Advice on large lump/tumor

[caitlink13]

Hi everyone. Unfortunately we received some terrible news today at the vet. We brought in my 13-year old chinchilla, Zoey, because I had discovered a large lump on the left side of her belly last night (April 11th). It seemed like it came out of nowhere overnight, but upon going back through photos on my phone from April 7th, it appears that it started slightly showing then. The vet did a poke biopsy on it and discovered that no pus came out, only blood that smelled and seemed normal, so they figured it was a tumor. They didn't do any other tests to determine if it's cancerous or not (and I regret not asking them to at the time), but they recommended surgery, and she is temporarily scheduled in for this Friday, April 14th. At her age, do you think this is a route to go with, or should I have them do another biopsy on the tumor to determine if it's cancerous or not? I've read that if the lump isn't cancerous and if she's still acting and behaving normally, then to let it be and only go in for surgery if it starts getting so big that it's immobilizing her. I'm having second thoughts about the surgery due to her age and how she's still eating, drinking, and playing normally. I'm so conflicted on what to do. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I've added a photo of the lump and Zoey's "treatment plan" the vet gave us in regards to the surgery. Thanks so much.

 

[Amethyst]

If she is otherwise healthy and the vet thinks there is a good chance she will recover, and you trust your vet, I would go for it now rather then waiting. However I would want to know if it's cancerous or not first, chins are not prone to cancer like a lot of other rodents, but it can still happen. The fact that she is still eating and acting normal is a good sign she is in good shape and isn't too sick yet. If you wait for it to be bigger it will be even more major and riskier surgery and could impact her health to the point of her not recovering as well or not at all. 13 isn't extremely old, about late 60s if human, so getting up there but dometic chins should live about 15-20 years (and some even live into their 20s), so you could have several years still. That is just my personal opinion though.

 

[caitlink13]

Thank you so much for your reply. Yes, I too would like to know if it's cancerous or not :/ The reason I was worried about the surgery is because the vet did mention there is a chance she might not do well with the anesthesia because of her age and that there is a slight risk involved, but I'll talk to the vet tomorrow about my concerns and will report back here after. Thank you again.

 

[caitlink13]

Update: Zoey went in for her surgery to remove the tumor Friday morning and came home with me the same day in the evening. The surgeon said the surgery went well and they sent off the mass for biopsy to determine if it's benign or malignant. I'm really really praying that it's benign Recovery hasn't been so linear: she hates her medication but will unwillingly take it after a bit. She isn't eating or pooping normally so she's on Critical Care 3x daily as per the surgeon's instructions. I'm taking her back to the vet tomorrow to see the surgeon since she's been chewing at her stitches and has unraveled them a tiny bit. Sometimes she's really tired and other times she's high energy and itching to climb or jump on something since I took out all her ledges & houses for now as per the surgeon's instructions. While examining her, they also found that her left leg is starting to show slight signs of arthritis so she'll be put on a joint supplement by Oxbow once the vet gets it in stock.

 

[Lissy]

Definitely update when you know more. I'm so sorry your baby is going through ALL this.

 

[tunes]

I hope she is doing well after her surgery. Give her lots of love from all of us.

 

[ChinsForLife]

I'm so sorry. Yes, praying for good results!

 

[caitlink13]

Thank you everyone for the kind words <3 We saw her surgeon yesterday and she said that the incision is actually healing really nicely! She did see where Zoey was playing with/nibbling the stitches, so she just snipped off the excess that Zoey had unraveled. Because Zoey had been unraveling the stitches a bit, there was some oozing/bleeding over the weekend but the surgeon said it has scabbed up which is a good thing. Zoey seems to be doing better, knock on wood! She won't poop much at all during the day, but when I wake up, I wake up to lots of almost normal looking poops, so things seem to be looking up, again, knock on wood. We think the antibiotics she was on was the cause of the digestion issues, so she's been off of them for a few days now and has been doing well. She'll be on the Metacam until Friday and then hopefully off Critical Care and Maropitant tomorrow night or Friday since she is almost eating and pooping normally again. She's still mad at me that I'm not letting her out for playtime yet, or putting her houses and ledges back, but I'll be able to let her out for a little this weekend for playtime, and have her ledges back in her cage next weekend (per her surgeon's instructions)! The past week or so has been so stressful for the both of us and made me so anxious, so I'm glad it seems she's healing well.

