it. Hard on your wallet to go every 4 months, but worth it to keep that bad tumor tamped down. He had absolutely no ill effects from having his injections closer together.
You might discuss it with your vet. And your wallet!
Our 6 monthly booster done and dusted ! The parotid tumor is the same length and width as 6 months prior, looks possibly like it may have increased slightly in depth, as it appears to protrude a little more than before. I never did a depth measurement so is just going on a visual. Overall it appears contained, still relatively small and localised. It was a very aggressive tumor so to see it stalled is fantastic!. We were overdue a couple of weeks for our Booster due to work commitments. But, onwards from here and will continue to monitor.
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Very good news! :):):)
The parotid tumor has stalled again since the booster. I was a getting a bit worried as it looked like it was growing again just a few weeks prior. Itās scary having such an aggressive tumor in the worst possible location. All it wants to do is grow like wild fire. When I first noticed it, it was noticeably bigger each weekā¦so being this aggressive I think the Oncept is working.
This is great news, so glad to hear itās been stalled again! Goose goes in the next few weeks for his six month (well, slightly early so 5ish month) booster and Iām hoping it stalls his. Iām fairly convinced theyāre growing again, albeit slowly so canāt complain too much I guess. Have to get back to blogging but life is getting in the way at the moment.
Made my day to hear this news about Holly when Iāve been pretty down about my own melanoma situation, thanks so much for always keeping us updated!
