Has anyone ever had a vet be suspicious of cancer, but it ended up being something less sinister?

[tobelieveinhim]

Has anyone had a vet suspicious for bone cancer, but the diagnosis ended up being something less sinister?

Took my 6 y.o. intact male working-line GSD to the vet today and was NOT expecting her to immediately say she was suspicious of bone cancer.

Took him because he has had recurrent but sporadic limping of his front left paw for a couple of weeks. He didn’t limp often — only occasionally while playing fetch outside, and the limp would go away after a minute each time. Gave him carprofen daily and tried to limit or eliminate his play time, which seemed to significantly help. (He has experienced limping of back legs several times in the past as he plays and works hard; the vet always prescribed strict rest & carpeofen, and never seemed very concerned about it — so my concern was low this time around because of those previous events). It was only upon reintroducing vigorous play time that the limp would return. He developed some swelling of his outmost toe on left front paw, so I thought it was high-time I took him in.

I thought absolute worst case scenario was a fracture that would require surgery. Imagine my utter shock when her immediate suspicion was bone cancer. I asked her if she was truly suspicious of that and she said “well, he’s six, a large breed, and I can feel a bony mass on his toe. Yes, I am suspicious. I can’t say for certain prior to an x-ray.”

She didn’t even mention the possibility of a fracture or sprain until I asked if that was also a possibility, which makes me think that was unfortunately low on her list of differentials. Considering the fact that she didn’t even list any other possible explanations aside from bone cancer, that makes me extremely worried.

I am so sick to my stomach and have been sobbing. He is scheduled for a sedated x-ray in two days.

TLDR: Has anyone else has a vet suspicious of cancer, but upon further evaluation it ended up being something less sinister?

 

[bn123]

@tobelieveinhim Yes. Diagnostics is a process of elimination in search of confirmation. You always eliminate the worst-case scenario first. Standard medical practice, human or animal.

Example: patient with chest pain in the ER. The 1st test run is not a stomach acid measurement, even though GI issues are the #1 cause of chest pain ER visits. Instead, they hook you up to an EKG immediately to eliminate or confirm the worst case, a heart attack.

This is NORMAL.

DON'T PANIC!

 

[tobelieveinhim]

@bn123 Thank you so much. I’m just terrified because she didn’t even mention any other possible differentials — just went straight to being suspicious of osteosarcoma.

I appreciate your reply so much.

 

[bn123]

@tobelieveinhim Whatever the outcome, be here now, with your pup. Your pup is looking to you, so keep that positive energy and love flowing! I sure am trying to!

 

[bn123]

@tobelieveinhim Oh, and personal experience for a case-in-point, my bud had BPH bad, from not being neutered (long story) and manifested dripping blood. Doc went straight to the canine PSA test to rule out cancer before going to the neuter as a hormonal fix.

 

[justwantin2fellowship]

@tobelieveinhim Yep! Vets will nearly always prepare you for the worse case scenario. But the X ray and other diagnostics will rule it out. Take a deep breathe. It’s good that they are considering this after feeling the mass. And with Cancer… it’s a race against time. Hope you get some answers soon. Blessings to you both.

 

[airflight69]

@tobelieveinhim Just because cancer is one of her differential diagnoses does NOT mean it will be the final diagnosis. Since cancer is the most serious and life threatening possibility, it’s like why the vet is concerned. It’s best to rule that out first rather than assume it’s something benign

The x-rays will be extremely helpful. Is the vet planning to biopsy the toe if it appears suspicious for cancer on x-rays? Biopsy would be the final step to know for sure if it’s cancerous. Good luck and hoping it’s nothing serious for your boy.

 

[tobelieveinhim]

@airflight69 Thank you for your insight and encouragement. She actually didn’t mention biopsy, and only provided me a paper with the quoted cost for the sedation and x-ray. But I certainly will let her know that I would like a sample to be retrieved for biopsy while he is already under anesthesia for the x-rays, if at all possible, rather than having to wait and put him under a second time…

 

[sterkarm]

@tobelieveinhim Yes. Visible lump in the throat turned out benign after a biopsy. That was 7 years ago. She’s still plugging along at almost 11. Have to physically test the tissue to know. Best of luck.

 

[tobelieveinhim]

@sterkarm Thank you so much for sharing your story. I’m glad she’s still with you and trucking along.

 

[kat07]

@tobelieveinhim I wish for good news for you. The one time this happened to us the cancer was confirmed, but ours was a lymphoma that later progressed to lymphosarcoma. I remember asking the vet that at that first diagnostic appointment how likely it was that we'd get bad news and she said probably 80% and sure enough it was worst case scenario. I appreciated her honesty though. Thinking good thoughts for you!!

 

[tobelieveinhim]

@kat07 I am so sorry for your loss. I appreciate you sharing your story and for your kind words of encouragement.

 

[chris73]

@tobelieveinhim It's always best to test for the worst first. They should have explained this though. Like the other guy said of you go to the ER with chest pain they check heart attack first. I for one can speak of this because I have an extensive cardiac history so anytime I go for anything they immediately check all that first.

 

[tobelieveinhim]

@chris73 Wanted to provide an update, because it appears you were right. She didn’t notice any evidence of the moth-eaten appearance of the bone that she would expect to see on x-ray if it was osteosarcoma. She thinks the bony changes might be due to a fracture that healed wrong because it wasn’t noticed and splinted properly. We paid extra for a radiologist to interpret it too, just for peace of mind…. but for now, I do feel more positive.

I cannot believe the way this was handled or her bedside manner, though. She did not ever verbally state, nor give us the impression, that an outcome other than cancer was even on her radar. We spent all weekend sobbing and took him to his favorite swimming spot for what we believed might have been one of his last swims. I wish she would have taken the time to be more clear about the spectrum of possible differentials. It may have saved us a lot of heartache.

Anyway, thank you for taking time out of your day this weekend to respond to me. It meant so much.

 

[jezza1]

@tobelieveinhim Is your dog still okay?

 

[tobelieveinhim]

@jezza1 Hi - yes!! He is still doing fine. Thank you so much for asking

 

[johnny87]

@tobelieveinhim Can I ask what the result was? I’ve been through the wringer with my GSD the last 2 months. All signs pointing to cancer despite negative tests even from a bone marrow biopsy. Shit is taxing

 

[tobelieveinhim]

@johnny87 Hi - yes, of course. Basically what it ended up being was that he must have fractured a bone in his paw and because we didn’t notice it and have it treated, it healed in a wonky way which basically created a lump on his bone. The vet thought it was bone cancer because of the hard lump on one of his toe bones, but it was really from the way that the fracture healed — not a cancerous nodule. He would hold his front paw up now and again but we didn’t think too much of it for the first week or so because we had taken him to the vet literally half a dozen times in the previous 1.5 years for similar behavior, and they always just said that it was probably pain due to overexercise and prescribed rest + pain meds — and he would always get better within a day or so. We thought this was a similar issue but it turned out, this time he had actually injured his paw. We felt HORRIBLE for not seeking care sooner.

I am so, so sorry to hear about the struggles with your pup. Let me know if I can provide any additional information or answer questions. What signs are pointing toward cancer? What is the vet’s opinion at this point?