[Penn]

Hi Serendipity, thank you for such a well though out response!

It's been at least 4 weeks now since I actively noticed the lump. I was treating it at home with Manuka honey (cosmetic grade) in warm milk in the hopes that it was a stye and would go away over time. But it has instead slowly gotten bigger. - It's a little bigger than it looks in that photograph and has more texture to it. The vet said that the lump was solid and very well attached.

I think I am more inclined to say no to the surgery because this is my time taking a Ham to an exotic vet, and so I've never had a ham undergo surgery before, so it's hard for me to see the upside to it? I'm trying to weigh up everything in my head but it's difficult.

Pros to Surgery:
-It may have been caught early
-It may be benign (not cancerous)

Cons to surgery:
-He may not survive the anasthetic/surgery
-The lump (if cancerous) may already have spread.
- Keeping him from getting at the wound will be difficult
- If it has not spread it may grow back more agressively
- All of the above means I will have put him through a very stressful surgery for no reason.

I really am struggling with this. I could be ok with him losing an eye if I knew it would help more than hinder him. But if I put him through surgery and it winds up coming back worse, or he doesn't survive the surgey, it would break my heart and I would feel so so guilty.