Cancer Advice

Post Reply
lils29

Post   » Wed May 23, 2018 12:51 pm


I was hoping for some advice or people with similar experiences please?

Last month my piggy Lily aged 4 passed a tumor herself during the night. We rushed Lily to the exotic pet specialist and they had never seen anything like it. Lily appeared to be fine, eating, drinking and passing waste normally so they advised us to monitor her and they would send the tumor off for analysis. We got the results back and it turned out that she had passed a Leiomyoma which normally have to be surgically removed. They also found no concerns in the tumor and we were sent on our way with the good news.


Two days later Lily developed 2 lumps on her chest. We had a biopsy done on both of them and they came back as 90% Fatty Tissue but 10% unknown matter and the Vet unfortunately had more questions than answers really so they suggested doing an ultrasound to make sure no further lumps were found internally. We were called the next day to say that nothing more was found internally but that they were not happy that one of the lumps seemed to be growing and they would like to remove it. The lump was removed the next day and Lily was up begging for food when she came to and they were very happy with her but they advised us that the lump was very vascular. We decided to send the lump off for testing to be on the safe side . We have been waiting a week for the results and in this time Lily is her normal happy self.


We have had a major blow today. Lily has a very aggressive form of cancer and there is nothing further that they can really do. The Vet gave the options of removing the lumps as they appear on her body or getting her spayed which i dont think is an option at 4 years old.

Our main thing is that we dont want her to be in any pain. The vet said we can take her for monthly check ups to keep an eye on her and then if she appears to be in any pain they can discuss pain medication etc. As she was describing what i should be looking out for it was very overwhelming. She spoke about checking her breathing because internal tumors can press on the lungs, they can press on the bladder and cause pain urinating etc. It all sounds so awful for her to go through.

Im just looking for advice from other piggy lovers to see what they would do in my situation? Currently she doesnt even appear sick. Should i keep going with her until I see that she is becoming ill or should I think about putting her to sleep so that she doesnt have to suffer through all of the things that will happen to her? I dont want to be selfish and keep her alive for my own benefit. I want to do whats best for her right until the end.
Thank you

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed May 23, 2018 1:15 pm


Hi. You posted on someone else's topic here:
https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewt ... 4#p2284234

I am so sorry your guinea pig has such a poor prognosis.

This can be your topic about your guinea pig Lily. Put all your questions relating to her medical health here.

I do not know if this topic would be of help to you, but it deals with cancer:
https://www.guinealynx.info/records/view ... f=23&t=123

rpaws

Post   » Thu May 24, 2018 7:44 pm


lils29.
This is my experience with my guinea pig girl Charlotte. Charlotte had more lumps on her than my mashed potatoes. One vet said she had only seen getting so many lumps on rats.

Charlotte had at least 4 lump removal surgeries. The vet said one lump he was removing started to burst and was probably cancerous - didn't pay extra to find out because what would be the point? She started growing another lump on her stomach (?) that was possibly a fatty tumor. We decided to monitor it.

I was on vacation when the pet sitter called to say Charlotte was eating fine in the morning and then that evening did NOT want to eat. The pet sitter took her to the vet the next day and an ultrasound revealed there was a huge lump inside of her, pressing on her kidneys. Nothing could be done so Charlotte was sent to the rainbow bridge.

It tore me to say goodbye to her, but in Charlotte's case she had all the lump surgeries she could take. Then we just monitored it, She was 'fine' - eating just 24 hours before she was euthanized.

So in retrospect, if Charlotte were Lily, I would say 'No' to the surgery and just ask for pain medication if applicable/possible. Just watch and enjoy every precious day you have remaining with Lily. Lily will let you know when she is ready to be assisted to the rainbow bridge - showing signs of pain or not eating. She may very well be like Charlotte and grow a huge lump inside of her that will suddenly cause her distress, after eating like well a guinea pig for months and months. See after that last lump surgery? Charlotte lived for 1 year, 5 months.

lils29

Post   » Tue May 29, 2018 11:42 am


Thank you so much for your advise rpaws.

I really appreciate being able to talk with other people who have gone through the same. We have decided not to put her through another lump removal and just let her enjoy her days as they come. She is still playing, eating and drinking so we are giving her all the love and attention we can while we have her and we have also contacted a rescue centre about getting another piggy companion for Lola once Lily goes over the rainbow bridge :(

Absolutely heart breaking but suppose we can take some solace in the fact that we really cared for them and gave them the best life possible with love and care xx

So sorry that you had to go through this too

Post Reply