Strange 'Balls' on my Guinea Pig

Phoebe

Post   » Fri Aug 03, 2018 10:32 am


Hi everyone,
My five year old guinea pig, Phoebe, has several strange 'balls' the size of large peas on her underside--under her left armpit, two mid belly, one on her right side, and most recently, one near her right nipple, where her fur is now missing. (Otherwise no fur is missing.) Could they be fatty deposits or swollen lymph nodes? They are hard, but do not seem to cause discomfort or pain. They seem to be under her skin. They do not pus and are not from wounds, as she lives alone and hasn't had any injures. The first of these 'balls' appeared over a year ago, and lately more have appeared. I am wondering if I should bring her to the vet, or if its possible that I can work on treatment at home? I am not sure if maybe she just needs more exercise as she gets older. She shows no signs of being ill, beyond these strange 'balls'. I have always taken good care of her--I feed her organic pellets and give her fresh vegetables every day, as well has unlimited hay and water--so I am sad and surprised to see her not be healthy...:(
Any advice is welcome!

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Fri Aug 03, 2018 10:34 am


She needs to see a vet. They may be benign cysts, or they may be something more life-threatening.

Phoebe

Post   » Fri Aug 03, 2018 11:37 am


Oh no! I hope not.
Thank you for your reply...

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Aug 03, 2018 11:48 am


Ditto bpatters. You need to take her to a vet asap. Find an experienced exotics veterinarian.

Phoebe

Post   » Fri Aug 03, 2018 3:23 pm


I’ve found one that is an hour away...the good news is she likes car rides!
I really hope I can afford any necessary surgery.:(

Phoebe

Post   » Fri Aug 10, 2018 10:18 am


Phoebe has mammary cancer. The bumps are tumours. The vet said that surgery isn’t the best option, because of her age. He said that she will deteriorate from now until she dies...
I am so upset! I wish more could be done for her! I thought if I took excellent care of her, she wouldn’t get sick.:(
Does anyone know of anything I can do?

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pigjes
Cavy Comic

Post   » Fri Aug 10, 2018 10:37 am


I'm so sorry!

Aiko was like that, and we found only one tiny lump at the regular manual exams we did at home. X-rays showed it was aggressive, and had already spread everywhere. As it was clear she also had minor pain, we decided to let her go before awful pain kicked in, which would have been days in her case.

Phoebe

Post   » Fri Aug 10, 2018 11:19 am


I’m so sorry for Aiko! That is tragic.:(
The thing is, right now Phoebe is fine. She shows no signs of sickness or pain at all. It breaks my heart to think that she will get sick...

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Fri Aug 10, 2018 12:49 pm


I'm so sorry about Phoebe's diagnosis. I'm sure you took very good care of her, but mammary cancer isn't something you can prevent.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Aug 10, 2018 4:47 pm


I am so sorry to hear this news. How did he come to this diagnosis? Were biopsies of the lumps sent off for analysis?

rjespicer

Post   » Fri Aug 10, 2018 5:08 pm


Sorry to hear that Phoebe.

I am sure that you are already planning to do the only thing that I could suggest in the circumstances, which is to give her as much love and TLC as you can.

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ItsaZoo
Supporter in 2023

Post   » Fri Aug 10, 2018 7:24 pm


So sorry about Phoebe’s diagnosis. I had a dog with bladder cancer and know how difficult some days can be. Just love her and make each day special. I would also supplement with vitamin C just because there is so much research out there about how it seems to slow tumor growth and improves quality of life in cancer patients.

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