# Lump on hedgehog's back, possible tumor?



## misha0209 (Jun 28, 2017)

Hello all,

here's hoping i get some answers.

so, we got a hedgehog about 4 months back, at the time we got her, the store said she was 7 months old.
she seemed healthy when we got her.

after 1 month of being with us, we noticed a small bump on her back, and a few lost quills.
the bump grew in size so we decided (after reading up on the forums here) to go see a vet.
the vet at the time said it's an abscess and drained the area.
after some antibiotics, cleaning the area with betadine solution, then some cauterization spray, the lump seemed gone.

2 months passed, and while we found it slightly weird that no quills grew in the area where the bump was, the skin seemed normal, and she seemed happy, eating, running on her wheel, playing with toys.. lively generally.

now, the past 2 weeks, the bump started growing back, same place.
she is still her old self, playing, eating well, running on her wheel as i type this.
she even ate quite a bit when we got home.

today, we visited a vet, again, to check the lump.
after taking a sample, and looking at it under a microscope, he said it looks like a tumor.
he gave her a local shot (right in the **** bump) of antibiotics.
his advice, if the thing does not start going away in 10 days, it's probably not an infection, and he recomends, operate, and remove.

i've seen a lot of discussions here on this topic, so i figured why not make an account, and write this up, maybe i can get some answers from people with experience.

i'll add a few pictures to the post, maybe people who have seen this in the past can share experiences.
the bump looks bad now, and much bigger than it was due to the vet visit. it was 2/3 the size when we went to the vet.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0Bxc41HlZupAsU3lLNkFFMVNLOVk?usp=sharing

would also like it if somebody will confirm this does not look like in an ingrown quill, told the vet that maybe it's an infection from something like that, said he didn't know, but what he saw under a microscope indicates more of a tumor than an infection.. i wouldn't know, i'm not a doctor 

ofc i'm trying to get another opinion, but in my country you can't trust the human doctors, most animal doctors do cats and dogs... i'm afraid to let her under a knife, especially with this on her back, i mean after the OP, she will get stitches... which IMO she can pop if she balls up. right?
on the other hand, if it is a tumor, i definitely would like to try and do something about it ASAP. but i am afraid of a false diagnosis  that would put her in unneeded danger. also the guy scared me, said he had to pull out a few quills around the area, then cut it off... i guess that would make sense, but still...

thanks for reading!
and would appreciate any feedback


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

To me it looks more like a tumour than an abscess or ingrown quill. I would have it removed and sent for testing. Even if it turns out to be an abscess it still needs to be removed. There shouldn't be a problem with stitches as the skin will stretch and it's not that big of an area.


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## misha0209 (Jun 28, 2017)

thank you so much for the input.

the plan is to schedule her for another clinic that specializes in oncology for pets.
if they do not give a definitive analysis that it's not a tumor, we'll go ahead with the OP to have it removed in 10 days, as the doctor suggested yesterday.

did not think it would need to be cut off if it is an abscess. 
also, thank you for confirming it does not look like an ingrown quill !


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Some abscess have to be removed if they keep coming back. Most can just be drained and treated with antibiotics but some have to be surgically removed to prevent them from reoccurring.


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## misha0209 (Jun 28, 2017)

i see, thank you for the explanations.
we're going to another vet tomorrow, to have another opinion.
noted that in your experience, you would take the operation. this is important feedback for me, especially coming from a breeder.
thank you!

i will probably keep posting here as things unfold, just to have a written record, other threads here helped me, so maybe this will be helpful to somebody in the future.


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## misha0209 (Jun 28, 2017)

hello,

i promised i will update here as the story develops.
we visited a second doctor, this one is suppose to specialize in exotic animals.

we have another confirmation that the proper course of action should be extraction, so we are now trying to confirm the date of the operation.

we need to wait a bit as the doctor will be away for 2 weeks (currently trying to find out if this is too long, and the risk is too high if this is indeed a tumor).
we would prefer the doctor that is away as she has performed operations on small animals before. the initial one is suppose to be good with cats and dogs....

will post again after the OP probably.


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## misha0209 (Jun 28, 2017)

We've underwent the procedure to remove the lump yesterday.

the doctor says she is very happy with how the operation went. to her, the lump looked like a malignant tumor, but she says she could clean it all out, and she is very confident it will not reoccur. we've sent the tissue for analysis, to see exactly what it is.

hoping for the best.

on the other hand, our hedgie is just fine.
when we brought her home she ate and slept.
last night she woke up, ate quite a bit, drank water, and was very energetic. used the wheel all night 
we've removed toy tubes, so she can't hurt herself.

the next 5 days we're suppose to syringe feed some pain meds, so that she doesn't feel the OP. she was stiched back up with absorbant fiber, so there is no need to remove the stitches.

all things considered, we're hoping she will be fine.
will post again when the analysis on the tissue comes in.


