Cody is a handsome, bright golden retriever. He is too
young to have cancer if you think about it. Cancer is supposed to be a
disease of the older pet. But when Cody was just 18 months old, a lump was
discovered on his tail. It felt like a cyst - something we often see in
the skin of a dog. Most such lumps are, in fact, benign. Even with benign
growths, the tail location is not a great place to perform surgery. There
is a very limited amount of available skin for wound closure. Surgery was
immediately scheduled for Cody.
The surgery went well for Cody. His recovery was uneventful. The biopsy
report was, however, quite worrisome. The growth was malignant. Malignant
disease can re-grow at the original site and can spread to other areas of
the body, causing serious consequences. The brighter side of the pathology
report was, fortunately, more optimistic. The pathologist reported that we
had gotten all of the tumor and that spread to other areas of the body was
unlikely.
There are so many lumps and bumps that can develop in our pets.
Vigilance at home, and routine, thorough veterinary examinations help
detect lumps at their most manageable stages. This is one of the reasons
that 6 month examinations are considered the best care for pets over 7
years of age.
There is a happy ending to this story. It has been over a year since
Cody's surgery. There has been no sign of the disease returning. Cody and
his mom, Marlene, are two happy puppies today.
