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Pebbles82 · 09-04-2021, 06:16 AM

I agree with Ria - these are incredibly difficult decisions. I went through it with out robo whose lump got really big - but by then it was really too big to operate as his body was so tiny - plus he had also developed lots of other skin lumps. Too much surface area to operate on.

I hope your vet can advise - between the balance of surgery causing relief but being a major thing - and non surgery shortening her life and likely to lead to the need for euthanasia at some point. Benign tumours can become cancerous.

No one can else can decide really - you know your hamster, her condition, her healthiness and how its affecting her etc.

But on paper, from the sound of it - a tumour that involves lymph glands and organs is likely to be quite major surgery.

It sounds like your vet has been helpful - and interesting to know it could be drained as it has been. One thing I would do, if she's been on antibiotics a fair bit - is give pro biotic to help her gut health. Hamsters guts can be quite affected by antiobiotics and lead to poorer digestion and general condition. The probiotics can improve that. Just to help her feel more comfortable and have less general issues maybe.

Metacam can give pain relief (and is also anti inflammatory), but as I found with our Robo - it has its limitations - it is not strong enough for the pain of cancer - and then the only option is euthanising.

So it's a step by step approach to see what is helping by the sound of it. If the lump is not malignant right now then your vet is helping relieve the symptoms by draining it and presumbably hoping the steroids will help also.

When it comes to lumps though, when our syrian had a large mammary lump - my vet said - it doesn't make much different whether it is benign or malignant - it is still a growth that is leading to health issues - something not right. I kind of get what she meant but cancer is worse in my opinion.

The positives are that it isn't malignant x So then its treating the symptoms, which is what you are doing. If the vet feels the lump is quite close to, or attached to, the thyroid, that could be a deciding factor and maybe something the scan could show.

How does she seem in herself? Apart from mobility difficulties? I'll add a photo of what I did with our robos cage when he couldn't walk due to the big lump. He would stagger keeping his balance in the substrate but was fine on a solid surface. The hemp mat worked really well and he could nip about easily, plus it was soft on his underside as he dragged his lump about. He even carried on using his wheel. It wasn't till he started chewing at the lump that it was felt it was too painful and the pain breaking through the metacam.

There is still a good depth of substrate under the hemp mat - so it still had softness (and kept everything the right height). And there was still one little corner without mat so if he wanted to dig in substrate, he could (although he didn;t seem to want to. I cut pieces to fit round things so his sand bath edge was slightly sunken and level with the hemp mat so it didn't catch his lump as he got in and out of things.

Attachment 52532

Attachment 52533

09-04-2021, 06:16 AM
Pebbles82 Hamster Antics Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 23,533	Re: Preparing for surgery I agree with Ria - these are incredibly difficult decisions. I went through it with out robo whose lump got really big - but by then it was really too big to operate as his body was so tiny - plus he had also developed lots of other skin lumps. Too much surface area to operate on. I hope your vet can advise - between the balance of surgery causing relief but being a major thing - and non surgery shortening her life and likely to lead to the need for euthanasia at some point. Benign tumours can become cancerous. No one can else can decide really - you know your hamster, her condition, her healthiness and how its affecting her etc. But on paper, from the sound of it - a tumour that involves lymph glands and organs is likely to be quite major surgery. It sounds like your vet has been helpful - and interesting to know it could be drained as it has been. One thing I would do, if she's been on antibiotics a fair bit - is give pro biotic to help her gut health. Hamsters guts can be quite affected by antiobiotics and lead to poorer digestion and general condition. The probiotics can improve that. Just to help her feel more comfortable and have less general issues maybe. Metacam can give pain relief (and is also anti inflammatory), but as I found with our Robo - it has its limitations - it is not strong enough for the pain of cancer - and then the only option is euthanising. So it's a step by step approach to see what is helping by the sound of it. If the lump is not malignant right now then your vet is helping relieve the symptoms by draining it and presumbably hoping the steroids will help also. When it comes to lumps though, when our syrian had a large mammary lump - my vet said - it doesn't make much different whether it is benign or malignant - it is still a growth that is leading to health issues - something not right. I kind of get what she meant but cancer is worse in my opinion. The positives are that it isn't malignant x So then its treating the symptoms, which is what you are doing. If the vet feels the lump is quite close to, or attached to, the thyroid, that could be a deciding factor and maybe something the scan could show. How does she seem in herself? Apart from mobility difficulties? I'll add a photo of what I did with our robos cage when he couldn't walk due to the big lump. He would stagger keeping his balance in the substrate but was fine on a solid surface. The hemp mat worked really well and he could nip about easily, plus it was soft on his underside as he dragged his lump about. He even carried on using his wheel. It wasn't till he started chewing at the lump that it was felt it was too painful and the pain breaking through the metacam. There is still a good depth of substrate under the hemp mat - so it still had softness (and kept everything the right height). And there was still one little corner without mat so if he wanted to dig in substrate, he could (although he didn;t seem to want to. I cut pieces to fit round things so his sand bath edge was slightly sunken and level with the hemp mat so it didn't catch his lump as he got in and out of things. Attachment 52532 Attachment 52533 Last edited by Pebbles82; 11-26-2022 at 05:37 PM.