Mammary Gland Tumors

[Sophia Watson]

Hi Everyone,

I found a lump today on my 6 year old piggie, he has a large lump under his nipple that when slightly pressed releases blood (from the nipple). Upon doing some research I can only assume he has a tumor and with his history I am terrified. He has undergone 2 operations to remove cancerous masses and come out of both perfect, he is an absolute trooper. He hasn't lost any weight and is displaying no signs of being in pain, so his behavior is normal, eating, drinking etc fine.

My question is if the results prove that this is in fact a mammary gland tumor, what are people's experience with these and their babies? Is the outcome good once removed? Do they spread quickly?

We are booked for the specialist tomorrow so I will be getting answers soon, but I'd like to hear other people's opinions if you don't mind sharing with me.

Thanks everyone,
Sophia

 

[pig in the city]

Hi Everyone,

I found a lump today on my 6 year old piggie, he has a large lump under his nipple that when slightly pressed releases blood (from the nipple). Upon doing some research I can only assume he has a tumor and with his history I am terrified. He has undergone 2 operations to remove cancerous masses and come out of both perfect, he is an absolute trooper. He hasn't lost any weight and is displaying no signs of being in pain, so his behavior is normal, eating, drinking etc fine.

My question is if the results prove that this is in fact a mammary gland tumor, what are people's experience with these and their babies? Is the outcome good once removed? Do they spread quickly?

We are booked for the specialist tomorrow so I will be getting answers soon, but I'd like to hear other people's opinions if you don't mind sharing with me.

Thanks everyone,
Sophia

I have had several piggies with mammary gland tumours and all have done well following surgery. As long as they are not too big it is a relatively simple surgical procedure so he should be fine

 

[Wiebke]

Hi Everyone,

I found a lump today on my 6 year old piggie, he has a large lump under his nipple that when slightly pressed releases blood (from the nipple). Upon doing some research I can only assume he has a tumor and with his history I am terrified. He has undergone 2 operations to remove cancerous masses and come out of both perfect, he is an absolute trooper. He hasn't lost any weight and is displaying no signs of being in pain, so his behavior is normal, eating, drinking etc fine.

My question is if the results prove that this is in fact a mammary gland tumor, what are people's experience with these and their babies? Is the outcome good once removed? Do they spread quickly?

We are booked for the specialist tomorrow so I will be getting answers soon, but I'd like to hear other people's opinions if you don't mind sharing with me.

Thanks everyone,
Sophia

Hi!

Mammary gland tumours can differ, so there is not a definite answer. They can be benign or malign, they can be firm or (in much rarer cases) blood filled.
Any operating success also depends on the overall fitness of your piggy and your vet team's skill. In many cases where the tumour is still nicely encapsulated the operation goes well and recovery rates are good.

The only mammary tumour removal of mine was an emergency operation of a very fast growing blood filled tumour. It tripled in size in the 24 hours it took to book an emergency operation slot at my piggy specialist vet in another town.
Unfortunately the operation was complicated hugely by the fact that the piggy in question was found to have a very irregular heartbeat in the pre-op check, which turned it into a high risk make or break operation. My vet did get the whole tumour out, but sadly the heart stopped towards the end of the operation.

Had she not been operated, Rhosyn would died from sepsis in a matter of about two weeks. Without the unexpected heart complication (Rhosyn didn't show any of the classic heart symptoms, by the way), the tumour operation would have come off.
The same vet has successfully removed lumps in two 6/nearly 7 year old sows of mine, which have both made an excellent recovery, so I can at least contribute lump removal success stories in older guinea pigs. One of them was an infected cyst right next to the genitalia and the other a large, flesh filled/bleeding cyst that kept growing and promptly burst while my piggy savvy vet was on holiday this summer, making an operation necessary as soon as he was back (a local vet had been treating it in the meantime but was worried that the fleshy bit in the sebaceous cyst could be tumorous, which it thankfully wasn't.

Please don't panic and try to concentrate all the energy you are wasting on worrying by sending your piggy healing and supportive thoughts. At this age, the growth rate of a tumour is slowed down, so from that point, you have a better chance of catching it at an early stage where prognosis is generally very good.