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## misha0209 (Jun 28, 2017)

new update, the test results for the tissue came in.
unfortunately it looks quite bad 

"High-grade round cell tumor. Based on histological morpholoy, the histiocytic sarcoma or mastocytoma is suspected."

this is right out of the sheet, the only thing in english.
the rest is in hungarian. i can google translate and post it here if somebody has the medical know how to interpret.

we're going to see the doctor soon, to talk about it.

i have no clue about this, but the quick google searches i did today, say the first one is very bad and the second is not as bad, but still quite bad 

we're going to do an extra examination, they say that with immunhistokaemia they can say exactly which of the 2 it is....

if anybody has had any experience in the past, please share. proper course of action?
if the tumor was removed, are there chances of it coming back? chances of spreading to other places? anything that we can do to determine if it spread - i remember the doctor said x-ray will only show bones, they can't tell if there are tumors for such a small animal -? how do we tell if she is in pain? the doctor inquired about oncological treatment for hedgehogs in a specialized clinic (chemo i suppose) and they said they can do it, but it would be hard because she's a small pet. dunno what that means, hard for them, or her... i suspect both 

on the other hand, she is eating well, wheeling all night, curious and lively. 410grams. picked up in weight after the OP, she was at 395.

we heard her cry/moan twice, we figured it was because of the operation, or the fact she can't sleep well, since it is HOT - 38~40 deg celcius hot - around here now. we leave the AC on all day for her.

will keep posting as this develops, again, to have a written record, in case somebody runs into the same problems.
but if anybody has any advice, please share.

thank you!


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## misha0209 (Jun 28, 2017)

reporting in again, in case somebody is still reading, we visited an oncologist.
the guys is suppose to specialize in small exotic pets. he's worked with hedgehogs in the past. and seems to have a long, and good history in the vet oncology line of work so to speak.

we did ultrasound of the abdomen, and x-rays. had a tough time keeping the hedgehog from wiggling around. the vet did not want to put her to sleep unless absolutely necessary. it was not necessary 

he could not see any other tumor anywhere in the abdomen. kidneys, stomach, bladder, liver and a few more looked ok. x-rays showed nothing wrong with the rest of her, lungs, and so forth. man even managed to listen to her heart and breathing. all sounded normal.

he even checked out her operation, even used ultrasound on the region, and saw no abnormality. just thinner skin, but he said it is healing up properly.

now i'm not a medic, so i have no idea what was on those screens, to me it looked like nothing.. he tried explaining stuff... but yeah. images just too fuzzy for my untrained eye.

his prognosis was quite good. he said there is no evidence of metastasis.
we are waiting on the final analysis on the sample to see what tumor it is. the guy even said he will give the lab a call, to talk to the person that did the examination of the tissue. based on what that reveals we might do a brief hormonal based treatment just to be sure. and another check-up in 3 months.

in the meantime, we are trying to find somebody with a decent ultrasound close by, to do a monthly checkup until we see him again, although he said it is not necessary.

hoping for the best. will post again when there is more news.


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## misha0209 (Jun 28, 2017)

hi again,

so bad news, the result came back, and it is sadly sarcoma.
i say this, based on some reading i did on the net. the sarcoma seemed worse.

the doctor said that small pets do not take chemo very well, in fact he would be afraid it would kill her, so he suggested we use meloxicam, in what he called Metronomic Chemotherapy.
i gave it a read, seems it means small doses of active agents, that stop the disease. they do not cure, but prevent it from evolving.
the meloxicam seems to be a simple, non steroidal anti inflammatory like ibuprofen, but seems to have a particular effect on the large cell tissue/tumor, causing it to stop evolving (selective COX-2 inhibition)

any input here would be much appreciated, as all of this is based on what i can google, like i said not a medical person.

we did not get a prognosis, as the man said nothing much is known about hedghogs and caner, and he can not make an educated estimation. if you folks could share past experiences, that would be great, if that does't stir up too many emotions.

this being said, if anybody has had any experience of the sort here, or with the drug, please post experiences. the dosage given is quite small, we use the 0.5mg/ml formula, and are suppose to administer orally 0.1ml per day


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

Sorry to hear about the bad results. I have no experience with cancer in hedgehogs, but maybe someone else will weigh in. If I'm understanding correctly, so far the cancer (tumours) didn't spread to other parts of the body?


