2nd Opinion Time?

[NolaAngelRocky]

I am hoping for some direction with a dilemma. My baby has a lump at the top of her leg, front of hip about 3 inches down from spine. Came on rapidly and has grown just over the weekend. In past few months Nola has become very tired, often no longer greeting us, answering our call, etc. She rattles (kind of) when she breathes and seems to have difficulty eating like she used to(spitting out food and smaller bites). Also showing pain symptoms, groaning and problem getting comfy. Her prelim blood tests show normal. Her vet(only used her once before for annual shots) is VERY resistant to the mention of a needle or other biopsy. She want to takes xrays which from what I've read isn't standard practice. I thought standard was biopsy of any lump human or furry. Am I wrong? Husband thinks I am being paranoid. My heart tells me something is not right? Should I pursue a biopsy with another vet? I don't know the costs but hopefully I can come up with something. The uncertainty of what is going on is devastating me emotionally. I don't want her deathly ill but I don't want to get hopes up only to be destroyed later? Help me please.

[Ayoka]

Never had this happen but If it was me, I would get a second opinion if I ever had any doubts.

The peace of mind is sometimes worth the vet fees and I have heard enough horror stories to know that not all vets get everything right 100% of the time!

[spoiledbabies3]

Originally Posted by NolaAngelRocky

I am hoping for some direction with a dilemma. My baby has a lump at the top of her leg, front of hip about 3 inches down from spine. Came on rapidly and has grown just over the weekend.

Is the lump on a lymph node?

Originally Posted by NolaAngelRocky

In past few months Nola has become very tired, often no longer greeting us, answering our call, etc. She rattles (kind of) when she breathes and seems to have difficulty eating like she used to(spitting out food and smaller bites). Also showing pain symptoms, groaning and problem getting comfy.

Although I am not an expert in diseases, there are many on this site that will provide you with great answers. However, I am not going to give you false hope but I also don't want to distress you either. I DO HOPE everything turns out all right, but these were the same symptoms that Sasha had just before she was diagnosed with lymphoma. She had lumps in her lymph nodes on her legs, then moved to her throat area and finally affected her lungs just prior to passing. I am so sorry that you are having to endure this, but I don't want you to think this is normal, it is not! Please get Nola to a good vet that will help you to diagnose the exact problem...I too had difficulty with my original vet diagnosing Sasha...she found the lumps in November and even documented it in her notes, but never tested for the disease. I got a second opinion on Jan 3 and was given Sasha's diagnose the next day. Please do not hesitate in a 2nd opinion...it is imperative that you find out what is wrong...even if it is not the news you are hoping for.

I hope that it is not the news I received but I felt you should know these are the same symptoms I experienced with my now "rottie angel Sasha". I am thinking good thoughts and keeping you and your family in my thoughts and prayers. Please keep us posted.

[BostonRott]

A chest film would help answer why she's rattling when she breathes. That's usually a sign of fluid in the lungs, and the question would be "why is it there?" It could also reveal a tumor, if one is present.

If you're not happy with your vet's diagnostic work, by all means, seek another opinion!

[observer]

If this is the dog that already has a cancer diagnosis, there are all sorts of red flags here, as others have already suggested. Go to a vet you trust to find out what is causing these symptoms.

I'm so sorry you, and she, are going through this....

[moondog]

Originally Posted by NolaAngelRocky

In past few months Nola has become very tired, often no longer greeting us, answering our call, etc. She rattles (kind of) when she breathes and seems to have difficulty eating like she used to(spitting out food and smaller bites). Also showing pain symptoms, groaning and problem getting comfy. Her prelim blood tests show normal. Her vet(only used her once before for annual shots) is VERY resistant to the mention of a needle or other biopsy. She want to takes xrays which from what I've read isn't standard practice.

I'm very sorry you're faced with this, but I think you need to read your own words again. Listen to to what your dog is telling you...what I'm getting is that she is in a lot of pain. I completely agree with your vet. Why put her through an ordeal with sedation/anesthesia to do a biopsy when an xray will likely give you the news you are not ready to hear?

The moaning is VERY meaningful as an indicator of pain. Do not discount that...she's counting on you to help her through this.

[NolaAngelRocky]

Thank you so much for your replies! The large lump is in the area of a lymph node based on a sketch I found online. There appears to be a second forming over the ribcage on the same side and forward of the first in just the last couple of days? Can cancer move that fast? Vet never qualified what she thought but told me to let "previous experience" guide me. Since previous experience was the loss of our beloved Rocky in 1998 to kidney cancer and our beautiful, quiet girl Angel to cancer of unknown origin in 2003 what else was I to believe? My husband is desperate to believe that it is just age; she is behaving like Rocky at age 12 and sick. I would never cause my Baby greater grief and yet without a Dr.'s definitive answer my husband will never believe his eyes. Either way they both hurt and I don't know how to handle it. Thank you again for your concern and prayers. Peace and good health to my babies forever!

[moondog]

Originally Posted by NolaAngelRocky

Either way they both hurt and I don't know how to handle it.

