rectal polyp/adenocarcinoma?

[kelpiegirl]

Hi all

Well, yesterday one of my girls was licking herself a lot- actually, she has been doing more licking than normal for a while now. I thought it may just be anal glands- nothing looked awry. Back to yesterday- I told her to stop licking, and she did, then went right back to it- my dogs are pretty good at listening, so I took a look. I found a well, the only thing I can describe it as what looked like a "cherry eye" in colour and size near her rectum- almost like her anal gland had birthed out of her body, or goodness knows what. I called the vet right away. When we got there, it was really busy, so I explained to the vet what I saw, and waited for them to examine her. I will mention that they were swamped with calls/visits about the food recall, and people wanting their dogs blood/urine checked. KEEP YOUR RECIEPTS FOLKS.

Anyway, they give me back Nikke, and tell me the vet will talk to me in a minute- she is looking something up on the internet- oookaayy.... This worries me a bit. Then, the vet comes in and tells me that first we need to treat the inflammation, so she gives me an RX for people medicine, which I have to treat locally. Then she tells me that she is going to do MORE research and get us referred to a gastro specialist. She did say that it was pedunculated- which when I did some research, this can be related to the more "sinister" problem that might be going on. So, I treated her last night. This tumor is prolapsing out and is bothering her a quite a bit- she is always worrying that area, and there was blood on her medicine applicator. Okay, I shouldn't use the word tumor- polyp is the differential diagnosis. Anyway, has anyone had any experience with issues of this nature? Am trying to remain positive. I know just getting that thing removed will be a huge improvement for her.

 

Thanks

Julie

[bc friend]

My cocker spaniel Cassie had peri-anal cancer. I initially found a pea-sized hairless polyp/tumor between her anal glands and rectum when I saw unexpected bleeding. At that time it would have been operable w/a good chance of "cure." Unfortunately Cassie (15 at the time) had severe heart disease and could not tolerate anesthesia. Surgery was attempted but after she arrested twice, my vet stopped the surgery. Due to her age and numerous health issues, I chose to just keep her comfortable rather than try chemo or radiation. She lived 2+ yrs after diagnosis and the tumor continued to grow. With meds for her other health problems (eyes, ears, skin, heart), she had a good quality of life for her age. The last couple of months, however, she needed to be "wiped" after bowel movements due to the positioning of the tumor. When it invaded the wall of her rectum, I chose to pts because her quality of life was declining rapidly. However, even though it turned out this way for Cassie, my vet has always been adamant that due to the specific type of cancer, had Cassie been able to tolerate surgery, it is likely that all of the cancer could have been removed with only a remote chance of reoccurrence.

 

Sorry I don't have a more upbeat experience to relate but hopefully Nikke's polyp was caught early and she's in good enough health to tolerate surgery/treatment. I'll be keeping her in my prayers.

[kelpiegirl]

Thanks BC friend for writing- it is nice to know that someone else has gone through something similar. With Nikke though, this is not a perianal tumor- this is a tumor on the surface of her rectal area/large intestine. I ended up calling the vet on Weds and saying that I didn't want to let another sun set on this as it was really bothering her. They got me in the next morning. They removed the tumor and sent it off. We have to wait a week for the pathology report. She seems better already though.

My pocketbook has been hit hard lately with the h/w checks/examination for all the dogs, and this surgery, it appears house remodeling will wait....

Julie