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## misha0209 (Jun 28, 2017)

Hello,

thank you for the interest, did not think anybody was still reading, so i stopped posting, was going to post again after the 3 month checkup.

you understood correctly, the doctor that did ultrasound, and x-ray said he could not see any sign of other tumors.
also, he said chemo would do her much harm, so he prefers not to do that.

we are giving her a daily 0.1ml dose of 0.5mg/ml (low concentration) meloxicam, doctor said it will help prevent or slow down other tumors from forming. and we're suppose to go back for another checkup in 2 months now.

in the meantime, the hedgie seems quite happy, playing around, sometimes even in the daytime, eating well (even gained 20grams since the operation). keep feeling around and checking to see if lumps pop up, but nothing so far. just enjoying spending each day with her


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## misha0209 (Jun 28, 2017)

As i said, would update here as the story develops.
So we went for the checkup the other day.

X-ray, ultrasound as well as physical examination.
Nothing could be detected. The oncologist said he can find no evidence of any cancerous formation. the only problem was that she is a bit fat. but in good health.
We are to stop all medication, and check back in the summer (6 months). Yaaay!!

in the meantime she is fine, exploreing our new home whenever we let her out. appetite is good, and she started drinking water like crazy the last month. only bad things happening were 2 hibernation attempts. got her on a light schedule now. room temp is as always 25.5 to 27 deg celcius.

so yeah, quite happy, hoping she will be with us a long long time !
will write again after the next checkup.


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## misha0209 (Jun 28, 2017)

I initially did not want to post here as this has nothing to do with our initial problem, but since the thread is already started, and in the interest of other users facing the same thing, here goes.

Suddenly, out of the blue, one morning, we noticed (it was so much that a blind man would have noticed it) blood in urine 
After the initial panic attack, we scheduled a vet visit. in the meantime did reading up on the forums here, to see what other people went through, and could make a general idea of what's coming our way.

Went to the vet, and the diagnosis was pyometra 
Even the vet was amazed, she said she rarely saw this in hedgehogs.
What can i say, our little girl must be very unlucky 

The vet wanted to do antibiotics, and see if it clears out, but given what we read here, i insisted on scheduling a spay (not very high tech around here, no laser...).

This was all 2 weeks ago.
We stayed on baytril (antibiotics) for almost 2 weeks and the spay took place yesterday. lost some blood 3 days before the spay so we were really afraid she might be too weak.
The vet confirmed pyometra, and said there is no sign that this ordeal was related to the sarcoma problem, which made us VERY happy.

Basically writing here to ask for any post op care tips.

We took her out of her usual enclosure, got a new habitat, lined it with a sponge and blanket, she's sleeping on a pillow now, with a little towel she likes to have as a blanket.

Been feeding her wet hedgehog food, and she ate well. woke us up 3 times last night too, ate a bit, and felt like exploring the room. so we watched over her so she would not get hurt. she is very wobbly..
Only thing that worries me is that she drank no water since the OP. i am hoping the fluids she gets from the wet food are enough (says 80% moisture on the can). Pooped and peed last night, and a bit this morning. no abnormalities, no blood.
Also giving her metacam for the pain as of 2 hours ago. vet said daily for 5 days.

Any other ideas around here? Something anybody could recommend? She is wobbly and seems to be uncomfortable (i'd be too if somebody sliced open my belly) so i want to help her as much as i can.


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## Yukidama's mama (Apr 4, 2017)

I'm sorry to read the latest on what your little girl is going through  
How is she doing after post op? 

I don't have any experience with post ops but wanted to comment and bump up your post in case someone else sees it and can give you some more advice. I hope she recovers soon ♡


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## misha0209 (Jun 28, 2017)

Thank you for the interest.
Doing quite well actually. today is the day the vet gave the all clear to stop wrapping her up in a bandage (prevent her from curling up, and getting at the stitches).
so she was very happy to be able to move freely and curl up again.
appetite is still good, though she is eating less than she use to. maybe antibiotics are not helping, but those will be done with tomorrow 
she did loose 20 grams since the OP, but is still full of energy and eating on her own. did not have to use a syringe at all with her.
one more week and we have a go to use the wheel, so all things considered, we are on the right track


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## Yukidama's mama (Apr 4, 2017)

