I am super surprised too LBJ! As you know we have a 15yo dog, Sam. She has a HUGE fatty tumor on her chest between her front legs, and she has never showed any discomfort by it so as much as we try to ignore it (it is sooo gross, lol), unless we feel it is causing her any grief we have chosen not to take any action with it – at 15 I think she is just too old, and am just happy she is STILL with us and mobile (though we have to pick her up and put her on the bed now, ha hah) and wouldn’t want to cause her any undue stress when I’m sure she doesn’t have much longer with us, our toy poodle passed aged 15. I am really surprised, as you said – that your vet didn’t take action years ago, but is considering it now? I ‘personally’ would leave her (Cash?) be…….

Obviously you know your girl best, and I think this is one of those cases where you have to go with your gut. She has been dealing with it for the last 4+ years, and unless it has recently grown, she is probably pretty used to coping with it. After 10 years old I won’t vaccinate, or do anything that won’t improve quality of life because it is just too harsh on an old body. 15 is getting up there for any dog, no matter the breed or size. So it is up to you to decide if removing the tumor is going to increase her quality of life, and if it is going to improve it enough to be worth the risk.

If you do decide to pursue surgery, you might also consider getting a second opinion to see if it is the tumor that impedes walking, or if it could simply be arthritis at this point. If you think it is causing her pain, you might want to look into pain management instead of surgery.

My dog Sheba had a fatty-like tumor growing on her shoulder.  The doc aspirated it and didn’t see any cancerous cells.  But I could feel that it was not a typical lypoma.  It wasn’t completely “loose” in the skin.. it was connected at the base close to her body, right about where her shoulder bone connected.  I’m guess it was actually synovial fluid (at best) at worst, it was a tumor.  Anyway.  When I first noticed it, it was the size of a quarter, 3 months later it was the size of a half a tennis ball.  She was almost 14 yrs old and I worried about surgery for her, even as a pitbull, it would have been hard on her.  We opted not to remove it then, but the doc warned us that it could get as big as her head, and he wasn’t lying.  As it got bigger and began hindering her walking, we started pain relief for her old bones.  The awkward walking was just tiring her out.  We went back and forth on whether or not we did the right thing by not doing surgery.  In hindsight, I wish I had done it when it was the size of a quarter.  With how connected her tumor was the surgery to remove it would have had to be escalated to getting done by a specialist and not with a glowing prospect.  It ended up being as big as a basketball.  In the end, she had declined so badly, it was like everything she ate just fed that damn tumor.  It grew as she wasted away.  Ultimately, the tumor slowed her down, and prevented her from being able to roll over or sleep on that side.  

Only you can decide whether or not the risk of surgery and the pain of recovery is worth the likely outcome.  If it is successfully removed, which sooner is better than later with growing tumors, will she be a brand new dog?  Having an extra 20-30# hanging off the side of you really is tiresome.  Can she have several more years of good quality of life if she wasn’t lugging around the extra baggage?  

Sorry for so much babble, and I’m not really sure how disconnected my speech is right now, I’m having troubles focusing!  I guess I just wanted you to know that I understand exactly what you are going through, and your decision is going to be hard either way.  Animals are extremely resilient and she might surprise you.  I surely would have loved to have been able to get Sheba’s thoughts on it all.

Oh GOSH manic – I had no idea that Sheba’s tumor was that big. You know it’s one thing to ‘talk’ about, but to ‘see’ it, it tells a totally different story. Poor girl, but gee, isn’t she beautiful. My Sam’s tumor was only discovered when she was 14 and it is only the size of a golf ball (I thought that was big? Not anymore!) and I don’t believe it has grown any since. Luckily it is located high on her chest (just below her neck) and has never interfered with her laying down and sleeping. I thought it was terrible at the time but am now grateful (after chatting to you both LBJ & manic) that other than being apparent, it really isn’t a concern. My apologies LBJ, I should have thought to ask how BIG Cash’s is? In one breath “I” think 15 is too old for surgery – but in the next, if my Sam looked like Sheba there is a good chance the hubby (mostly) and I would look into it? (not saying I would go ahead at 15, but yes, I know we/the hubby would look into it if the option was there). I still can’t believe your vet wasn’t interested in treating it years ago, and now he is keen???
Oh and how I wish too that our pets could talk to us……. but that would make our lives toooo easy!

Hard decision!

Why now that she is 15 do they finally agree that maybe it should come off?

I suppose it could be matter of ongoing education…Or veterinary advancements??
Perhaps her vet has seen more positive outcomes or there is less invasive surgery techniques. Idk.
Or maybe they really saw this visit how it impacts her, whereas as at previous checkups it wasn’t as evident.

Best to ask outright as to why they’re more pro surgery now.

{{{Cash}}}

15 is old for a dog. There is a chance that your dog may not recover from a surgery like that. ‘personally’ I would consider it if my dog was suffering. If your dog isn’t, and it isn’t growing, I don’t know if i would risk it.

~~~ For whatever you choose, just know that you’ve given your dog the best care you can, and that she has made it to a nice old age with your love and care. Remember that you love her, and I’m sure she knows it. If you chose to give the surgery, you need to trust the vets that they know what they are doing and they won’t risk something if there is no chance in it helping her. If you choose to not do the surgery, just try to make her as comfy as you can, maybe ever spoil her.

—-And about the vets now choosing to take action, maybe they now see some sort of danger in the tumor that wasn’t there before?

I wish you and you pet luck, with whatever you choose to do!!! I’ll be think of you!

I have a mini Dachshund, and I know what wonderful companions they can be. I would wait for the blood work to come back and see what the vets say, but that’s just me. I hope that she feels better.

{{{{{Hugs}}}}}

When I worked at the vet hospital wow 20yrs ago… older or more fragile patients were masked down with isoflurane, instead of given an i.v. injection to put them to sleep, then intubated and put on isoflurane. With Iso, once it’s turned off and oxygen increased, the animals wake up within minutes, fully functional. So they may mask older animals automatically, and if not, perhaps you could ask about it to lessen any problems.

Oh LBJ poor girl!
I really don’t know much about pups, but sending (((vibes)))