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Large Growth In Stomach

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Claire Evans

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Hi
Our lovely guinea pig Neve has been diagnosed with a large growth/tumour.

They can't tell from a scan where exactly it is, whether in her bladder or large intestine. The former is possible to operate on but they wouldn't know until she went for surgery.

We don't know whether to just keep her at home and with her companion and comfortable with pain relief and see out her days here, so long as she seems pretty much herself, or try surgery despite the fact the odds are stacked against her and we might end her days early.

We love them both so much. We're devastated and any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks
 
Hi welcome to the forum, I have already spoke to you on Facebook. I'm sorry she is so poorly.

I suggested Claire post on here so she could get some opinions from people who have had pigs with a similar issue. Neve is on pain relief but the tumour is affecting her poos. Is that right Claire?
 
Yes that's right, she's on metacam. We're keeping a close watch on her today and hoping for the best overnight....

Thanks Helen x
 
HUGS!

I am very sorry; it is always a tough decision to make. There is no right or wrong; you have to go with your heart. How old is your piggy. Is there a chance that a scan from a different angle can help?

Depending on the piggy, I have gone either way. Neither is the easier and they are both heart-breaking in their own way. When you make your decision, take into consideration which decision you can live with better in the future; it has to feel right for you as much as for your piggy. It is very difficult when there is no clear cut solution that takes this choice out of your hands and makes in many respects much easier on you.

Please start offering it syringe feed if necessary; especially if it is affecting the digestive system, as can happen with either issue.
 
I currently have a piggy with a large growth in her chest cavity, which is causing heart failure as it presses on her organs :( She is on Metacam & Tramodol for pain relief & she is managing very well so far. You can ask your vet for Tramodol if your piggy isn't tolerating Metacam, although it might be that the tumour is affecting her digestive system rather than the Metacam upsetting it.
 
Hope she continues to do ok :) Neve is now eating loads and perhaps has recovered from the traumatic overnight stay at the vets. But she is still going to continue having problems pooing so I don't think we have the option of leaving her, I think we have to look at surgery but there's a good chance she won't make it through :( thanks for the tip on pain relief x
 
I took on a friends piggy when she was forced to give him up. I took him for a routine check up and my vet discovered a large lump. He had a scan and it was pretty large.

We were given the choice to either operate or leave him be.

She decided to go for the operation as we didn't want him to be in any pain, or him to die suddenly if it ruptured.

Unfortunately the operation wasn't successful. The vet found the lump to be just too intricate and attached to remove so she decided to euthanise him during the surgery.

I completely stood by her decision, he was still strong and healthy enough to get through the surgery if it had been possible. I am glad I was able to give him a happy few months.
 
Hi Claire, I am so sorry you are having these problems with your beautiful Neve. The only person who can make this decision, is you.
All I can do is tell you about Mollys predicament.
I took Molly to the vets because she was losing weight, also she had a large patch of fur loss
I was told she either had a tumour or a bladder stone. Or take her home with painkillers.
Do the painkillers work?
How would I know if she was in pain?
She was booked into surgery she would be in for the day.
Just an hour later I was told she didn't have a bladder stone but a massive tumour, there was no hope of removing it because it was attached to all the major organs.
We asked for her to be PTS while she was still under the anaesthetic.
If we had kept her alive, she would of have been pain, we felt that the quality of her life would be effected.
We made the decision so quickly, we loved her so much, but she came first.
A caring loving owner always puts her pets first, I cried buckets over my little girl, but I had to believe we'd made the right choice.

My thoughts are with you xx
 
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Thoughts are with you Claire and unfortunately there is no right or wrong answer. I had a piggy have a deep seated abscess removed. By the time it was palpable on the outside it was already huge inside. He survived the op but didn't make it through the night. I always wonder if I could have done something else instead. I hope whatever decision you make you and Neve can enjoy your time together.
 
The priority must be quality of life over quantity, my vet is amazed my girl is still with us, she had x rays in October which found the heart problem & mass in her chest. Tumours can grow at different rates so she could have had it for a long time. At the moment my piggy is maintaing her weight, eating well & doing normal piggy things. We didn't have the option of an operation as my vet felt her heart wouldn't cope with one, so we are monitoring things closely & if she is in too much pain then I'll have to say goodbye :(
 
I have had 2 piggies here with lumps in there tummy over last month. The first one, 6 year old Rhubarb was operated on just after Christmas & as well as a large lump she was discovered to have ovarian cysts so was given a total hysterectomy at the same time. She has recovered really well. The 2nd girl, 4.5 year old Bitsy was thought to have a tumour on her left kidney but when opened up it was found to be a splenic tumour wrapped around her spleen so both were removed. She needed a high iron diet for a week after the op but less than 3 weeks later she is making a full recovery.

If you have a very good vet who you can trust then an op wouldn't be a bad thing. I would trust our vet with any of our piggies. She is probably the most experienced in the north east if England and has done lots of ops where the piggies have gone on to live normal lives. Sometimeshe no matter how good a vet, the piggy could have something inoperable and then the only decision is to let her go peacefully.

I do hope everything works out good for you & Neve x
 
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