Aw that's great to hear, I'm glad she is recovering well  

I think that's understable that she'd lose a bit of weight after having major surgery and all the medication but that's a great sign she is willingly to eat on her own and you don't need to stress her out syringe feeding. When my boy had antibiotics to treat a URI I gave him benebac probiotics (in between med doses, don't use at the same time), I just sprinkled a little on his food and he seemed to love the taste, perhaps it's a little sweet? But I have read some hogs didn't like it. You could try probiotics to help get her GI tract back to normal after having the meds, perhaps it might help increase her appetite. Also I've read about Hills A/D (nutrient packed canned food), it's used for sick animals / post ops to help gain weight and kick start appetites again. Ive never used it so just read up about it first. It's recommended on this site


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## misha0209 (Jun 28, 2017)

thanks for the information.
we've tried 3 types of probiotics with her meals, but she just goes around the food that has probiotic on it or spits it out 
but, yesterday was the last day of antibiotic, so i'm hoping to see less sniffing and more munching tonight 

will try to get my hands on the canned hill's ad, hope that's what it says on the label.
we feed her some hedgehog canned food, but she has been reluctant to eat it lately.
we did make her her favorite, chicken breast  we just make a soup out of carrots, chicken breast and an onion. she absolutely loves it.

PS: if my japanese is worth a **** that's a cute name for you little one (snowball?)


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I would leave the onion out of the soup, they're not safe for a lot of animals to eat. But Glad she's eating something for you, at least!


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## misha0209 (Jun 28, 2017)

Lilysmommy said:


> I would leave the onion out of the soup, they're not safe for a lot of animals to eat. But Glad she's eating something for you, at least!


Thank you for the info. we only boil it for 15 mins then take it out and throw it away, we do not feed the onion to her. we leave the rest (chicken breast and carrots) to boil for an hour. 
but i will do the next batch without it.


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## Yukidama's mama (Apr 4, 2017)

misha0209 said:


> thanks for the information.
> we've tried 3 types of probiotics with her meals, but she just goes around the food that has probiotic on it or spits it out
> but, yesterday was the last day of antibiotic, so i'm hoping to see less sniffing and more munching tonight
> 
> ...


Ah really that's a shame she doesn't like the taste of any of the probiotics (I must have a strange hog who oddly likes it lol but doesn't like normal cat food or any fruits or veg! ><) but at least she's finished the antibiotics now anyways 

How is she doing now, is her appetite back up? There's also another canned food called carnivore care if you can't find the hills a/d. I think most vets will stock one or the other or even petsmart I think I've read before... Hopefully her appetite is back up from eating the soup then and she's maintaining weight! ♡

Aw thanks! Yep Yukidama means snowball in Japanese, we usually call him Yuki (snow) for short ^.^ ~ he was a spiked ball of huff when we first saw him and he was the only whitish one amongst the other hedgies he was housed with so sounded fitting at the time! :grin:


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## alisa (Dec 7, 2017)

interesting thread, I also experienced the same problem


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## misha0209 (Jun 28, 2017)

Hi,

thanks for the interest.
just a little update. went to the vet that did the OP and she said it looks good.
we got the all clear to go back to normal. this has all been 2 weeks now.

appetite is good, she is eating the canned food that she liked before the OP now.
also loved eating the soup, but we took it out of the diet now that she can eat her kibble, only giving it as a treat. 

she seems more curious when we let her explore the room. looking back now, before the op, she was just looking for a place to hide, or would stop and just stare for a few minutes. none of that now.
active for about 2~3 hours per night, which is like before really.
weight is 420 grams. this also is her old weight, i think the fluid retention accounted for some of the extra weight we noticed in the weeks before the spay.

wound is closed, and looking good, although there is a nasty scar... quite big.. but we love her more than ever 

we're checking in with a local vet this friday, we said we'd do it just to be sure there is no infection.

so, once again, we're hoping the worst is behind us! just enjoying the time we have together. spring soon over here, if it get's warm outside she gets to explore the back yard. first time she'll see grass  looking forward to that.


