Caramac71
Well-Known Member
My little terrier x dog is 7. At christmas I noticed a lump on his back which to be fair might have been there for ages as its only in certainly positions it's palpable. It's deep, not just below skin surface, and it's between his shoulder blades. It's only when his spine is curved that you can feel it.
I took him to my local vet who did 2x needle aspirations and found only fatty cells; however he wasn't 100% convincing that he'd taken cells from the lump as its so difficult to locate. He advised to check again in a month when dogs vaccinations were due.
So end of January we went back, not much change to the lump (maybe fractionally bigger but difficult to monitor as its not visible and there's nothing to measure as such). Again he took 2 x needle aspirations and this time he felt sure he'd accurately sampled at least once. Again it showed normal fatty cells.
His advice was that he could remove it and send for analysis but in his opinion he felt sure it was harmless and it was therefore an unnecessary procedure to put the dog through. Obviously he can't say 100% that the lump isn't cancerous but he felt it was mostly unlikely. He said to observe the lump, that it may grow whether harmless fatty lump or something more sinister, but basically just keep an eye and come back if worried.
My dog is insured and I know a fantastic vet that I could go to for a second opinion. As he is insured, I did have at the back of my mind that I might see this vet after a few months so that if the dog did need further investigations then I am still within the insurance period.
However, I suspect this vet is much more likely to suggest invasive diagnostics so it is a case of weighing up risks.
Am I being overly anxious? Should I just be reassured by the first vet? Or do I get a second opinion for my own peace of mind?, even if it means putting the dog through unnecessary anaesthetics or surgery?
I took him to my local vet who did 2x needle aspirations and found only fatty cells; however he wasn't 100% convincing that he'd taken cells from the lump as its so difficult to locate. He advised to check again in a month when dogs vaccinations were due.
So end of January we went back, not much change to the lump (maybe fractionally bigger but difficult to monitor as its not visible and there's nothing to measure as such). Again he took 2 x needle aspirations and this time he felt sure he'd accurately sampled at least once. Again it showed normal fatty cells.
His advice was that he could remove it and send for analysis but in his opinion he felt sure it was harmless and it was therefore an unnecessary procedure to put the dog through. Obviously he can't say 100% that the lump isn't cancerous but he felt it was mostly unlikely. He said to observe the lump, that it may grow whether harmless fatty lump or something more sinister, but basically just keep an eye and come back if worried.
My dog is insured and I know a fantastic vet that I could go to for a second opinion. As he is insured, I did have at the back of my mind that I might see this vet after a few months so that if the dog did need further investigations then I am still within the insurance period.
However, I suspect this vet is much more likely to suggest invasive diagnostics so it is a case of weighing up risks.
Am I being overly anxious? Should I just be reassured by the first vet? Or do I get a second opinion for my own peace of mind?, even if it means putting the dog through unnecessary anaesthetics or surgery?
