Female 3.5 year Old Piggy With Tumor In Abdomen

[Nelly]

Hi guys I have two female 3.5 year old pigs. Bubble and Ginger. Bubble is a big hefty pig and not as energetic as her sister. When they come out for floor time a lot of the time she can't be bothered lol. Yesterday I noticed she was not interested in food seemed lethargic (more than usual) and uncomfortable shifting around a lot seemed out of sorts.

Took to an exotic vet he said he could feel a lump probably bladder stone did an xray said no it is a tumor. Can't tell if benign without doing an op. He said it is able to be moved (palpable?) which is good apparently and suggested one of three things.

1 open her up take a look, remove if possible, if it is a bad lump then make decision to euthanize or if removable and not a bad lump remove and hopefully pig ok. (Cost £240). 2. Leave alone because of cost and risk of anaesthesia and offer palliative care making decision to euthanize when necessary. 3. Euthanize now.

I am really torn I feel it is my duty to do the best I can for her and do option one. We have no Insurance though and cannot afford the op, our credit is almost maxxed out. My other half disagrees with it on account of cost. I have read cancer is very rare in pigs so am confused.

He didn't mention doing a biopsy I wonder if that would be better to avoid surgery being necessary possibly. I have heard of cysts and abscesses online, he didn't mention this presumably he can tell from the x ray it isn't one of those? She is still not eating or drinking so I have been syringe feeding her. And she had a metacam injection at vet and I have been giving it at home but still not eating.

I am worried if it is cancer and offering palliative care me force feeding her is prolonging a life ( for my selfish reasons ) where she may otherwise just wish to pass away.

Last night she was making some strange breathing noises and had runny eyes but that has stopped now and seen no evidence of either today. Her breathing does change when she gets stressed out. Sorry for long post just don't know what to do for the best!

 

[Wiebke]

I am very sorry for your quandary. It is a large sum of money to gamble on, especially when you haven't got it. Sadly, tumors have become much more frequent in the last few years; partially due to better diagnostics. An exotics vet should be able to distinguish a tumour from an ovarian cyst, just from where it is located. Internal abscesses are usually a post op complication.
A biopsy depends on where the tumor is located and it won't be cheap, either. It also depends on far the tumor is developed and how much time you have left since it takes time for the lab results to come back. At that operation estimate, your vet is not expecting the tumor removal to be an easy or quick op even in the best case.

Personally, it seems to me that you either have the option to operate on the hope that the tumour is benign or I would consider putting her to sleep sooner rather than later as she is in pain, not eating and doesn't have the quality of life anymore. Your vet wouldn't have offered the last option if he wouldn't have felt similarly.
This is a very heart-breaking decision to make; I always hate having to do it, as it never geets any easier!

I have lost one of my piggies (another 3 year old) at the beginning of the year in a very fast growing mammory tumor emergency op due to her having a very irregular heartbeat as a high risk complication and I lost the first patriarch of the Tribe aged 4 to an abdominal tumor 3 years ago, but his tumor was located lower in the body and didn't cause the amount of pain and symptoms that your poor girl is experiencing, so in his case, we decided on palliative care as the best option. I currently have another piggy with likely a lymphoma or lump behind and masked by the build-up of fluid in her chest that is causing her all kind of issues. She is inoperable, so I will have to pts as soon as it gets too much for her and she stops eating again, as we can only treat the symptoms but not the cause and quality of life is paramount for me when making any major decisions.

Whatever way you go, I am sure that it is with your love and your piggy's comfort and best interests in mind. There is no right or wrong in these situations. It must feel right for you and for your piggy, but we are all individuals dealing with individual situations so there is no general rule.
Sadly, sometimes we have to balance out the various factors. For your own sake, it needs to be a decision that you feel you can live with in the long term without feeling you have let down your piggy. Length of life is not necessarily as important as having had a happy and fulfilled life in the time she has been with you. You cannot take responsibility for the bad diagnosis - or change it, but listen to your heart when deciding on how much you want to put her through.

