Spindle

A mysterious bump on Elderly Decrepit Daisy Dog's leg has been growing, slowly at first but more rapidly of late.  Since we had to take her to the veterinarian yesterday to have her lick granuloma bandaged, we asked him to investigate the bump as well.  He recommended a needle biopsy just to see what is going on. We concurred. And so it was done.

Elderly Decrepit Daisy behaved beautifully.  She showed her stuffed piggy to everyone in the waiting room, and held on to it in her mouth while the vet and the technicians cared for her.  She tries very hard to be brave, even when she is frightened.

Today, we found out that the bump is a spindle cell carcinoma.

The nuts and bolts: The tumor will keep growing, probably quickly as we've seen, unless it's removed. Treatment would consist of surgical removal of the tumor and radiation (chemotherapy isn't effective for this tumor, apparently). Removal is useless without radiation. The nearest radiation clinic for animals is 300 miles away. 

We think it's clear -- even setting aside the cost, which will clearly not be small -- that putting a 13 year old, very arthritic, nearly deaf, delicately digestion-ed, decrepit dog through surgery and radiation is not the best option.

The plan right now is to do palliative care, and to wait and see how she progresses.

Alas.  

Good dog, Daisy.