Possible tumor on Mia

[Tarah]

Tonight we found a mass under Mia's left armpit. We know it's more than likely a tumor, but Joey's questioning it because it's squishy, not hard.

Can anyone help me with this? Is it a tumor?

EDIT: So I looked it up, it's a mammary tumor. Mia's not even a year old yet - does this mean she'll be prone to it all her life?

 

[Rachael]

Tumours can feel any sort of way but if it's squishy I'd say that's a good sign. Is it big? Any pictures?
If she is young and healthy I'd say take her to the vet and get it removed if you trust the vet and the vet is happy to do so. Some people believe that getting them spayed at the same time can prevent any further tumours but I don't know what age she is exactly?

 

[Tarah]

A year as of March 9th.

 

[Joanne]

I would advise tumor + spay. She's young so if you leave the tumor and let it grow, she may not live as long as if it were removed.

 

[Rachael]

If she is still under a year old you could consider a spay but remembering it is a major operation and the post op can be tricky...

 

[Ewa]

Sophee is a year and two months and had a mammary tumor removed as well as a spay just a few weeks ago. She had a quick and full recovery , it is fully worth it to get it done :hugs: The risk is scary but was worth it in the end

 

[Moon]

If you are comfortable with your vet spaying, I'd go for it. She's certainly young enough to benefit from it.

 

[Maple]

I would have it removed but I'm also the first to say "if your not born with it, get rid of it".
She is very young and would completely benefit with surgery.
Good luck with your decision.

 

A spay would be a good idea!
I highly reccomend Dr. Dee from Sunrise Animal Hospital to do it!

 

[Tarah]

I will call in the morning to see if they can give me a price on a removal. I doubt we can afford both. We're only living off joey's pay checks so things are very tight right now.

 

[lj]

Good luck! I think it's better to get it off when it's smaller than larger.

 

Good Luck !

 

[Tarah]

So just another question...

Say that the surgery costs way more than we can afford (Called - they said they'd have to see her first) How long could she live with it before it becomes a problem for her? It's about the size your thumb nail right now.

 

[Joanne]

It really depends on how fast the tumor grows, and no one will know the answer to that. There are rats whose tumors are almost as big as they are! But the bigger it is, the harder it is for them to get around, etc.

 

[Moon]

Lots of rats live long, healthy lives with mammary tumours.... one of my girls was 2 and a half and lived with two good sized tumours to no ill effect. The problem is, if it DOES become a problem, you'll pay a lot more (and have much more surgical risk) getting a big one removed.

 

[Tarah]

Thanks for your replies guys.

I got a better look of the tumor yesterday. It's about the size of a thumb nail, but spherical. And it's very squishy. Not hard at all.

We'll be saving up the money and watching her closely.

 

Good luck Tarah