Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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I've been meaning to ask this but I guess I've been sort of avoiding it:
Would you guys have a biopsy/ fine needle aspirate on every lump you find?? Manni has had Lipomas even before the amputation and cancer diagnosis. I had one biopsied once about 3 years ago so I know that one was a Lipoma, I am aware that Dr. Dressler says to biopsy pretty much everything but I also know that "poking" a potentially dangerous mass may cause it to react. Also, Manni has multiple (as in more like 6) lumps in different locations. My vet at the clinic, where we also did Chemo, said it's better to just have an eye on them and not probe every single one.
so. what would you do?
Guardian of Manni the Wonderdog. -Or was it the other way around?
Osteo and amputation in Dec 2015. Second, inoperable, primary osteosarcoma found in June 2017.
The end of our adventures came Dec 10, 2017. 2 years to the day.
What would you do if you did needle biopsy and they came back as something other then Lipomas?
I think that is what you need to ask yourself ? Would you proceed, if surgery or more is needed?
Can you look at these lumps and not know what they are and keeping hopping on?
If I found a lump on Purrkins again, I would want to know what it was.
We are all different and I really think its what you can live with or what you cannot live with.
No wrong or right its what you think is best for you and Manni!
Hugs!!
Holly & Purrkins
Thanks Holly, I'm really interested in what everyone thinks.
Knowing me I probably would proceed. I am one of those that always want to know because otherwise I just worry. I am not entirely sure about surgery, it would depend on margins, outlook, and so on. But I know everybody handles that differently. Which is fine, of course.
But I have (at least) two more things to consider: Vet says he's 80% sure its Lipoma due to certain factors AND if any of them are cancerous as far as I know prodding them can cause them to spread. (On top of being in month 14 post-amp, having to put Manni through at least 6 biopsies and so on)
Thank you for experiences and opinions! Can't decision-making just start getting easier??
Guardian of Manni the Wonderdog. -Or was it the other way around?
Osteo and amputation in Dec 2015. Second, inoperable, primary osteosarcoma found in June 2017.
The end of our adventures came Dec 10, 2017. 2 years to the day.
tinsch said
Can't decision-making just start getting easier??
I do not think so once we start this Cancer journey!! ???
I am certain you will get lots of advice and feedback here! Take it all in and decide what sounds best for you and Manni!
I always say follow you gut instinct. Try to be calm and listen if you don't feel it! Its almost a nagging type feeling. Its what comes to mind first! Can't describe it too well.
Best of luck with your decision! We are sending you strength and hoping you will find some clarity and peace with whatever route you take or do not take.
You have Manni's best intreast in mind and thats what is most important!
HUGS to you and Manni the Wonderdog;)
I agree that it all depends on what you would do with the information you received.
As you know, nobody can tell what a lump is based on how it looks or feels. I'm curious, what are the factors your vet mentioned, about it being improbably the lumps are cancerous?
I've known many lumpy dogs in my time. The older they get the lumpier they got. In almost every case it was lipomas.
As for how poking a mass could cause it to spread, we've heard that too. So we interviewed an oncologist about this and his take was studies are inconclusive and that this concept is still debatable (at least as far as osteosarcoma tumors were concerned).
Would I get them aspirated? I think if my own dog had always been lumpy, probably not. If it was a brand new thing, yeah I'd do it. Would I do every lump? I'd follow the guidance of the oncologist taking the samples.
Whatever you decide, if you follow your gut feeling you can't go wrong.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
My Merry Myrtle has some hard bumps (or tiny lumps) and I can't decide whether to get them poked or not either because of that "uncertainty" you mentioned. She just turned three.
I'm glad to hear Jerry's response from the Oncologist that whether the poke causes spreading or not is inconclusive.
So I guess it really does get down to your own "gut" feeling. Right now, for me, I don't have any
strong gut feeling to have them checked out any further than just watching them. Stupid move? Who knows!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
If in doubt, check it out! As Dr Sue Cancer Vet says...
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Ohhhh the lumps and bumps and lump lumps! (AKA CharlieBear's life...he has so many dang lipomas and infiltratve lipomas. In fact, he just came out of surgery for a herniating lipoma under the ellbow of his good leg🙂
I think it comes down to if the mass feels movable, if it is squishy or firm, if it changes shape/growth rapidly, if it interferes with mobility or another important function, and if it just makes you worry too much not to know. (Also, and anecdotally, Da Bear's cholesterol is on the higher side. Some believe there is a link between high cholesterol and lipomas so that may be an easy check?)
And, finally, although for many cancers, aspiration/biopsy is a risk in that cells can (ostensibly) spread, and that often the biopsies are inconclusive, sometimes it is simply worth the risk IF you have to live in AnxietyWorld. Which is a hard place NOT to live in after a diagnosis of cancer!!!
