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Tumor Diagnosed with cancer

tate_keet

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Hi all, I'm fairly new here and I've been trying to search for cancer in guinea pigs.
Last night, around 7pm, I gave our babies, Charlotte & Waldo, their dinner, only to find that Charlotte has quite a large lump behind her right ear.
Unfortunately, we only have two 24 hour vets available in our area, and they don't specialize in Guinea Pigs.
So I phoned around this morning, only to find that there are only two vets that can assist with Guinea Pigs, one of which could only help me on Monday morning - please keep in mind it's Saturday (09:00) here in South Africa.
I eventually get hold of a vet which is about a 15 minute drive that can consult with our little lady.
Upon taking her to the vet, I had to check her in, luckily she had been there before and they confirmed that our Charlotte was nearly 5 years old.
I was called into the consult room, the vet examined her and felt her lump to which he advised that it was cancer and unfortunately the cancer was too far gone and that her tumor would be too large to remove.
He has suggested that we let her live her life and keep her as comfortable as we can. And we have no other options for her at the moment.
We are trying to do our research in giving her CBD Oil or Cannabis to try ease her pain as I am totally heart broken over the fact that we could lose our talkative baby at any time.

Does anyone have any advise in giving Guinea Pigs CBD Oil/Cannabis? As I don't want to put too many chemicals in her body and I feel that cannabis is the most natural way to assist her with her pain.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated during this heart breaking time.
 

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Soecara

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Did the vet do a biopsy at all?

Malignant tumors are relatively uncommon in guinea pigs, and I would definitely want a biopsy to confirm it. If it is in fact benign her potential life expectancy may not be as affected.

Sorry I don't have any helpful advice regarding CBD oil in guinea pigs. However there are medication options for ongoing pain management (see this link, note not all medications listed are suitable for long term use, https://www.guinealynx.info/analgesics.html ). I would also advise to only treat her for pain if she is displaying signs that she is uncomfortable.

I would be interested in seeing an image of the lump, just to get an idea of what the lump looks like and how it is positioned.

Edit to add: It may also be useful for your own reference to hold a ruler up to the lump and measure it as best you can and record this every so often, this way you can get an idea of if/how fast it is growing.
 

bpatters

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Ditto [MENTION=24757]Soecara[/MENTION]. While it's not impossible, that's not a likely place for a malignant tumor in a guinea pig. And a biopsy would give you a definitive diagnosis.

If she's in pain, I'd get one of the pain medications from the vet.
 

tate_keet

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Did the vet do a biopsy at all?

Malignant tumors are relatively uncommon in guinea pigs, and I would definitely want a biopsy to confirm it. If it is in fact benign her potential life expectancy may not be as affected.

Sorry I don't have any helpful advice regarding CBD oil in guinea pigs. However there are medication options for ongoing pain management (see this link, note not all medications listed are suitable for long term use, https://www.guinealynx.info/analgesics.html ). I would also advise to only treat her for pain if she is displaying signs that she is uncomfortable.

I would be interested in seeing an image of the lump, just to get an idea of what the lump looks like and how it is positioned.

Edit to add: It may also be useful for your own reference to hold a ruler up to the lump and measure it as best you can and record this every so often, this way you can get an idea of if/how fast it is growing.

Thank you for that - definitely signs of pain, as she just sleeps in her hut and eats very rarely - to the point where I'ved put it in her hut so she can have it right there as well as moving the hut closer to her water & moving the water position and picking her up has become a big No-No (we used to take her & Waldo out in the evenings after work so they could enjoy some time out of their cage as well as putting them in their outdoor cage on sunny weekends).

Mass is about 5cm in width and from bottom of right ear to the middle of her left ear, and very solid.

I'll definitely post a picture once my phone is charged up.
 

tate_keet

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Ditto @Soecara. While it's not impossible, that's not a likely place for a malignant tumor in a guinea pig. And a biopsy would give you a definitive diagnosis.

If she's in pain, I'd get one of the pain medications from the vet.

The problem is that most vets here in South Africa is that they do not operate on small pets. I was happy to have a biopsy but the vet is very reluctant due to the fact that it is so large and her sensitivity and he's unsure whether there would even be enough skin to close her up with.
 

bpatters

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That does sound more like a tumor than any possible infection or cervical lymphadenitis. Which means you've got a hard decision to make. Even if you found a competent vet surgeon, it's a hard area to operate in (many nerves, blood vessels, and structures), it would be a long surgery, and she'd have a difficult recovery. Given those factors, her age, and that she's in pain, if she were my guinea pig, I'd be considering euthanasia.

It might put your mind at ease to insist on the biopsy, just to make absolutely sure that you're dealing with something that requires surgical rather than medical treatment.

I'm sorry you're faced with this. Please keep us up to date on what's happening with her.
 

tate_keet

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That does sound more like a tumor than any possible infection or cervical lymphadenitis. Which means you've got a hard decision to make. Even if you found a competent vet surgeon, it's a hard area to operate in (many nerves, blood vessels, and structures), it would be a long surgery, and she'd have a difficult recovery. Given those factors, her age, and that she's in pain, if she were my guinea pig, I'd be considering euthanasia.

It might put your mind at ease to insist on the biopsy, just to make absolutely sure that you're dealing with something that requires surgical rather than medical treatment.

I'm sorry you're faced with this. Please keep us up to date on what's happening with her.

Before we took her to the vet, we decided that operating was a no go for us, as we've lost too many animals after surgery.

We have considered euthanasia, however, the emotional attachment to her is whats weighing on us, although I have only been apart of her life for two years, it's been two years of breakfast and dinners for and the occasional treat in between and the cuddles. My partner has become quite emotional during this time and we both feel like we could have done more for her.

Will be attaching photos shortly once my phone syncs.
 

tate_keet

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tate_keet

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She is fairly dirty at the moemnt, next bath was due for next month, so please excuse her fur being a bit mismanaged.
 
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