 

[Saffron]

I'm so glad your Zoey is doing better. Once her world is back to normal for her she'll get over being mad at you. At least that's the way it's always happened with my chins.

 

[Skiklutz]

So glad to hear that your baby is doing well. Hopefully, after the weekend, she will be back to her normal self and won't be mad at you any longer.

 

[Lissy]

It's definitely rough but you're being a good mom. It's a shame they won't just sit still in our laps during play time ... Have you looked up about adding some probiotics to her diet to help balance out her digestive track to compensate from the antibiotics?

 

[caitlink13]

Thank you everyone <3 Yes she's definitely still acting like herself, just extremely fidgety since she can't climb or jump on anything right now. We had to go back to the vet today because she picked at her scab and it bled a bit, and unfortunately, I found another lump (this one is tiny, so we're monitoring it for now). I feel like we were making so much progress with her healing process and to have found another lump just makes me feel defeated but I'm going to try to stay positive and continue giving her the best care I can. I have to make a "shirt" for her though so she stops picking at the incision as it heals. She's also been prescribed Gabapentin alongside the Metcam for another week. I feel so bad because she wants to come out for playtime SO bad but the vet said not until at the very earliest, Monday, since the incision is still a bit open and not yet as healed as they wanted.

Luckily my other chinchilla, Sesamee, doesn't seem to mind too much that I've been giving Zoey extra attention lately, which is good! She's a very territorial chin when it comes to me so that's some good news.

@Lissy, I have thought about that but the vets didn't say anything about it, and she's been off the antibiotics for a little bit now, but I'll ask about it when I talk to them on Monday. Thanks again everyone.

 

[Lissy]

Any updates?

 

[Dreamcatcher553]

Hi! I am asking if you found out the Tumor and if it was cancerous or not. I think I may be dealing with a similar situation but am not sure if surgery is the best optional considering I do not know my chinchillas age as she was a rescue. (I’m guessing 11-15 years old) the vets cannot figure out wheat this lump is near one of her nipples and below her right arm. It’s leaking some discharge and has a smell, but not an
awful infection smell. Antibiotics didn’t work and sometimes it bleeds a little. I am leaning toward a tumor…. But trying to figure out best course for her.

 

[caitlink13]

Any updates?

Hi! I am asking if you found out the Tumor and if it was cancerous or not. I think I may be dealing with a similar situation but am not sure if surgery is the best optional considering I do not know my chinchillas age as she was a rescue. (I’m guessing 11-15 years old) the vets cannot figure out wheat this lump is near one of her nipples and below her right arm. It’s leaking some discharge and has a smell, but not an
awful infection smell. Antibiotics didn’t work and sometimes it bleeds a little. I am leaning toward a tumor…. But trying to figure out best course for her.

Hi! Sorry, I never saw these until now! Zoey is fully recovered and doing well, but unfortunately, the tumor is growing back. Definitely more slowly this time, and I just hope it doesn't grow back as big or to other parts of her body. We did find out that it is a cancerous liposarcoma after the biopsy came back. The vet wasn't able to remove all of the cells and said this could happen, but I was really hoping it wouldn't I don't think I'm going to put her through surgery again because she was so unhappy going through recovery and I don't want to put that stress on her again, but I am glad I did it the first time to figure out what it was and remove it since it was so large.

@Dreamcatcher553 I'm so sorry to hear about your fur baby I know how scary it is as a pet parent. My vet originally did a poke biopsy but it bled which they said meant it was a tumor and not an infection. Did you figure out what it was? I hope your little baby is doing okay <3