How Quickly Can Nasty Lumps Just Come Up?

[Trisven13]

I have an old rescue dog here, Walter who is of an unknown age but estimated to be 10-15 years, leaning towards the older end.

Today I noticed a large lump coming out of the side of his mouth which is part of his lip. It was NOT there last week, or if it was, it wasn't the size it is now. Now it is the size of a large cherry tomato/small apricot. It is definitely part of his lip, is dark blue and hard to touch. I've spoken with the vet and we're keeping an eye on it but they feel that it doesn't sound like a "good" lump. He is still eating. He has never been a dog with a lot of spark - he is not acting any differently, though maybe a little more vocal than previously.

Walter is very, very old and very arthritic - he is essentially living with us for a good time, not a long time and I won't be putting him through surgery or anything similar. He is just too old. He also gets very carsick and we live 30 minutes from the vet so we don't want to put him through the stress of going to the vet until we need to. If it continues to grow at the rate it appears to be we will take him on Saturday when we can arrange the car properly.

I suppose my question is - can a nasty lump really grow that fast?

[karly101]

Yes you can get very quick growing lumps.. a nice reference I found on all sorts of different lumps -

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2111&aid=424

I'd prob recommend getting it checked out by a vet...due to his age the important thing is that he is comfortable, not in pain and eating.

[yellowgirl]

Hope dear old Walter is okay.

Has the lump grown any bigger?

[Trisven13]

The lump is the same today which is, I suppose, good news.

If we lived closer to a vet I would take him but whilst he is eating and behaving normally it is not worth putting him through the stress. I suppose it is hard to understand without having met old Walter but he arrived here simply to live out his days - he is very old and very rickety. It is, quite simply, unfair to the poor old bugger to take him to the vet if it is not going to be his last visit when I live so far from the vet.

[stormie]

I guess that's the thing, Tris, whether its a tumour or an epulis, both of which can grow quickly and be bad, the outcome is likely going to be the same, ie, no surgery and just keep him comfortable during his retirement. Even if its a benign mass or even a tooth root abscess, surgery would still likely be needed once it grows too big or gets worse and from the sounds of him, it just wouldn't be fair.

So I think you're doing the right thing and you'll know when it's getting too difficult for him to deal with

Edited September 14, 2010 by stormie

[yellowgirl]

Does it move under the skin at all, or is it firmly placed?

Sounds like it's not bothering him at this stage, and he's still eating well, so considering his age etc, I agree with you to just monitor it for the time being.

Give the old boy a cuddle from me.

[Trisven13]

I had another look at it this morning and the edges are starting to become funny shapes so its now a matter of monitoring it for ulceration. I had a long chat with the vet and he said that we're completely doing the right thing at the moment. He is beginning to salivate and move his mouth around a little like something is stuck there but the vet said that given his age and the fact that the drive is too stressful for him we take it week to week. His life is definitely going to be measured in days and weeks though, not months. He has had a lovely end to his life though and that is all that matters.

Because he hasn't been able to be desexed due to his extreme age he still thinks he is a stud muffin. Marie was in season about 2-3 months ago and he was the ultimate Italian Stallion (in his dreams) and would walk around the run (not with her in there of course) and hump everywhere. He obviously thinks she is still in as he was following her around humping the air again today so he's obviously feeling okay