Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Ok.. I am just asking those of you out there who have the experience around new lumps and bumps. Shilo will be seeing her vet next Wednesday for her 3rd chemo treatment but, we have noticed that she has 2 hard nodules.
Well I should say that she has had one since about 2 weeks after amputation and it was on the back by her shoulder area, and it was in the area that they shaved. So I thought well maybe it is just from where they were putting the blocks in while doing the amputation. The problem is that it has grown slightly, and now we found a new one on her back. No where near the amp site that is along her spine area.
They are fairly hard and have movement to them, but they have also grown some. 🙁
Everything else is good!! Appitite, energy, happiness, etc. she is doing great! I am almost more apt not to have it checked and let her fight as long as the fight is in her, at the same time I don't want to consume myself with worries if it could be nothing.
I thought I remember someone talking about hard nodules that move not being a big concern, I would love someone to set me a little at ease. I know no one can say for sure, but ideas are so welcome..
Thanks -
Shilo & Mom
Shilo diagnosed with osteosarcoma 9/4/2009, amputation 9/9/2009. ShiloAnne lost her battle 11/23/2009 where she regained her fourth leg and is patiently waiting for her parents to join her. We will always love you baby girl.
I also noticed a little lump on Jack a couple days ago. I was squishing his neck fat when I felt a little thing that felt smaller than a grain of rice. It hasn't grown at all and it's not very hard and is movable, so I'm not really that worried (I think it actually may be his microchip...). Some lumps are normal, some can become cause for concern. The sucky thing about cancer, is that we automatically assume everything we find is related to the diagnosis. If you are worried, perhaps you could bring Shilo in a couple days early just to set your mind at ease. Good Luck and I'm glad everything else is going so smothly 🙂
<3 Laura and Jackers
Hi Shilo
Yep - I seem to be the Master of all things lumpy around here, at least the nasty kind. But I also have the nice kind. The nice ones tend to be round and movable and not too hard (they can be firm, but not rocky), little fatty lumps. Sometimes they can get real big - to the size of an orange or cantelope (I have a lemon sized one for two years that is still okay). I'll skip my sebaceous cysts for now, that's another kind yet, small things like pimples that ooze out of the skin.
My "C" lumps are rock hard. I knew what they were as soon as I felt them. Sometimes they seem a bit irregular in shape, sort of like a rock. I do have another new lump, which is kind of between the nice and nasty kind (round, movable, not growing too fast, but a bit hard), so I don't know what to make of that one.
So, I don't know what to make of yours. It might be good to have the vet check them out before the chemo appointment. IF they are "C" (and they probably are not that), your vet might want to think about the best course of action. The vet can use a needle to aspirate them and get a result before your chemo appointment.
How big are they? I feel little bumps around Tazzie's surgery site that seem related to surgery not to "C". We x-rayed the site (we thought he was in pain there) and it revealed a lot of clips from the surgery, I think it is a pretty bumpy area. Come to think of it, I have had one or two other small lumps show up, but they are more like mosquito bite size and just stay that size once they appear. They do not seem to be a problem.
Supposedly it is very rare for OSA to spread to subcutaneous lumps like mine. My oncologist said she sees a dog with that type of spread once every 5 or 10 years (but she currently has two, Tazzie and one other). I don't know if that is true, but that is what she told my vet. Usually it goes to the lungs, spine or sometimes brain. I guess I'd rather have them in my skin than any of those places!
And Jack, as for your wee little bit of a rice lump, get a life you little sucky hypochondriac 
!!!
Tazzie 2 (aka Lumpy)
Sorry to hear about the bumps, hopefully they are nothing to be concerned about. Good luck at the vet!
I bet Lumpy Tazzie will have better advice for you. Check out her related topics...
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Shilo it's great to hear that everything, other than the mystery lumps, is going well. You're Mom's right, it's hard to make that decision to find out what something is. Doing so puts humans at risk of fretting about it day and night. And that's just no fun. But then again, knowledge is power, and if you knew what it was, you would at least know if dealing with them is an option. Ugh. More decisions.
Anyhoo, the lumpy bumpy expert here these days would be Tazzie in Canada. Here are some links his Mom started:
Lumpy – Tazzie 2's subcutaneous mets
Subcutaneous SubQ mets update: Tazzie 2
Hope this helps! Please let us know what happens OK
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Oh my gosh we both had Tazzie in mind at the same time his mom was writing to you! Funny!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Shilo
Keep in mind that my lumps grow pretty darn quickly. It doesn't really sound that way from what you said so far. Still a needle biopsy is no big deal.
Well, time for a pre-midnight jaunt around the block! See ya,
Lumps and Bumps
That is awsome… And funny…(Jerry – Adm – Tazzie great minds think alike?)
Thanks Lumpy Tazzie… I was glad to see your happy blog too!! ' class='wp-smiley' />
The 1 lump I would say has grown from a about 1/4 in wide to 3/4 in wide in the past month. The second just showed up and is about the same size as the 1st was. It feels fairly hard, she has a lump on her chest she had before the diagnosis of osteosarcoma that is fairly big now. It has grown very slow but is much softer lumpy feel and doesn't move around. We had another rot that had these too and the vet said those weren't cancerous. I don't remember what she called them now.
Shilo diagnosed with osteosarcoma 9/4/2009, amputation 9/9/2009. ShiloAnne lost her battle 11/23/2009 where she regained her fourth leg and is patiently waiting for her parents to join her. We will always love you baby girl.
