Syrian tumour; should I operate?

[amy93]

Lilly has a tumour on her back; the vet said that the swelling is mainly fluid but that she could feel tissue inside so there's a tumour inside it.

Lilly is 1 year old and still seems her old self she doesn't seem to be experiencing any discomfort from it at all and it also does not seem to have grown since I noticed it a couple of weeks ago.

The vet said that she could have surgery to remove it, but that she wasn't sure it was malignant and since it's not causing any problems at the moment I could just 'wait and see'.

So my question is do the risks of the tumour outweigh the risks of anaesthesia? I seem to change my mind daily on what to do but I don't want to wait too long since if it is malignant it could spread.

[mrsroth]

What is your gut telling you? Am sorry to hear about your dilema, about 7 years ago our rabbit had a tumour on her leg that turned into multiple tumours (non canerous my mum told us but I am never sure if she told the truth or not). Anyway, Charlie had surgery, medication etc and became extremely vicious. over the following few years she began to quiet down (not by much though) and then died 2 - 3 years later we think of natural causes. Of course a hamster and a rabbit are different but I always find it helpful to go with my gut instinct.

[racinghamster]

Hi amy. You have two options. Leave it alone and if it grows too large, the possibilities are it has, or will affect other organs in her body. Tumours (if cancerous) live off blood, which is why human cancer patients require chemotherapy, which is a toxic drug put into the blood stream in order to `kill` the tumour, or to suppress it, giving the patient an extended life. Sadly, hamsters can`t have these treatments so the outcome is poor.

Remove the tumour and take the chance that it won`t be cancerous and she comes through the surgery. At 1 year old, she still has plenty of life in her, so the risk of surgery is probably better than leaving it to grow.

Did you notice whether it grew slowly over time or did it appear and then grow quite quickly?

As others have said, go with your heart and do what you feel is the best course of action. You never know, when the vet removes it, she may discover that it`s nothing too nasty at all. But it could also prove to be a tumour of type, but unless a pathology is done on the tissue removed, you would never really know for sure. x

[icklemunch]

Oh no i'm so sorry to hear about Lilly.

I personally agree with the go with your heart. What ever decision you make will never be a wrong one as you are doing what you think best.

Jeffro sends his gorgeous sister lots of get well hugs.

[amy93]

Than you all for your kind words and advice. I think I'm going to go for it, I don't think I'd be able to forgive myself if she died and I hadn't done everything I could to help her.

Going to try and get her booked in for Monday; I'll let you all know how it goes.

[racinghamster]

Better that you try to do something positive now amy and your right, leaving it alone is an option, but if it grows large, it`s a death sentence anyway, so you have nothing to lose by giving this a go. x

[JodiLeigh]

Oh no poor little thing!
I am so sorry to hear this, it's like Heny all over again
Lilly is still young and has a much better chance of fully recovering than Heny did though and I still went through with it with, like you said if she died because of the tumor then you'd feel bad for not trying.
I hope you get an appointment booked soon and let us all know when she's going in.
Fingers crossed my little hammy granddaughter x x x x

[DrKMcK]

I hope all goes well for her. Fingers crossed her for her. {hugs} for you. I know it's frightening.

[ChocolateCream81]

I hope the operation goes well. Fingers and paws crossed. Xx

[SinNyx]

Fingers and paws crossed for your little girl x