Tulip: The Needle and the Damage Done
While I was in Europe, Tulip stayed in boarding. She had a good time, but when I picked her up they reported that in the last few days she was there a giant lump had appeared just above her knee on her front right leg. Sure enough, there was a large, apricot-sized bump that wasn't there before.
It didn't seem to be causing Tulip any pain, but I still got her into the vet as soon as possible. They stuck a needle in it, expecting to see one of four things*:
- Pus, meaning it was an infection around a splinter or something. This was unlikely because it didn't hurt her.
- A non-blood discharge, meaning it was a cyst.
- A fatty discharge, meaning it was a fatty lymphoma, which I'm told wouldn't be a big deal.
- Blood, meaning it was something else not yet diagnosable, potentially bad.
Unfortunately, blood came out. The vet therefore recommended surgery to have it removed and biopsied.
Fortunately, I am privileged to be in a position where I can spend a lot of money on canine medical care, so Tulip goes under the knife this Tuesday. I drop her off in the morning and pick her up in the evening. I'm not sure how long it will take to get biopsy results, but as the vet explained the options are basically:
- It's something non-cancerous and not a big deal. This is unlikely.
- It's something cancerous, but they'll be able to remove it all.
- It's something cancerous, and they can't remove it all.
No prizes for guessing which one I'm hoping for.
*I am not a vet and am going from memory, so this data may be incorrect in details.
It didn't seem to be causing Tulip any pain, but I still got her into the vet as soon as possible. They stuck a needle in it, expecting to see one of four things*:
- Pus, meaning it was an infection around a splinter or something. This was unlikely because it didn't hurt her.
- A non-blood discharge, meaning it was a cyst.
- A fatty discharge, meaning it was a fatty lymphoma, which I'm told wouldn't be a big deal.
- Blood, meaning it was something else not yet diagnosable, potentially bad.
Unfortunately, blood came out. The vet therefore recommended surgery to have it removed and biopsied.
Fortunately, I am privileged to be in a position where I can spend a lot of money on canine medical care, so Tulip goes under the knife this Tuesday. I drop her off in the morning and pick her up in the evening. I'm not sure how long it will take to get biopsy results, but as the vet explained the options are basically:
- It's something non-cancerous and not a big deal. This is unlikely.
- It's something cancerous, but they'll be able to remove it all.
- It's something cancerous, and they can't remove it all.
No prizes for guessing which one I'm hoping for.
*I am not a vet and am going from memory, so this data may be incorrect in details.