Why Wait? Aspirate.
Masses must be sampled and evaluated under a microscope to determine what they are. The sooner we determine whether a mass is cancerous and should be removed, the better for your pet. Most skin and subcutaneous (under the skin) tumors can be cured when diagnosed early when masses are small.
I am Dr Sue Cancer Vet and I am on a mission to raise cancer awareness in dogs and cats, so we can diagnose earlier and save lives.
See Something, Do Something: Why wait? Aspirate!
See Something When a skin mass is the size of pea or larger or has been present for 1 month,
Do Something Aspirate or biopsy, and treat.
No, not even the most experienced veterinarian can look at or feel a mass and know if it is cancer or not. Your veterinarian must perform an aspirate or biopsy to make an accurate diagnosis. Early detection saves lives.
Dr Sue’s Facebook Feed
📅 last week there were
✈️ 4 flights
👩🏫 2 conferences
🌆 2 cities
👨👩👦👦 With a trip back home in between to see my sons’ spring concert
🌎5000 miles flown
🎤14 talks given
🤝 I met 100s of new colleagues and saw my speaker friends (who are my family in the road)
😊 And hopefully inspired some vet professionals to #whywaitaspirate and #kickcancersbutt
👩⚕️ This week I am back to clinics to see my patients and hopefully kick cancers butt myself 💙
@ Tampa Convention Center🔹Osteosarcoma Spotlight: Diagnostics 🔹
🔬Cytology, or looking at the cells aspirated from a tumor, can be one of the diagnostic tests used for a pet with suspected osteosarcoma. It is not as definitive as some of the more invasive tests, but a few cells from a fine needle aspirate can be enough for veterinarians and cancer specialists to help distinguish malignant vs non-malignant tumors.
🔬The accuracy rate for obtaining an osteosarcoma diagnosis on cytology is about 70-85%, but other tests may be needed to confirm.
#whywaitaspirate🔹 Osteosarcoma Spotlight: Diagnostics🔹
🦴 However, each patient is different. Talk to your veterinarian or cancer specialist to determine the best staging plan for your dog, your family, and your budget.
🦴 Ideally, these would include a combination of an orthopedic exam, a lymph node fine needle aspirate (FNA) of a local lymph node near the tumor, and then 3-view chest radiographs (x-rays) or a CT scan to check for metastasis and any other disease.
🦴 However, each patient is different. Talk to your veterinarian or cancer specialist to determine the best staging plan for your dog, your family and your budget.