Yep, the lump title is definately Tazzie's. Cherry has had a number of softer nodules on the surface of the skin and even had one within the mouth removed just as she ended her chemotherapy. She also has a rather large one just below the ear canal where those huge Poodle ears fold, that is rather large and appeared just after the chemotherapy ended. While it did grow at a fair pace for a while, it has not grown for months. While I am sure that it drives you crazy, it is very good that you are so attentive to Shilo's condition. Check with the vet and keep on checking.
On the positive side, we are very hoppy to hear the Shilo has not had any of the ill effects of the chemotherapy. Personally I believe that it was the aggressive chemotherapy employed for Cherry that has allowed her to enjoy her return to the quality of life. In fact, as we approach the one year ampuversary, I would have to say that Cherry has never been better since the initial diagnosis. Now we just have to get up to the energy level of Calpernia, but that is more due to the fact that Dad does not get her out to exercise as much as he should. That will be fixed.
Paws Crossed and Sending Pawsitive Thoughts,
Bob & Cherry
Tazzie's first bad lump (a met) was <1" diameter when I found it, probably 1.5" diameter when it was removed 2 weeks later. We are now 4 weeks after that removal and it has regrown along with several others to form a fairly continuous hard mass, about 6" tall and a few inches wide from right hip down over the flank. It may be that it was growing more slowly when he was on high-dose chemo - but the oncologist viewed it as an indication that the chemo was not working. In any case, it is growing much more quickly than the lump you describe. You could see the change on a daily basis, at least until this week (I try not to watch it closely), which was also the case with the primary leg tumor the week before it was removed.
With Shilo, I'd probably ask for some needle biopsies, unless the vet is really confident they the lump is simply a lipoma (fatty lump).
Susan & Tazzie 2
Well, speaking of I just got off the phone with the vet... Shilo all of a sudden got fairly sick today. She has thrown up a few times in the teenagers room and acts like she did when coming home the first few days from chemo. I gave her a pepsid and that seemed to calm the drooling and nausea, but she is hesitant getting in and out of the car and up on to the bed like normal... Her Dad had to pick her up to get on the bed, and she yiped with pressure to her stomach.
The vet advised we take her tempature which was normal. He said if it was normal to have her seen tomorrow, if fever tonight. Luckily no fever... I told him about the lumps and he seemed concerned and said that he has seen cancer spread this way before, but we would talk about it when we come in Wednesday.
I am taking her to her local vet tomorrow if there isn't an improvement between now and then. So weird just all of a sudden... Her Dad said he took her out this morning and she was fine.. running down the hill to the barn to go potty. Now I can barely get her past the porch. Lets just hope that it is just some cold bug, or just a bad day....
We still are keeping a positive attitude and I did get her to go bye bye to get the family some food. Which by the way she ate too. 
Shilo diagnosed with osteosarcoma 9/4/2009, amputation 9/9/2009. ShiloAnne lost her battle 11/23/2009 where she regained her fourth leg and is patiently waiting for her parents to join her. We will always love you baby girl.
Good luck with Shilo. I hope she feels better soon.
Debra & Emily
Debra & Emily, a five year old doberman mix, who was diagnosed with an osteosaecoma. She had a right rear leg amputation on May 19, 2009. On November 10, 2009 she earned her wings and regained her fourth leg.
Eating is good, really good. We hope it's just an off-day (of which there can be many when it comes to cancer). Lots of love and good wishes coming your way. Keep us posted.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Well here is the update (sorry so long)
Well Shilo woke up in better spirits today.. Her daddy babied her all night bringing water to her etc. She would not get up off the bed after laying down about 7pm last night. Very much not like her, but I got her to get off the bed and go outside at 6am. Her tail went up a little and we caught a small wag… So I wondered about taking her to the vet, and then figured I had better her oncologist advised it. So….
Dr. did a CBC which came back normal except her platlets were low. Her vet said they are going to check for coagulation on another screen and will call me later, she wasn't too concerned about that. Temp, chest sounds, and tummy all good!!
I showed Dr. the lumps and she asked the same questions Tazzie's Mom asked(imagine that)
. So she did take a needle biopsy from both lumps. It came back with her having a concern some abnormal mutiplying cells. She kinda reacted like she did when we were dealing with the possibility of Osteosarcoma. She gives a certain amount of concern but, felt she wasn't experienced enough to give a firm diagnosis. After her saying a subcutaneous type tumor that exhibits characteristics of a sarcoma type. I asked if she thought it could be subcutaneous mets, she said it was likely. But again said she felt unexperience in this area. She went ahead and took another sample to send to OSU that was unstained. I also picked up some nausea meds(it was half the price they charge at the university).
So thank you Tazzie for sharing your experience, I think I wouldn't have handled it so well if you didn't share your experience with me. We have decided we will fight as long as Shilo is fighting with us!! She got a couple cheeseburgers on the way home and ate them up. She is now resting on her bed(my bed) but, is interacting with the family. She hasn't been sick at all but is still a little nauseated. Much better then yesterday. So I guess we won't get a firm answer until wednesday, we didn't find out why she felt yucky! Maybe just a bad day.
Shilo diagnosed with osteosarcoma 9/4/2009, amputation 9/9/2009. ShiloAnne lost her battle 11/23/2009 where she regained her fourth leg and is patiently waiting for her parents to join her. We will always love you baby girl.
Mmmmmm... cheeseburgers! 🙂 best wishes for better news this week.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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