[faysie]

Ok ...here we go again. I'm going to vent a little before I get to the topic. This is yet ANOTHER health issue that was not throroughly/accurately disclosed by the basset rescue. We went through a surgery a few months ago, for some lesions on Dixie's abdomen. They were there when she came to us. We were told that they were just little moles. They began to bleed ...we had them checked ...they were skin cancers. All of them had to be removed.

Here we are again, with a "cyst" that had ruptured and was "in the process of healing" when Dixie came to us. Our vet took a look at it and advised that we go ahead and have it removed at the same time as the lesions were being removed, because it had ruptured again. As it turned out, he did not get to this cyst because of the length of time under anesthesia. It was "healing" again and I was not in any rush to put her through another surgery so soon.

Yesterday, this thing REALLY ruptured and when I looked at it, it scared me to death. It sort of ...turned inside out? That's the best way to describe it. We took Dixie to the vet today and saw his partner, who we have not seen before. She ran some tests and gave me the riot act for not acting on this sooner. It's cancerous ...has probably always been cancerous ...and it needs to be removed right away. We have her on antibiotics because of some bacteria and we have a spray to use four times a day until the day of surgery.

I know this is long ...and if anyone has bothered to finish this post and has any words of wisdom on this issue, please feel free to advise. I'm worried about this because I've read so many posts about these types of things. Do they "get it all" and they just go away? Do they heal well? I'm so worried about my baby. I'm mad at a few people ...but I'm mostly worried about Dixie.

 

[Jim]

I'm sorry to hear about Dixie. It sounds like you both have had a tough time. I lost my 11 year old Basset to melanoma six years ago. He had it in his mouth. I was surprised to find out it was quite common in dogs. I had the tumor removed, and Beau led a happy life for 8 more months. Then it came back and I made the difficult decision to have him put to sleep because he was unable to eat and they said it would spread quickly into his lungs. I don't want to alrm you because Dixie's tumors don't sound as serious as Beau's. Hopefully your vet can shed some light into the treatment of Dixie's tumor and probability of it reoccurring If he can't I'd try to consult a specialist. There's also a lot of information on line that may be helpful. Just google melanoma in dogs. Good luck and I hope Dixie is feeling better!

 

[Betsy Iole]

Unfortunately, it's difficult to predict how well she'll heal post-op and how she'll do afterwards until you know what kind of tumor it is. Very sorry you're going through this and wishing you all well.

 

[Maggie's Mommy]

I am so sorry to hear this. I don't have any advice for you just sending lots of healing well wishes to Dixie. I will keep her in my prayers. Take care and keep us posted. BTW?? How old is she??

 

[copsmom]

Faye,

I am so sorry to hear this news about Dixie. I will be praying that everything will turn out great for the two of you. You will both be in my thoughts.

Karen

 

[faysie]

Dixie is around 8 years old. That's what the Foster Mom said. The rescue posting on their website said "5-6 years".

She's very healthy and robust. Quite the active little thing for her age. She isn't acting sick or slowing down at all. There doesn't seem to be any pain. She just has these skin issues. And other than the cancers that were removed previously ...and this "cyst" thing, her skin is great. Her coat is great. Nothing else that I can tell for the time being. I've checked one end to the other!

I don't know enough about this sort of thing so I've trustedwhat the vet and the rescue people have told me. From this point on, I'm going to act on my own instincts about these things and move forward. I'm now of the belief that it has to be much easier to remove these lesions and bumps BEFORE the rupture or begin to bleed. If something comes up again, it's coming off right away.

 

[Terry]

I, too, am sorry you and Dixie are going through this. I hope all turns out well. Please don't be too upset with the rescue people... many rescue dogs have no medical history or background and Rescue people can only guess (an educated guess but still just a guess) at things like age and health conditions. Good luck with her surgery...

 

[woebgon]

It's impossible for any of us to predict what will happen to Dixie, but our prayers and good thoughts are with her.

It sounds like the vet you have has decided that the cyst is cancerous. I trust that they determined that by doing a biopsy. Like people, some basset hounds seem to be prone to cysts and others don't get any. It's not always in the breeding either. For one to be cancerous is rather rare in my experience, but I'm not a vet. The prediction from the rescue group can only be as good as the vet that they have caring for their dogs. In many cases things like cysts aren't taken care of due to cost. At some time in all this you may be faced with the same decision. I know from experience that chemo treatments for a dog can be very expensive.