I wish you all the best!

 

[Sophia Watson]

Thank you for your comments! I'm trying to think positive and hopefully after the vet appointment tomorrow afternoon we will have good news.

 

[Sophia Watson]

Frodo is currently in recovery, he didn't respond to the anesthetic as well as the vet hoped. She said that the lump was large in size and an aggressive mammary gland cancer. She took out as much as possible but there's nothing more she can do, she said she is highly certain it has spread and we can only now play the waiting game. Safe to say, the tears are flowing.

 

[Wiebke]

Frodo is currently in recovery, he didn't respond to the anesthetic as well as the vet hoped. She said that the lump was large in size and an aggressive mammary gland cancer. She took out as much as possible but there's nothing more she can do, she said she is highly certain it has spread and we can only now play the waiting game. Safe to say, the tears are flowing.

BIG HUGS

I am so sorry that it is the kind of news we all dread to get.

Without you and your good care, Frodo would not have lived a full normal life span with what is obviously a genetic disposition for cancer. But it is heart-breaking when you come to the limits of what you can do for him.

There is however one very precious gift hidden in all of this: make sure that you do and say all you want to in the time you have left together. Love transcends time, and you can pack an amazing amount of it into a mere moment. Treasure it and make the most of it!

I've lost my dad to terminal cancer. Not leaving anything unsaid during that time was worth more than years of living casually alongside and taking each other for granted. It is bitter-sweet, but it is also the most precious gift you can give each other.

 

[Sophia Watson]

BIG HUGS

I am so sorry that it is the kind of news we all dread to get.

Without you and your good care, Frodo would not have lived a full normal life span with what is obviously a genetic disposition for cancer. But it is heart-breaking when you come to the limits of what you can do for him.

There is however one very precious gift hidden in all of this: make sure that you do and say all you want to in the time you have left together. Love transcends time, and you can pack an amazing amount of it into a mere moment. Treasure it and make the most of it!

I've lost my dad to terminal cancer. Not leaving anything unsaid during that time was worth more than years of living casually alongside and taking each other for granted. It is bitter-sweet, but it is also the most precious gift you can give each other.

Thank you very much Wiebke. He's home with me now and recovering. I spoke more with the take over vet today and because we have caught this early (he only had his wellness check 6 weeks ago) they are hoping that they got it all. But again one day at a time. He's already eating a bit and his poos are really great, still of course quite exhausted but so am I, so naturally we both had a sleep on the lounge for 2 hours today with him on my stomach haha

He is such a little fighter!

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you very much Wiebke. He's home with me now and recovering. I spoke more with the take over vet today and because we have caught this early (he only had his wellness check 6 weeks ago) they are hoping that they got it all. But again one day at a time. He's already eating a bit and his poos are really great, still of course quite exhausted but so am I, so naturally we both had a sleep on the lounge for 2 hours today with him on my stomach haha

He is such a little fighter!

Wishing him a goor recovery; I hope that they have caught it early enough. He is in good hands, considering that he is now slap-bang in the middle of the average life span and has reached it despite his genetic handicap thanks to your good care!

Here are our post-op care tips, if you'd like to have a look; but you are likely rather too experienced now...
Older piggies won't bounce back quite as quickly as younger ones, but as that goes for both normal and cancerous cells, there is a certain advantage in that for you.

 

[Sophia Watson]

Wishing him a goor recovery; I hope that they have caught it early enough. He is in good hands, considering that he is now slap-bang in the middle of the average life span and has reached it despite his genetic handicap thanks to your good care!

Here are our post-op care tips, if you'd like to have a look; but you are likely rather too experienced now...
Older piggies won't bounce back quite as quickly as younger ones, but as that goes for both normal and cancerous cells, there is a certain advantage in that for you.

