Once Andy had his grooming session, the lipoma on his right side became more obvious. I know you will see it in photos and be concerned.
I did take Andy to the veterinarian’s when I noticed it a few months ago. Dr. Y., Andy’s veterinarian, examined it and took a sample to determine that it is a lipoma, not cancer. Dr. Y. assured me the lump isn’t likely to become cancer. It is soft and loose feeling to the touch, doesn’t cause Andy pain.
Originally, Dr. Y. said he wasn’t able to deal with it immediately but told me to check again last April.
I asked him about the removal risks to Andy since he was almost 12 years old at the time, and he assured me there always is a risk, though there would be an evaluation of his overall health (probably a blood test, blood pressure check) before any surgery. When I asked him for a rough “cost to do” since I am retired, he was vague. “We can set up a payment plan.” (That is, a lot!)
I ran into some heavy expenses in April. I had, among other things coming due: the $300 renewal cost of this blog; car tax and plates since this was the 6th year for the old ones; the annual routine maintenance on my car; car insurance; not to forget the Chewy screw-ups on auto-shipments of Greenies and Andy’s dry food that is specially shaped for “scrunched’ Persian faces by Royal Canin – a bag lasts a long time but is very expensive; and other things like a huge credit card bill that was outside of my budget because of things like the Chewy screw-ups and purchases made before other expenses I hadn’t expected till months later popped up.
I had to use my tax return money, money from a bank account I had left over from my parents’ days but that I rarely used, a chunk out of my credit union account, and a big amount out of a retirement account to stay solvent after everything was paid off, but I managed not to have to carry any expenses over to a second billing cycle, with the added penalties that entails. I make a point of never having to pay late fees!
When will Andy get the lipoma removed? When I can pay for it. If it caused him pain, I’d have it removed immediately. I still have concerns about his safety under anesthesia, though I’ve been reassured by Dr. Y. about that. I’d appreciate any comments from people who’ve had pets develop lipomas and the costs and their pets’ experiences with having them removed.
For those who haven’t seen television’s Dr. Pimple Popper pop a lipoma (ugh! – not again!), here’s a link to the Wikipedia article on this tumor.