HUGS

PS: I hope that your vet has given you plenty of painkiller?

 

[Nelly]

Thanks for your reply. I have been syringe feeding her and trying to get her to eat on her own all yesterday and today she has started to eat by herself which is great! I got them out for floor time and she doesn't seem to be in any discomfort and has been wandering about a bit.

Had discussions (read rows) with my other half over money. Despite him not agreeing with the op he has said we can find the money if that's what I want but made it clear he is against it.

We also have two buns (housed separately) who are insured. We recently lost a bun to problems brought on from a spay which would have cost £650 in vet bills had the insurance not paid out.

Neither of our pigs are insured. We use exotic direct and I will try and get Ginger insured but assume it is out of the question with bubble now she has a lump. I can't feel the lump which is odd but I don't like prodding about with her.

The fact that she is eating now and seems happy in herself makes me more reluctant to operate if she is unwell in herself it seems you have nothing to loose but if happy I worry I could loose her in the op. I could just see how she goes and get another xray in a few months see if the lump has grown and put some money by in the meantime.

I do wonder if she has been a bit under the weather not been eating much and got tummy troubles which made her in turn not eat as lots of people say their piggies have tumors and are quite happy. I wonder of the tumor was just picked up then because I took her in and wasn't actually causing a problem.

Will keep making sure she eats, keep her dosed up and keep thinking what to do!

 

[Nelly]

Here she is, the big fat stripey one lol

 

[Wiebke]

She is a beautifully marked girl! I am glad that she is coming through the current crisis and hope that she will be well again. However, it can well be that the problems come back.

I am keeping my fingers firmly crossed!

 

[Nelly]

After lengthy discussions with my other half I have dropped her off tonight to be operated on tomorrow. She really wasn't eating much and not active at all. She started eating but it didn't last long and nowhere near what she usually eats. She looks fed up just lying in her little house and I am just going to worry myself sick if I don't do something! So fingers crossed will let you know how she gets on.

 

[piggyme234]

You have done your best for her. Hope it all goes ok.

 

[jenny57]

Hi Nelly, you have two very cute piggies. I will keep my fingers crossed for Bubble and hope that the op is a success. Welcome to the forum too.

 

[Wiebke]

Thinking of you and her tomorrow!

Here are tips for post-op care. Please ask when you pick her up how soon you can give painkiller (as she will have had an injection for the operation) and if necessary whether you can take a bit home.
http://www.guinealynx.info/postop.html
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/complete-hand-feeding-guide.115359/

It may perhaps be good if you thought about it ahead of the operation and not be shocked in case it happens (hopefully not!) how you would decide if the findings during the op are not good. Personally, I have found that being clear in my own mind helps me enormously when being faced with having to make very quick on the spot decisions in a very charged situation.
Try to concentrate on sending your girl loving vibes during the op; that may help you best during the anxious wait, which is usually the worst part of it!

All the best!

 

[Nelly]

Ok guys it wasn't good news unfortunately

The vet rang mid op and said the tumor was much bigger than he thought and definitely cancerous by looking at it. He said they couldn't remove it all without risking her hemorraging. He had taken most of it but said what is left would still affect her. He said she could go on to have a couple of years but unlikely. Judging by how much he had removed he said what was left would probably still affect her quality of life.

I hate wondering if any animal is suffering. With rodents it is so hard to tell as they conceal pain. I knew I would have to bring her back to be put to sleep maybe in a few months maybe a couple of years but she would still have cancer and what sort of life is that.

He said it is rare in pigs and we have been unlucky. Very unlucky as a few weeks ago we lost one of our bunnies to adhesions following a spay. Which is very very rare.

Feel sad for my remaining piggy and my son (who's pig she was) is blaming me. He's 12. And thinks we could have brought her back and she may have been ok for a while. I was just thinking what quality of life she would have and she'd have to recover from the op too.

