Senior husky losing weight, leg lump. Is he too old for surgery?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is hard to know for sure just based on a description. This could be a benign or malignant growth. There is no way of knowing what it is just based on its appearance. This is often differentiated by a test called a fine needle aspirate (FNA) which is a pain free, inexpensive and easy procedure which in most cases will help reach a diagnosis. Sometimes a biopsy is needed for a definitive diagnosis. I recommend that you have him evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment as soon as possible as his weight loss and blood loss are quite concerning. I am really hoping for something benign. Good luck and have a good day!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Judging from the photos, it is difficult to say for sure what the growth could be. This may be benign or malignant but further testing would need to be performed on it (such as a needle aspirate or biopsy performed by your veterinarian). It has the appearance of a benign tumor but I cannot say for sure. In regards to the weight loss and not being able to hold his weight, there may be a number of causes for this such as cancer, systemic disease / infection, etc. I would recommend having a veterinarian examine George so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

The risk of anesthesia would probably be the biggest concern for Nevah. We always evaluate our patients and put them into a certain class of risk prior to the anesthesia. When we have patients with high anesthetic risk, we usually will notify the owner first, before we do anything, so they are comfortable with the procedure knowing the risk. We will also alter the drugs and procedure as necessary to avoid risk. A skinny healthy dog is not necessarily a risk. However, overly thin dogs may have an underlying health condition that is making them skinny. Before considering the risk, you would want to get bloodwork done on Nevah. This will show if there are any signs of organ failure or disease. Most veterinarians would require this prior to doing anesthesia on a dog this old. After all the information is acquired, your veterinarian would be able to advise you about the risk versus the benefit. If the dental disease is really bad and/or the lumps are cancerous, then the benefit would likely outweigh the risk in most of these situations. However, if the teeth are not too bad and the tumors appear benign, then it may not be worth the risk. I hope that helps.

Hello. I am so sorry for your concerns about Mac. At his wonderful age, I do not know if I could recommend ever doing anything about the lump. Surgery is certainly much riskier, & even recovery would be difficult on him. If the lump does not seem to be painful, cause him any difficulties in movement, not bleeding or ulcerating, then I would just love him every single day. Most likely, the lump will not cause his end. All the best to Mac & thanks for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I'm sorry to hear that your cat isn't doing terribly well. There are several different possibilities here. One is that his weight loss is completely unrelated to the masses. As cats get older, they're more likely to develop conditions like hyperthyroidism or kidney disease, which can lead to weight loss. While neither of these conditions can be "cured," both can be managed to some degree with certain medications or diet. The other possibility is, as you mentioned, that these masses could be cancerous. I completely understand not wanting to pursue extensive treatment for cancer, but before making the assumption that it is cancer, I'd try to get some more information. For starters, I think it's perfectly reasonable to take your cat to the vet for an exam and some bloodwork to check his organ function. There's a chance that your vet may find something that's not terribly difficult to manage, but you don't know unless you look. I would expect that your vet would recommend trying to diagnose the masses in order to be thorough, but if you are clear that you don't want to look into them further, it shouldn't be an issue. At the end of the day, you own your cat and are responsible for making choices for him. Your vet's job is to present those choices to you and help you to find the approach that works best for you and your cat. I hope this helps and that everything goes well.

Please have her checked by your vet as soon as possible. This is not normal and although any lumps are concerning, any that are painful or rapidly growing are very suspicious for underlying issues such as cancer. Early diagnosis and treatment is vital to improve outcomes and reduce undue pain and discomfort.

Unknown lumps and bumps are virtually impossible to diagnose without, at the very least, a visual inspection of the area. As such, I will provide you with some general information. An unknown mass or lump is typically one of the following: a cystic (fluid filled) structure, an abscess (fluid-filled, but infected), a mass / tumor, an allergic reaction / insect bite, or the result of a traumatic injury. A thorough physical exam and inspection of the affected area would be needed in order to determine which is most likely. In many instances, a needle aspirate (small amount of fluid obtained from the lesion and placed on a microscope slide) or tissue biopsy would be required to obtain a definitive diagnosis as to the type of lesion. If this is not an option, one must consider the location, distribution, duration of onset, patient breed / age / sex, and a variety of other factors. As Foxy is a younger dog, it is less likely that she would have a malignant tumor on her body than if she was elderly. You mentioned that the lesion is soft - this is typically a good sign that she is dealing with something benign or harmless. Whether or not this mass has anything to do with the weight loss is very difficult to say. I would recommend you make a regular appointment to see your vet and have her assessed as a whole. Hope this makes sense.