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## misha0209 (Jun 28, 2017)

So back here again.
just did not have the time to report in a few weeks back.
another visit to the oncologist (we're doing this each 6 months) that resulted in good news!! the doc did not see any evidence of her old problem.

we got scared because of a small iritation on her back, that seemed to swell (just a bit) but a small aspirate sample revealed it was an infection, so we received some betadine soap, and the thing cleared out by the 3rd bath.

her activity levels are lower than before, but she is eating and drinking well (a bit too well). she has gained some weight, the doc says it is inevitable after a spay, but we're trying to get her to run about the house  she was at 440g before the spay, and is now at 460g.

if anybody has some advice for our little lack of activity or weight problem, we're all ears.
thanks for tuning in, will write next check-up

PS: she has fully recovered from the spay without any complications if anybody is wondering


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## Yukidama's mama (Apr 4, 2017)

Great news, glad to hear she is doing well! ^^

I am struggling with a similar weight issue with Yuki. He is now weighing around 480gs! I'm adding a lower fat % to his kibble and reducing the higher fat % kibbles in the mix. He was doing pretty well not gaining any more weight for about a month but now he's gained again and weighed 489g last night, the most he's ever weighed ><. I'm also looking into a commercial raw food diet like barf etc. but have lots more research to do though.


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## misha0209 (Jun 28, 2017)

i've not been posting much here, since nothing worth mentioning has happened since i last posted ( thankfullly !!! )

we had a checkup done last week, and other than her drop in activity, and the fact the she is pleasantly plump  there is nothing bad to say. again, thankfully, and hoping it stays this way.

her weight oscillates between 470~480 grams now, and has been this way for months.

still trying to get her to loose weight, but she does not eat that much... she use to eat WAY more than she does now.
the problem is the drop in activity, we try to take her out each night, and let her run around the house, but that's an hour a day... tops.. still do not know what to do to get her to be more active...


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## Hedgemom7 (Jan 30, 2019)

Hi! I just wanted to say thank you so much for this thread, it has been so helpful! My hedgehog recently developed a similar-looking lump that the vet has said doesn't look like a tumor, but it's been so great to read through this just in case; I plan to get the lump removed to be safe anyway and this has been super helpful. Thank you again, and I hope your little girl is doing well now!


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## misha0209 (Jun 28, 2017)

Hedgemom7 said:


> Hi! I just wanted to say thank you so much for this thread, it has been so helpful! My hedgehog recently developed a similar-looking lump that the vet has said doesn't look like a tumor, but it's been so great to read through this just in case; I plan to get the lump removed to be safe anyway and this has been super helpful. Thank you again, and I hope your little girl is doing well now!


Great to hear the information helped someone, the main purpose was for me to gather experience with the problem, but also leave a log for other to read 

Our girl is still good, thanks for asking, same weight, same lack of activity , good appetite, and came out healthy in her last checkup in February. 
we even managed to stop the hibernation attempts altogether this winter using a timer and a desk lamp. had read that lighting is important, but i figured heat was the decisive factor. now i learned she is a lot more tolerant to low temperature than i thought, but lack of lighting will cause more frequent hibernation attempts!

can't wait for the weather to get worm enough to take her outside 

best luck with your little one, i would suggest removal too. in our case the doctor said she had to take out a good portion around the area to be sure she got all the mass out. i'm not saying to go overboard, but in our case, being sarcoma, wide extraction margins were recommended, and as i've read, it should be the case in all cancer related problems.
you can have a sample extracted (very fine needle) and sent to a lab to determine what exactly the lump is. i remember it cost us something, but it wasn't an arm and leg so to speak.

also, out of experience, these cancerous masses, if you palpate them, they are very dense to the touch, almost rubber like in comparison to normal tissue. our vet immediately said it was a problem on observing and palpating. she scheduled us for the operation during our first visit, when she took the sample for the lab. so she basically did the lab to humor us, but she was sure an extraction was in order. this is our current vet, a very good vet imo.
the other 2 that saw her before said it's either an ingrown quill or an infection... so yeah.. finding a good doc is IMPORTANT! also, the lump she had was growing FAST and i mean fast, it was visibly getting bigger each week. take that into account as well.

best wishes !!


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

Thank you so much for the updates. Also thank you for your love and caring for your little one.


