A Little Bump

[sobesmom]

I'm NOT usually the paranoid type. But - I had a dog, Sobe, that had a bump on the leg, that was diagnosed as a pulled muscle or contusion, that turned out to be hemangiosarcoma.

 

So - my Diana has a bump on her upper leg. It started out as a tiny thing I felt when petting her. Now it's about the size of the end of my pinky. Last time she was at the vet for shots, I asked about it, and he said it was probably just a skin tag or a little fatty skin tumor - nothing at all to worry about.

 

Now - Sobe's bump was way bigger when I first noticed it - it came on fast and come to find out was just the most recent of serious tumors already in his organs. Diana's bump does not look like his - but how do I know?

 

I certainly don't want to be a drama queen, but, I have to wonder, if I'd caught Sobe's sypmtoms yearlier - might things have been different.

Diana just turned 9.

[kolarik1]

I'd push the vet to take a closer look at it. You are Diana's mom, you know her...trust your gut

[krissy]

I always tell my clients that I can't tell them what a lump is by looking at it. I might suspect that a lump is "probably a fatty lump" but that the only way to know for sure are to get a sample and send it to the lab. Some people don't worry about it beyond that, other people want it diagnosed ASAP. If you're worried have a sample sent to the lab to get some answers.

[Guest Scouts_mom]

Tell your vet that for your peace of mind you need to know what exactly what it is. If he/she treated Sobe, he//she should understand. Otherwise, tell him/her your story.

 

I don't think you asking for a biopsy is at all unreasonable.

[Guest HHHounds]

After dealing with Vanilla's hermangiosarcoma, I would also biopsy any bump to be safe...

[kudzu]

If it were me I'd just be honest with my vet & tell him I'm worried & need a lab report to help set my mind at ease. No matter how strongly he felt about something he'd happily do that for me. No doubt your vet is the same.

[sobesmom]

I always tell my clients that I can't tell them what a lump is by looking at it. I might suspect that a lump is "probably a fatty lump" but that the only way to know for sure are to get a sample and send it to the lab. Some people don't worry about it beyond that, other people want it diagnosed ASAP. If you're worried have a sample sent to the lab to get some answers.

If you don't mind my asking - does a fatty lump act differently than something to check into? I'm thinking watch and see if it grows, or seems attached or floating or something?

 

One of the things my vet mentioned was that if I had a dog with "real hair" I'd have never noticed this, and most dogs have them, like most people have a mole.

[tbhounds]

If I can jump in here. Vets certainly don't have a crystal ball but, many times an experienced veterinarian can often have a feeling to what the tumor may be by its clinical appearance. Many times a fine needle aspirate will be offered. A FNA is a procedure were the clinician aspirates a few cells from the mass and examines the cells under a microscope. Fna's are not always conclusive as some masses do not readily give off cells and sometimes the clinician may not aspirate a representative area of the mass -in those cases a biopsy will be needed to determine the type of tumor.

Lipomas (fatty tumors) typically are soft, unattached-some may stay stable for a long time and some may grow in size quickly. You can usually move them about a bit (some grow under the muscle wall). While lipomas are found anywhere on the body many times they are found on the ventral trunk (chest-sternum area). Lipomas are benign but, not without complete concern. Some will grow in bothersome areas like the armpit (restricting movement), some will grow quickly, others can become necrotic within and some will become invasive.

I think to ease your worries (which I can appreciate) I would ask your vet to aspirate the mass if possible. Understand you may or may not receive a definitive answer but, it's certainly the first place to start.

If I could guess here-your vet mentioned moles-wonder if he's referring to sebaceous adenoma's (benign skin grows)???

[Fruitycake]

I'm also a paranoid pet parent, so I say if you have the finances, ask outright for your vet to do a biopsy. The fine needle aspirate (FNA) is a quick outpatient visit. As tbhounds has indicated, sometimes they don't get a good enough sample to be definitive on diagnosis, and then you would need to decide if you want a vet to surgically remove them for further diagnostic tests.

 

My cat had lumps that turned out to be just your harmless lipomas many years ago, and just two weeks ago we had multiple lumps removed from our Allie (keeshond) because they had popped up pretty quickly and were on all 4 legs and on her chest. Turns out she has cutaneous histiocytosis (she had radiographs and bloodwork and ultrasound to verify it wasn't systemic/also affecting internal organs). The vets (all 3 of them) were perplexed because it is not common for keeshonds, and it came on so fast. Probably within 3 weeks. They got to the size of a marble on one leg, and most of the others were pea sized. She's on meds now, and we're hoping for the best and the prognosis is good with treatment.

 

Hope she's just got some "old lady bumps"

[PatricksMom]

I'm paranoid too, and I've always asked for a FNA. It's not invasive for the dog, and hey, if that's what I want to spend my money on I will. I will say, after checking Patrick's first fatty lump, I didn't check all the new ones. But when Henry showed up with a slightly different feeling one I had it checked.

 

Typically fatty lumps are detached and you can feel that if you roll it around with your fingers. But not always, Henry's seems more attached.