Hi Again,

Just needing some advice again please if you don't mind! Frodo seems to be picking up, he is happy to eat by himself now but a few things have caught my attention;

- When he came home he weighed 1008 grams. Yesterday we had him up to 1062, but this afternoon he has dropped back to 1010. Is it common for senior pigs to fluctuate in weight on Enrofloxacin and other antibiotics and pain killers? He has been on a mixture, but as of tomorrow he is now only on the Enrofloxacin. He has always been a pig big, hovering around 1100 - 1200, so I am trying to be calm about his weight.
- His belly is making noises, similiar to humans when we are hungry, or just a common belly noise?
- His poos were perfect, now absolute mush.

I have spoken to the vets and they said that if he drops anymore weight I need to bring him in immediately for reassessment tomorrow morning. For his poo and stomach noise, they advised no veg at all for the next 24hrs and strictly only hay and a small amount of grass. I am still assisting with 10ml of critical care every 2 hours when I'm home, throughout the day there is evidence to suggest he's eating by himself. I've also given him some poo soup.

Is there anything else I can do?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi Again,

Just needing some advice again please if you don't mind! Frodo seems to be picking up, he is happy to eat by himself now but a few things have caught my attention;

- When he came home he weighed 1008 grams. Yesterday we had him up to 1062, but this afternoon he has dropped back to 1010. Is it common for senior pigs to fluctuate in weight on Enrofloxacin and other antibiotics and pain killers? He has been on a mixture, but as of tomorrow he is now only on the Enrofloxacin. He has always been a pig big, hovering around 1100 - 1200, so I am trying to be calm about his weight.
- His belly is making noises, similiar to humans when we are hungry, or just a common belly noise?
- His poos were perfect, now absolute mush.

I have spoken to the vets and they said that if he drops anymore weight I need to bring him in immediately for reassessment tomorrow morning. For his poo and stomach noise, they advised no veg at all for the next 24hrs and strictly only hay and a small amount of grass. I am still assisting with 10ml of critical care every 2 hours when I'm home, throughout the day there is evidence to suggest he's eating by himself. I've also given him some poo soup.

Is there anything else I can do?

Hi!

Just hang on in there. Baytril (enroflaxacin) is well known for having an impact on the gut flora and being an appetite dampener. it is however a good sign that he hasn't lost his appetite altogether. Your boy sounds like he has a little bit of gassing, but nothing serious. Your vet has given you good advice.
For poo soup to be most effective, the healthy from another poos need to be as freshly dropped as possible (if necessary take one out and give it a little treat nibble; that seems to stimulate the pooing). Always make it up fresh. If it is that, it is actually much more effective than probiotics.

If problems/weight loss continue:
- ask your vet to change the antibiotic to sulfatrim/bactrim (the old septrin, which is now licensed for exotics pets under the new brand name sulfatrim in the UK)
- ask for gut stimulants like zantac (ranitidine) and emeprid (they work for gassing and diarrhea), but the two medications work on different parts of the gut.
- consider a course of fibreplex to stabilise the guts again if problems continue. I have found it very effective when piggies of mine did have bad reaction to a strong antibiotic where there wasn't an alternative to.

All the best!

 

[Sophia Watson]

Hi!

Just hang on in there. Baytril (enroflaxacin) is well known for having an impact on the gut flora and being an appetite dampener. it is however a good sign that he hasn't lost his appetite altogether. Your boy sounds like he has a little bit of gassing, but nothing serious. Your vet has given you good advice.
For poo soup to be most effective, the healthy from another poos need to be as freshly dropped as possible (if necessary take one out and give it a little treat nibble; that seems to stimulate the pooing). Always make it up fresh. If it is that, it is actually much more effective than probiotics.

If problems/weight loss continue:
- ask your vet to change the antibiotic to sulfatrim/bactrim (the old septrin, which is now licensed for exotics pets under the new brand name sulfatrim in the UK)
- ask for gut stimulants like zantac (ranitidine) and emeprid (they work for gassing and diarrhea), but the two medications work on different parts of the gut.
- consider a course of fibreplex to stabilise the guts again if problems continue. I have found it very effective when piggies of mine did have bad reaction to a strong antibiotic where there wasn't an alternative to.

All the best!

That's great thank you so much! I will definitely ask about the Fibreplex.

All the best