[Gpdd] [HEALTH] Mammary tumor

[Cheryl Cline]

My Alex P. Hamilton had a mammary tumor removed last year.  I noticed
he had a lump soon after I adopted him in October 2005, but I just
thought I'd keep an eye on it.  It was on the larger side - about the
size of a quarter.  I should have taken him in earlier, but didn't.  I
figured that as long as he seemed okay, I wasn't going to put him
through surgery.

However, in August 2007, the lump grew bigger and actually ruptured -
there appeared to be an angry red crater on one side of it.  We rushed
him to the vet the same day, and he told us that Alex would not
survive if the lump wasn't removed immediately.  Alex was over 4 years
old, but we just weren't ready to lose him yet.  Thankfully, Alex
sailed through surgery; the recovery was only a little rocky, as he
stopped eating about 36 hours after the surgery.  I mashed up pellets
and water and syringe-fed this mix to him, and after about a day he
got his appetite back.  The other hitch is that I foolishly removed
his Elizabethan collar after about a week instead of two, and he
yanked out all his stitches and had to be rushed back to the
vet...they cleaned him up and he recovered completely after that.  Now
it's been almost a year and he's still doing well.

It had been very complicated because I was quite literally in the
middle of a move, and discovered ON THE ROAD that Alex had yanked his
stitches out, and had to find him a vet in the place I was moving to.
It was also on the road that the surgery vet disclosed that the biopsy
results were malignant.  I thought the surgery was for nothing and
cancer would claim him, but very luckily, it appears that they managed
to remove the malignancy entirely.

I understand completely your apprehension about surgery and
anesthetic.  I was very worried about Alex since he was already a
senior piggy.  It seems like you will just have to weigh the risks.  I
monitored Alex's lump and eventually it became malignant, though he
survived surgery to remove it.  I have no idea what the odds are on
that.

By the way, I recently took Alex to the vet for a drooling problem,
and after briefly looking in his mouth with a scope, the vet wanted to
knock him out for a full dental examination and possibly filing, if it
came to that.  She also called me the next day and said that the cause
might be nausea instead, and they would want to x-ray his stomach.
However, I've since discovered that it was probably caused entirely by
not keeping the water bottle clean enough...which is something the vet
never brought up.  Also, after what I've read on the list, I'm
suspicious of any vet that has to anesthetize a piggy just to examine
his mouth properly.  I was a little disappointed because I found out
about the vet through guinealynx.  Anyway, I think Alex is doing fine
now, and thank goodness I didn't put him through the full exam!

So I agree with those on the list who would tell you get a second opinion.

Hope this helps...
Cheryl and Alex