Tumor Removed But Results Came Back Cancerous

[Audra nguyen]

Hi there;
My two year old male guinea pig just had a mammary tumor removed. The results came back as cancerous. What should I do for him? Do I put him down right away? Or wait and see how things go?

 

[Claire W]

I so sorry to hear your sad news
Did your vet tell you what sort of cancer it is?

When it comes to cancer and animals, it all comes down to quality of life and you should really have a long discussion on where to go from here.

My Ena had a tumour removed earlier in the year that sadly confirmed that she had lymphoma At the time, my vet didn't feel a need for her to be pts as she was still eating drinking and living a normal life. We were advised to take a few days out to let the news sink in.

Sadly we didn't get that far as on the same day we found out, Ena pulled her stitches out and it was revealed that due to the lymphoma, the wound wasn't able to heal so we made the decision to let her go.

But if your piggy is happy in themselves, I would have a chat with your vet about pain relief and palative care etc and enjoy what time you have left together.

But if your piggy is showing signs of discomfort, pain and not living a happy life, may be the time to say goodbye will come sooner rather than later but I really do think you need to have a good and honest chat with your vet x

 

[Audra nguyen]

I so sorry to hear your sad news
Did your vet tell you what sort of cancer it is?

When it comes to cancer and animals, it all comes down to quality of life and you should really have a long discussion on where to go from here.

My Ena had a tumour removed earlier in the year that sadly confirmed that she had lymphoma At the time, my vet didn't feel a need for her to be pts as she was still eating drinking and living a normal life. We were advised to take a few days out to let the news sink in.

Sadly we didn't get that far as on the same day we found out, Ena pulled her stitches out and it was revealed that due to the lymphoma, the wound wasn't able to heal so we made the decision to let her go.

But if your piggy is happy in themselves, I would have a chat with your vet about pain relief and palative care etc and enjoy what time you have left together.

But if your piggy is showing signs of discomfort, pain and not living a happy life, may be the time to say goodbye will come sooner rather than later but I really do think you need to have a good and honest chat with your vet x

Thank you! There've been a lot of tears. The vet takes out sutures on Monday. I'm going to get a list of ?'s together for her.

 

[Claire W]

After going through similar myself my heart really does do out to you

A good idea to have a list of questions and there is no need to rush in to making any decisions just yet.

Take some time out to let the news sink in and let the tears fall. We are all here to support you x

 

[Wiebke]

HUGS! It is such a bummer when you get a diagnosis like that and it takes time to take it all in.

There are different types of cancer; Claire W's was in the lymphatic system with a very bad diagnosis of generally only a few weeks of life expectancy at the best. With yours, it all depends on whether the cancer was still contained in the tumor or whether it has already spread.

Personally, I wouldn't make any decision right now, enjoy every day you have with your piggy and consider letting him go in case the cancer comes back and your piggy is in pain and discomfort. You can pack a lifetime of love into a very short time; it isn't as important how long you have somebody in your life but what quality bond you share.

I have lost one of my piggies as well as my dad to cancer; so I feel for you!

 

[jenniferanneharris]

I just wanted to say how sorry i am for you and your piggie x

 

[Freela]

I'm sorry for the sad diagnosis. When it comes to pets, I'm generally about quality of life. I would let him continue on as long as he is eating and drinking normally, not giving signs of pain, and appears happy. Pamper the heck out of him for as long as his quality of life is good. When the day comes that he is failing or in pain or unhappy, then I would be willing to let him go. ((HUGS))- I'm so sorry, I know how hard the decision-making can be, I have been there myself.

 

[Stewybus]

If he's eating & drinking happily & not in pain I'd hang on to him for as long as he has a quality of life. Is it possible that in having the tumour removed that the cancer has all been removed? I'd get all the information that I could from my vet. Perhaps as a result of all the replies to this thread you could make a list of relevant questions to ask. Then maybe email them to your vet the day before your next visit so that they will have answers for you. For now give him all the love & cuddles that you can. xx

 

[piglet_and_rogers_mama]

No advice but I'm very sorry to hear about his diagnosis

 

[boarding service]

sorry about your news.
as long as the little one is eating, drinking and playing I would not jump to the last resort, if he is showing signs of pain, try pain relieve if this does not work, then it will be time for the hard decision, I know this is unrelated, but my piggies always take the decision away from me, and have passed away in their beds, I have had one pts, Mo he was suffering from a congential disease, passed down from his dad, I let him go, I hope you get many happy months with your little one.

Question, did they manage to remove all the lump before spread, I would ask the vet, what type, and has it spread.

 

[Audra nguyen]

Hi there;
My two year old male guinea pig just had a mammary tumor removed. The results came back as cancerous. What should I do for him? Do I put him down right away? Or wait and see how things go?

Hi there, we just got Grizzly the guinea pigs sutures out today, this morning. I asked the Dr. what kind of cancer it was and she said it was a mammary gland adenocarcinoma. The tumor was completely removed. I asked if there was any way to know if the cancer had spread and the Dr said that the only way would be through x ray and that we'd have to sedate Grizzly. I opted out of that. Then I also asked if neutering Grizzly would help to decrease the tumors from coming back because I'd done some research online on what helped lower the risk of mammary tumors and a lot of information on neutering popped up. I also was puzzled as to why he'd get a tumor at only two years of age and since I got him at Petco and don't know whether his parenting had been inbreed, I am unable to figure out as to why he has gotten the tumors so young. It could possibly be that he has inbreeding within his background. Thank you all for your support! I appreciate you! Grizzly has been up and running laps in our den that we have set up for him. He's our baby and we love him!

 

[Wiebke]

Wishing Grizzly all the best for as long a life as possible!

 

[piglet_and_rogers_mama]

Spoil him rotten while you can -quality not quantity of life is what matters. Love from me and the boys xx