Gracie's vet appointment.

Gracie's_Mom · 02-16-2008, 04:44 PM

Gracie weighs 76.4 pounds. She got all of her shots like a good little girl.

The lump on her leg, the vet said it could be a few things. It is either cancer, a fatty tumor, or a glorified zit. He said that we should measure it and mark it on a calender along with the size and check it in a month. If it is cancer then it will get larger. If it is a fatty tumor it should stay the same, if it's a zit it should go down.

So I guess I will know more in a month.

Reds · 02-16-2008, 04:50 PM

I'm betting you've never thought you'd be wishing so hard for something to be a zit!

Keep us posted and I'm praying for a zit! (never thought I'd be praying for a zit either...lol)

**Burns** · 02-16-2008, 04:50 PM

Glad she did well at her appointment

If it were me, I would have a FNA (fine needle aspirate) done of the lump and have them submit the cytology for microscopic evaluation. If it is a lipoma (fatty mass), it will be obvious right away. If it's anything else, the cytology should tell you exactly what so you can take care of it sooner rather than later.

Good luck!

**TracyJo** · 02-16-2008, 05:14 PM

Oh no, it's going to be a long month! Gracie is in my prayers and keep us posted!

Gracie's_Mom · 02-16-2008, 08:54 PM

I am really hoping for a zit. Lol. She seems fine. Thumper is always licking at it though, which drives me crazy. Gracie just lets him though. I am still trying to figure out how to measure it though. If I use a tape measure it will take more people than what I have here. Any thing like that she will freak out. So I am thinking. Tell me if this sounds stupid. I am going to get a piece of paper, and hold it up to it and draw it out and save it for next month. Does that sound stupid?

reddobes · 02-16-2008, 09:09 PM

To measure it you can just use a regular ruler and measure the diameter.
I would NOT allow the other dog to lick at the lump. This will only cause further inflammation and potential for infection.
I, too, would've recommended a needle biopsy (FNA) - this is not a perfect test as some types of tumors don't exfoliate well, but it would differentiate between inflammation and just fat and potentially neoplastic (cancerous) cells.

**sebsyd** · 02-16-2008, 10:52 PM

Glad all went well at the vets, but I wouldn't have liked his explanation of the bump!! Way to much wiggle room. I'm with Burns, go have a needle biopsy done, why wait and wonder?? Good luck. Keep us informed.

**Doberdog** · 02-17-2008, 01:01 PM

I agree about the FNA. I would not wait, just in case. I would be scared of what could happen in that month.
I hope all goes well which ever you choose to do. Please keep us posted.

prophecy · 02-19-2008, 12:31 PM

it may also be a hysteoma,i had a pit with one of these growths in his left ear. they need to be monitored but most often recede on there own. they most often grow really fast,then stop then in my pits case,recede.if they dont recede they need to be surgically removed as if they are left alone,many become pre-cancerous.

reddobes · 02-19-2008, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by prophecy

it may also be a hysteoma,i had a pit with one of these growths in his left ear. they need to be monitored but most often recede on there own. they most often grow really fast,then stop then in my pits case,recede.if they dont recede they need to be surgically removed as if they are left alone,many become pre-cancerous.

I assume you mean histiocytoma. A histiocytoma should be easy to diagnose via fine needle aspirate. Without any diagnostics, there are any number of things a lump can be benign or malignant (lipoma- fatty tumor, Mast cell tumor, sarcoma, hemangiopericytoma, abscess, etc).