Zorro might have cancer

gothicangel69

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I have been saving up money to get Zorro's nail removed because the vet said that it would need to come out to get rid of his infection. Anyways, yesterday my mother had a vet appointment to get the dog vaccinated and vet checked. Apparently all the vet talked about the whole visit was Zorro. He asked how he was doing and if the toe was still infected. When my mother told him that it was, he told her the reasons why the surgery he wanted to do was so expensive. He said that by the sounds of it, more than the toe nail would have to be removed. The whole toe would probably need to be amputated.
When my mother described to him what the toe looked like, he told her that in the last three months, he's seen two dogs and a cat that came in with something that looked exactly what my mother described, and that it turned out to be cancer, and that the infection was secondary. The vet said that instead of getting the toe nail removed, that I should save up the money to get a biopsy done on the tissue. If it turns out to be cancerous, then we don't have to remove the toe because it won't do anything. He told my mother that the people who owned the other animals got the toe removed, and also did chemo, but the dogs and cat are still dieing of cancer. It spread too quickly and that now all of there organs are starting to shut down.
After my mother told me what he said, I went and checked Zorro's toe, and when I pulled the skin around the nail back, I could see a small tumor right behind the nail
.
I'm trying to save up the $200 to get the biopsy done. The vet told me to try taking some pictures of the nail, and to send them to him via e-mail so that he could look at the toe without me having to bring him in and pay a vet visit.
I'm so upset right now. Now that I've seen the tumor, I'm trying to convince myself that its not cancer, but deep down I know that it probably is.
Its sad to say that I may only have my little man for a few more months. This just isn't fair...
 

cloud_shade

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I'm so sorry. I'll be hoping for the best with your kitty. We had a dog once who was limping. We took him in believing he had arthritis. Instead, the x-ray showed he had osteosarcoma--bone cancer--and while we could amputate, the cancer had likely already spread so treatment wouldn't extend his life. We opted for pain meds to make him comfortable until we knew he wasn't anymore. Hopefully, your kitty will be the exception, and he won't have cancer at all. But if he does, then ask your vet about pain meds and enjoy every minute with him.
 

jcat

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I'm sorry to hear that your vet thinks there's a possibility of cancer, but try not to get too upset until you actually have a diagnosis. What you saw may be an abscess, rather than a tumor.

Didn't this all start out as a claw injury?
 

just1cat

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Originally Posted by gothicangel69

The vet told me to try taking some pictures of the nail, and to send them to him via e-mail so that he could look at the toe without me having to bring him in and pay a vet visit.
I don't understand why they have to charge you just for looking at the toe. I could understand running tests, and such. To tell you just email him a picture in my opinion is selfish. Its sad that is all about a dollar these days.

I wish you luck with your little friend.
 

bella713

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I'm sorry to hear this but until the biopsy is done you will not know for sure, there is a possibility of cancer BUT there is a possibility that is is not. I will pray for a good outcome for Zorro
 
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gothicangel69

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Thank you all for your kind words. Its been a hard past few weeks. Yes, it did all start out with a nail injury. The infection has gone down alot.There is only a small amount of pus now. The growth really doesn't look like an abscess. It looks like some type of growth or tumor. I'm hoping that its either some type of harmless growth, or a benign tumor. We're trying to save up the money to get the biopsy done so that we'll know for sure but with Zorro's past, I doubt the results will be good. The poor little man just has no luck.
 

rang_27

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I'm sending lots of prayers Zoro's way.

As someone who's in the middle of dealing with the possiblity of a cat with cancer I know how hard it can be. I know how scarry it is, but try to stay positive. Remember your vet is just a human, and because he has seen this recently it's what's at the top of his mind. Your doing the right thing getting it biopsied, and if you need someone to talk to feel free to PM me.
 
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