However, even with CharlieBear and His Incredible Lump Lump Journey, the Vet School was of the mind that at most he simply needed to be monitored until it became a functional issue...(which, it did...ahem.)
So not much help here but go with your gut. Maybe not check out all six but the one or two you are most worried about?
Good feedback and insight! Let us know how the DaBear is doing after his surgery!
ADMIN, video was educational AND funny!! Thanks!!
Awhile back I posted under Ask A Vet about Merry Myrtle's It includes a photo of how I marked Myrtle's bumps a d how I'm keeping track of them. Just my version of how the Vet in the video suggested monitoring lumps. Here's the link with the photo
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
I was fortunate in that Otis and Tess had very few lumps, and they appeared quite suddenly, so when a new one showed up we would get it checked. I might take a different approach with a dog with lots of lumps, not sure I would have each one checked if I knew that my dog was just prone to lipomas and there was nothing unusual about any particular lump. But probably would want to monitor them for changes. Obviously, some risk in that approach, but I think I also might view the lumps as "normal" for that dog.
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
Tri-pug Maggie had mast cell cancer which almost always presents as a lump. She had one mast cell tumor (MCT) removed before her amp and after her amp she had recurring tumors pop up, 5 altogether. As I found them I had each aspirated- with mast cell a FNA gives a clear indication of mast cell cancer. When we got the path report on the tumor removed with her leg we found out that there was serious mast cell involvement in her lymph node so her prognosis was poor. In her case every lump that popped up was a possibility of mets so I had each one checked. Every lump I found on Mag turned out to be a MCT.
Mag's little sis Tani was diagnosed with her first MCT one week before Maggie finished her chemo. When they shaved her for surgery they found two more. After the first three tumors were removed Tani was in remission for several years but dogs that have more than one MCT are prone to more so I was always checking her for lumps. Sure enough more lumps showed up several years later. By then Tani was 11 or 12 and had lots of other health issues so I wasn't going to do anything aggressive but I did intend to determine if any lumps were cancerous. We did aspirate them and they were all MCTs, I think 3 that time. We took them off with a punch and a stitch each. Before the path report came back two more lumps popped up! At that point I decided that we were done messing with lumps. It appeared that they were going to keep coming and taking them off was a loosing battle. I did keep track of them on a diagram and checked them to make sure they didn't ulcerate. Once I was sure I wasn't going to do anything about the tumors unless they ulcerated I lost interest in aspirating them. Every lump I had checked on Tani was a MCT.
A few months after I adopted pug boy Obie he grew a lump on his lip, he was 4 years old. Because I was batting 100% for pug lumps being MCTs I was sure Obie's was one also. Turned out not to be cancerous and it went away on it's own.
If I find a lump on Obie or Elly I will have it checked as soon as I can get them to the vet because pugs are prone to MCTs and my experience has been that something like 95% of the lumps I have found on my dogs have been cancerous.
I think you have to weigh everything: the number of lumps you have had checked and how many were cancerous, the health of your dog, age, breed, what kind of cancer you are fighting and what you plan to do about it if it is cancerous.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
charliebear said
I think it comes down to if the mass feels movable, if it is squishy or firm, if it changes shape/growth rapidly, if it interferes with mobility or another important function, and if it just makes you worry too much not to know. (Also, and anecdotally, Da Bear's cholesterol is on the higher side. Some believe there is a link between high cholesterol and lipomas so that may be an easy check?)
And, finally, although for many cancers, aspiration/biopsy is a risk in that cells can (ostensibly) spread, and that often the biopsies are inconclusive, sometimes it is simply worth the risk IF you have to live in AnxietyWorld. Which is a hard place NOT to live in after a diagnosis of cancer!!!
However, even with CharlieBear and His Incredible Lump Lump Journey, the Vet School was of the mind that at most he simply needed to be monitored until it became a functional issue...(which, it did...ahem.)
So not much help here but go with your gut. Maybe not check out all six but the one or two you are most worried about?
Thanks for all the feedback! It kind of goes with my very ambivalent feelings towards this. We were told the same things at the clinic in terms of location, texture, shape and so on. AnxietyWorld is my new home and I'm sure I've seen other people around... but that isn't just because of the lumps of course (torn tendons, funny breathing, the list is endless).
I was also told to monitor the lumps and right now am leaning towards that. But again it's a matter of not wanting to make the wrong decision.
(at the same time I've not been to my own check-ups in a while, have not been to a PT in ages even though I should. Funny how that goes 
)
We'll see. I'll have the vet check the lumps again next time we're there I guess and then see what they say.
Thank you!
Tina
Guardian of Manni the Wonderdog. -Or was it the other way around?
Osteo and amputation in Dec 2015. Second, inoperable, primary osteosarcoma found in June 2017.
The end of our adventures came Dec 10, 2017. 2 years to the day.
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