You handle it by setting your own emotional pain aside and making decisions on behalf of your dog, not on behalf of your hopes. While you are hoping she is fine to console your own emotional pain, she is still hurting.

[spoiledbabies3]

Originally Posted by NolaAngelRocky

The large lump is in the area of a lymph node based on a sketch I found online. There appears to be a second forming over the ribcage on the same side and forward of the first in just the last couple of days? Can cancer move that fast?

Unfortunately, yes it can. Sasha's cancer moved at a very fast pace.
From the time the first enlarged lymph node was found until her last day, we loved her for 3 months...and we were lucky. According to my vet, it's usually 30 days. We never let her exist in pain, at the first sign of it we let her go. Like moondog said, you have to not let YOUR pain interfere with hers. If it's her time, you have to be strong enough to say good-bye. She is counting on you to be the strong companion she has always been for you. Don't let her down. Know when it is time for her to be at peace. My prayers are with you, this will be a most difficult decision. I am so sorry.

[NolaAngelRocky]

Again my many thanks! Nola has appt. with another vet for Thurs. She will have medicine to comfort her. If new vet says it's just an infection, fatty tumor, etc. our dream would be answered but I know this is only dream. If our fears are confirmed by new vet even based on experience alone my Sweet Baby will find her way to heaven with all the joy of youth and without the pain of illness. A straightforward answer from a vet will allow my husband some peace with the decision. I will let you know what the new vet says.

[observer]

I don't know what kind of cancer my Annie had, but I do know how quickly she went downhill, before the diagnosis was made during exploratory surgery from which I allowed her never to awaken. A biopsy is a painful, stressful procedure... I remember all too well how my "niece" Rottie, Duchess, looked after her biopsy for OS.

I KNOW how hard this is, but you HAVE to put her well being first. She is depending on you to do the right thing by her. Rotties are VERY stoic about pain and discomfort, so if she is showing any signs of it, she must be in great pain. It is the hardest thing you will ever do, but she will love you forever for the most loving thing you will ever do for her.

[moondog]

Originally Posted by NolaAngelRocky

Nola has appt. with another vet for Thurs. She will have medicine to comfort her.

Is there any possibility that she can see this vet before Thursday? Please don't put more faith in the comforts of medicine than it deserves. My experience is that pain can become so increasingly intense for the dog that medicine (including narcotics) does not relieve it. They go downhill fast, once that decline begins, and 96 hours of that type of pain is not something I could ask a dog to bear.

I'm sorry, but it is never a "good" time to give a dog the ultimate relief, and your husband needs to simply deal with it. How can he claim to love this dog if he can't see her pain and help her to end it? It sounds to me like the vet already did give a straight forward answer. Your dog has cancer. It is up to YOU to do right by her, not for the vet to make the decision for you.

[observer]

You said it yourself...you "know it is only a dream" that the diagnosis is a simple one. She's been tired for MONTHS, and acts like she's in pain, and rattles when she breathes, and now she has this lump? If this is the same dog you are talking about on the other thread, then you know what's happening.

I agree with moondog....Thursday is too long, if she is in as much discomfort as it sounds like she is -- and it will get worse. You and your husband BOTH have to put what is right for HER first. She is counting on it.

[NolaAngelRocky]

Thank you all so much. The first vet is finally listening to my concerns and will do needle biopsy tomorrow with me there. She is staying near me almost constantly and I will not allow her to be further distressed. She will have something to ease her until results are in. Before I must say goodbye I will make sure that this is not something easily treated with a $.20 antibiotic. Only if this is readily diagnosed and easily treated (CURED!) will I pursue more treatment. She will not be subjected to ongoing and stressful testing and meds in hopes that something works. ON TOP OF IT ALL money is a concern and it feels as if I am putting the pocketbook first. ONE BRIGHT SPOT is for a time she acted like her playful self of not so long ago but I know better than view this as she is cured. She stills gets excited for rides, though they tire her, and the occasional attack of Daddy's feet. If the biopsy is cancer or doesn't give a clear sign of what is wrong and before her spark fails entirely my Sweet Baby and I will take a drive the ocean where she has always loved to play in the sand, lap at the big pond and spit the salt water out and bat at crabs and back home again for hugs and kisses from Mommy and Daddy. I know some wonder at my distress as she is "only a dog" but for some like myself, for various reasons, who don't bond or cope well with the 2 legged variety and for many who are happy with the 2 legged folk, they truly are "children", best-friend and close confidant; able to give and receive love without reservation or judgement and in return the "damaged" are able to love without fear or hesitation. An incredible gift indeed. Thank you so much again and I will post as soon I know anything.

[moondog]

Originally Posted by NolaAngelRocky

I know some wonder at my distress as she is "only a dog"

You'd be hard pressed to find anyone among this group who has that attitude. What may appear as uncaring to you, appears so because it is the DOG that is sick and in distress, and it is the DOG we are trying to help. That's how much we love and respect them.

Originally Posted by NolaAngelRocky

An incredible gift indeed. Thank you so much again and I will post as soon I know anything.

Yes they are, moreso than many can possibly imagine. Please let us know what you find out.