Thanks again for the input. As I was taking care of her these past few days she is getting way less mobile, not interested in her wheel at all. Serendipity, I talk to her all the time to tell her what is happening. I tell her not to let my feel affect her decision and she should just be her usual cheeky self, and face whatever comes with that 'hamster persistence'.
We visited the vet yesterday and I found out that our once-a-month-roving-exotics-specialist will be there on Wed (in a couple of days). So I decided to have him do the surgery, if he deems it helpful. He is more experienced with hamster surgeries and I am more confident that he could be her best option and good second opinion.
At the Vet yesterday, I could get a better photo.
Choo Choo neck lymphoma - Hamster Central Photo Gallery
Since the last week of August, she really slowed down, would only play a few minutes, and then just go to sleep in her outside nest. I stopped taking her out for playtime now just cause she only goes straight to the nest to sleep. She is still eating a pretty good variety of food and takes fresh veggies and her seed/pellet mix as usual. I am hopeful that the eating and regular poo/pee is a good sign that she is strong enough for surgery?
She has her hoard in the corner and a bowl of fresh seeds/food but its not in the path of her going to the toilet, so she stopped eating from it & since she has also stopped searching around in the bedding for food, I just drop it into her nest and she will start eating the freshly delivered foods. I clean her 'dirty butthole' once a day since she can't reach it and I do not want to stress her too much. She doesn't have any hot dates lined up to impress so its ok!
Background: When the vet was draining the lump, these past 6 months, they would stick a tiny needle into the liquid and draw it out with a syringe...but it took time and they could get quite enough of it that she was able to run around and be pretty happy during her playtime two days after. (I would give her a day of rest on vet days to recover.) At the beginning, we sent these liquids for tests and it was determined to be a type of lymphoma but not sure if there is active cancer cells or not. There was no testing center who would take our sample to find out if there was cancer because there is not enough data for hamster cancer.
The vet gave me a mix of meds that included steroids to help boost her immune system (and if there was cancer to prevent it from growing too fast). Her only other symptoms was thinning fur on her sides, where Choo was maybe overgrooming. No other visible sores on her skin or other lumps.
The antibiotics started only last month cause she had a sore on her mouth that I was afraid would get infected. When I administered the daily meds, instead of grabbing her and dropping it in her mouth, I mixed the drops with 1.homemade yogurt and 2.dried shredded coconut, 3. some powdered hamster food pellets.
She enjoyed her little yogurt snacks and the probiotics which have always helped keep her poops looking good.
Last week she was out cleaning herself so I got a video I posted on
youtube.
For comparison, last month, Aug 10, her lump was so much smaller -
Choo Choo out for playtime Aug 2021 - Hamster Central Photo Gallery
Now Sept 1, her humpy lumps, so obnoxious.
Choo Choo neck lumps Sept 1 - Hamster Central Photo Gallery