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## misha0209 (Jun 28, 2017)

well, figured it was time to post here again, it's been some time again.
so what happened since i was last here....
the activity levels of our little one decreased steadily over time, to the point where she barely heads down to the lower level of her home to play.
wheel is being ignored or used as a toilet only 

she developed some small pimples on her skin in a few places (vet said they are fat spots) but then a few weeks ago 2 of them on her front paw turned bloody red. they cleared right out with betadine in 3 days. sample was taken (one of them was drained) and the result came back as pseudomonas. a nasty bacteria. we did get antibiotics for it, which she finished last week. going to the vet tomorrow for a check up. will post again with results.

she seems to be doing ok, but she has gained some weight she is at 515g (just switched to a blend of hill's r/d and w/d after we got the antibiotic done). hoping the new diet will help her loose some grams. she seems to tire easily, just does one lap around the room, then finds a corner, and sits there.. if i pick her up, after a few huffs, does one more lap around the room, then stops someplace else. it's like she just tires very fast.
will ask the doc if it could be liver related, maybe some milk thistle would help. i realize that after an antibiotic cure (and it was a long one, 2 weeks) you are weak. but this has been the "new" standard for a long time. she is almost 3 years old, maybe age... dunno.. maybe the high temps here also make her want to do nothing, but the aircon keeps her room at 25.5-26C the entire day. problem is at night temp has gone up to 27!

appetite is very much there, and also water intake has gone up. 
for related info you might also check a new thread i started to see if somebody can help me with ideas on how to help her slim down:
https://www.hedgehogcentral.com/for...azy-hedgehog-constantly-gaining-weight-2.html
if anybody has any idea, just post in any of the 2 threads pls.


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## misha0209 (Jun 28, 2017)

hello,

if anybody is still reading this thread, i thought i should log back in one last time.
it is with a heavy heart that i have to say our little girl passed on 4 weeks ago today.

she seemed to be doing fine, except what looked like a some pimples on her skin, we got antibiotics for them, and on the checkup after the antibiotics, i asked, as i usually did, for an ultrasound, just to be safe.
it was then the vet saw black spots on her liver.
she said a definitive diagnosis can not be made withot a biopsy, but that the procedure is a bit risky, and if it turns out to be cancer, there is nothing we can do.

so we went home with milk thistle extract and lactulose to help the liver, and pain meds, if needed hoping it is not cancer and can be helped.
the worst part is we were not with her when she passed, this all hapened before a prebooked vacation. we payed quite a lot for it, but were thinking to cancel it and stay home, but our family and friends insisted that we don't.. the vet said that she still has at least a month if it was cancer.. so we folded and left.
2 good friends did our part dayly twice a day, but in the second half of our trip, the worst hapened. we wanted to catch a plane back home, but we were far away and the prices were litterly 3x what we payed for the return flight.
it started out with her not sleeping, and coming out even during the day. we figured there was pain and started the pain medication. we were looking at her IR camera every 5 minutes to see what was going on.
she would not move much, would tire easily, just walk a bit then stop, and walk some more. but she kept trying right up until the end. the poop was small, green and slimy.
this went on for 3 days, and just kept getting worse, it was clear she was in pain, and the pain meds were not doing a great job. our friends told us that she seemed weak and did not eat much, or wanted to do much. the news was always bad. they ended up visiting 3-4 times each day.
then came the first night she refused ANYTHING, even chiken and water.
we kept watching her, and she seemed so very very tired. the pain was obvios even on camera 
that night she would walk 5cm, then sit for 5-10 minutes, then walk another 5cm... she did not sleep all night and was out of her little bed the entire night. we did not sleep eather, just sat there watching her all night. we were devasted for not being with her 
the next morning she refused food and water again, at that point the decision was clear. i asked our friend to take her to the vet to be put down.
the vet said she was weak and that it was a good decision. the pain was only going to get worse. a quick ultrasound also revealed that the liver looked much worse than before. so we waited for the sad news that it was over. we were just zombies walking arround waiting for the day of the flight to get back home.

the vet asked if she can do a biopsy after she was put down to send to the lab. i gave my consent. i guess i felt so crappy for not being with her that i was just trying to find out if it was our fault, or there was nothing that could be done. although looking back on it now, it does not really matter... all that matters is that we were not there 

the result came back 2 weeks ago, and it was the same sarcoma that we had removed when i started this thread. so metastasis to the liver was the cause of death.
i am writing here to ease my pain ofc, but also as a record if anybody goes through the same thing. took roughly 2 years for the metastasis to show up, but it did  at the worst time ever 

thank you all for reading, and answering, and i realy hope this will help readers in the future.
RIP our sweet little Itchu ;((


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## Yukidama's mama (Apr 4, 2017)

I’m so sorry for your loss and it was so unfortunate she went down hill whilst you were away. It can’t be helped though so try not to blame yourself. Remember the good times you shared together. It’s amazing she had another two years from the first diagnosis too, there’s just no way of knowing if and when it will come back unfortunately 😞

Thank you for sharing her story, hopefully it can help others in a similar situation one day ♡


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