 

[Wiebke]

BIG HUGS!

I am so sorry that you got the worst news possible, but if it is any consolation to you, I would have made the same decision on the grounds of pain and quality of life. I am also sorry for your son; it is so hard to lose your first pet. Sadly cancer and internal lumps are on the up. We have seen a lot more cases in the last 2-3 years here on the forum.

You are welcome to post a tribute in our Rainbow Bridge section whenever it feels right for you to share your sorrow with us.

We have also got tips about how to best care about bereaved piggies. If you could please add your country, state or (for the UK) your county or city, we may be able to help you with finding a new friend from a safe place. We have a got a good standard UK rescues locator on the top bar, but I can also provide contact details of good piggy savvy rescues in some other countries. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. That will enable us to tailor our advice and recommendations to suit your part of the world.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/looking-after-a-bereaved-piggy.110463/

 

[Nelly]

Thank you for your kind words.

We are in Kent Uk. They were PAH pigs I'm ashamed to say but I would only get rescues now. I know of April Lodge but that's a bit far from theus, and Ani-Mates we got a foster bunny from there a few weeks ago.

Not sure what to do yet. As our remaining piggy is the same age I would like a friend for her. Cost worries me. Not sure what my bill is yet but it could be a couple of hundred and no piggy to show for it

Our bunnies are with exotic direct and they were really good paid out when bunny was sick. We had about £750 from the insurance but premiums have gone up a bit and adding two pigs will make it go up more.

Its a different topic I guess but wonder if most people insure pigs. We were unlucky and you always have to pay the £50 excess so not sure if its worth it or better to put money aside. Ours had a urine infection and eye ulcer and both times it wasn't worth claiming.

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks for your location. If you add it to your details, it will show with your avatar picture on the left (you can upload in the same section).

How far is East Peckham rescue from you? Many rescues have single piggies they do not always advertise for bonding with bereaved piggies. You could also look at a neutered boar. It pays setting up a dating meet under expert supervision at the rescue, so the piggies can choose themselves who they want to get on with and you do not run the risk of coming home with a piggy that doesn't get on. All our recommended rescues have a mandatory pregnancy watch as well as a routine quarantine. You can look for either sows or neutered boars; age and gender is less important that mutual liking. It's worked for me for similarly aged bereaved sows with both sows and "husboars".

Money is always a consideration and it is very gutting when an op doesn't come off. You have done your best to give your beloved a girl a chance and you have spared her a lot of suffering. I don't have insurance, especially as quite a few of my adopted piggies have come here as adults/senior citizens, but it is a weigh up, especially seeing how quickly vet cost have been going up lately.

 

[Nelly]

East Peckham is quite near to us, I quite like the idea of a husboar!

 

[Wiebke]

East Peckham is quite near to us, I quite like the idea of a husboar!

I don't think that East Peckham has a boar neutering policy (not all rescues do), but you will be in very safe hands there!

 

[helen105281]

I'm so sorry. You definitely made the right decision though.

Good luck in the search for a husboar.

 

[Freela]

I'm really sorry for your loss. If it's any consolation at all, I would have made the same decision. I also have a 12-year-old son so I get what dealing with that age range is like. My son tends to think he is mature and knows it all, but still has a child's perspective on some things and doesn't have as much adult foresight as he thinks he does. My heart goes out to you both. ((HUGS))!

 

[Nelly]

Hi guys just wanted to give you an update. Went to GBH rescue at Beckenham today and after several attempts trying Ginger with male and female pigs of a similar age ended up with the two adorable 5 month girls pictured below!

Ginger was teeth chattering at all the other piggies her age so decided to go for younger ones and things seem to be going well so far!

 

[piggyfan]

Oh how lovely! They are adorable.

 

[helen105281]

They're lovely. Congratulations.

 

[ayemee]

Sorry about your loss. It's never easy.

The babies look gorgeous! The best of luck with everything.